Someone once said that, in the years ahead, you’ll be the same person you are today except for the books you read and the people you meet. That could not be more true for me and my life. You’re well-acquainted with my love for books and my belief in the dramatic impact intentional and consistent reading can have on one’s life. You may be less familiar with the fact that, over the last five years, the books I’ve read coupled with the people I’ve chosen to surround myself with have been a boon to my business and personal life. Today, I want to let you in on the other “secret” to my success. Mastermind groups! Enter your first name and email address above to grab my free PDF on how to launch your own mastermind group. And for more insights, be sure and click the play button below on today’s episode. Join in on our chat below Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | RSS In today’s episode, I discuss: * The 8 steps required to get your first mastermind group up and running * The critical step that, until recently, I was leaving out of my own process * The processes I use for finding the right people for my groups * …and much more! This Episode is Sponsored By Cloud Accounting Software FreshBooks FreshBooks is currently offering a month of unrestricted use to to all RtLP listeners – totally free right now. And, you don’t need a credit card for the trial. To claim your free month, click here and be sure and enter ReadToLead in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section. If your business uses Freshbooks, and you’d like to share your experience with the Read to Lead audience, click the contact tab at the top of this page and let us know. Be sure and include “FreshBooks” in the subject line. The 8 Steps in Brief Step 1: Answer why you’re doing this in the first place (aka, what are your objectives for the group). Step 2: Decide what type of person will be a fit for your group. Step 3: Publish what you’ve written in steps 1 and 2, as well as your desire to launch a group, on your website or via a Google Doc. Step 4: Decide how you’ll structure the group. Will it be a free group? A paid group? If so, how much? How many people? Step 5: Extend your invitations. Step 6: Schedule your meetings. Decide how often you’ll meet. Step 7: Create the agenda for your meetings (having structure is crucial). Step 8: Ask for feedback from your group members and adjust as needed. Click to Tweet To share about the Read to Lead Podcast on Twitter quickly and easily, just click the box below. Your tweet will automatically be populated with this copy: Leave Us Your Feedback Comment and Share Please consider rating the podcast with 5 stars and leaving a one- or two-sentence review in iTunes or on