A Brief History of Mastermind Groups

One of the most influential and best-selling books of all time was written in 1937 by Napoleon Hill. His book on financial independence and personal achievement, Think and Grow Richhe was inspired by billionaire Andrew Carnegie, who shared his formula for success with Hill more than fifty years earlier, when Hill was a boy.

When Carnegie was sure that Hill had grasped the idea and the full meaning of what he had shared, he asked Hill if he would be willing to spend the next twenty years or more preparing to take him into the world. Hill enthusiastically agreed. Armed with the cooperation of Carnegie and interviews with 500 other wealthy men, he kept his promise and dedicated his life to carrying his message to people from all walks of life so that they, too, could apply the principles and obtain riches.

One of the most powerful principles Napoleon Hill wrote about in his book is the ninth step: The power of the master mind. He defines the mastermind as a “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more persons, for the achievement of a definite purpose”.

You may have heard the expression, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Hill wrote about this concept of the exponential power of an alliance of masterminds when he stated: “Two minds never come together without creating an intangible and invisible third force that can be compared to a third mind.” There is a synergy that occurs when people come together to solve a problem or do good deeds that bring about solutions and ideas that would never have occurred to a single member of the group.

The following names in American history have learned this and used it to make profound advances in many areas to improve our lives.

Benjamin Franklin he formed a small club in 1727, made up of enterprising craftsmen and merchants which he called Together. They met one night a week and all helped each other succeed by recommending books, merchants, and friends. The original Junta is responsible for much that has improved our lives, including the first public hospital, our first library, police departments, volunteer fire departments, paved streets, and the University of Pennsylvania. The group lasted 40 years and became the American Philosophical Association.

Thomas Edison, probably best known for inventing the light bulb, was arguably the most prolific inventor of all time with 1,093 patents to his name. What most people don’t know is that he understood this mastermind concept so well that he also developed a system for inventing Believing in the old adage that two heads are better than one, in 1887 he established his Invention Factory in West Orange, New Jersey, where he brought together people with different areas of expertise and put them to work in teams on visionary projects. More than half of those patents earned were during his 44 years working at his Invention Factory and came from these teams of masterminds.

Henry Ford He began his business career handicapped by poverty and illiteracy. Within ten years, he overcame his disabilities and became one of the richest men in America. Mr. Ford’s friendship with Thomas Edison and his association (and shared intellectual power) with Harvey Firestone, Luther Burbank, and John Burroughs were catalysts for his most notable achievements.

The idea of ​​an alliance of masterminds dates back hundreds and even thousands of years. Socrates had the Academy from him. World leaders have had their advisory groups. Jesus had his disciples. King Arthur had his Knights of the Round Table. They may not have been specifically called that, but they are all groups of masterminds. So you will see that it is impossible to credit any single person or group for creating the concept of a master mind.