Blog

About 25 years ago, I bought a copy of “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.  I loved the book, and I read it many times over the years.  I was completely enthralled with the idea of the master-mind group.  The idea is very simple.  You basically form a group of people to consult on a regular basis that will agree to support you in achieving success.

Napoleon Hill also talked about the psychic or spiritual aspect of the master mind, and that got me thinking.  I didn’t know any of the people that I wanted to consult.  (I had caviar taste.)  I didn’t have the resources to meet with the calibre of people I wanted in my group.  (I also had a spam budget.)  So, I created a mental, master-mind group.  I first designed an empty boardroom in my imagination.  Then, I invited some incredible people to join my master-mind group.  Many of them were no longer alive.  Some would have cost much more than I could afford.  Others, I believed, would not find me worthy of their time.  I might not be able to meet with them in person, but not one said no to my request to join my mental board of directors.  I assembled an amazing group of about six people.  Then when I had a question or problem, I called a meeting of my internal board.

I came to really enjoy my meetings with my master-mind group.  I consulted them frequently, and I got brilliant ideas from my new best friends.  But how did this work?  They were all in my mind.  I never even met one of them. Years later, I sold my business and started writing.  Once again, I assembled a new master-mind group that was appropriate for this challenge.  Again, I had profound insights and ideas that came from the members of my group.  It seemed like magic.

It wasn’t until much later when my primary focus was raising my children that I stopped consulting my master-mind groups.  And something very strange happened.  My old mind returned.  But now, I had the painful contrast of this old-mind group after years with my hand-picked, master-mind group.  There was still a committee in my mind.  However, this old, familiar committee was made up of various people from my family who I felt that I must please.  It had a few annoying authority figures that I knew I should please in order to be considered a good person.  And it had some people who I felt I failed to please in the past but hoped to please in the future.  The quality of the information that I got from this group was nothing short of worthless.  They reminded me of the reasons that I would not succeed.  They provided critical feedback that only made me want to sleep for the rest of my life.  They told me the rules that I must follow in order to be good in their rulebook.  Before I met my master-mind group, this committee was normal.  I didn’t question them or challenge them.  They were my board of directors, and I obediently took their advice.

But the extreme contrast between the amazing master-mind group and the disaster-mind group caused me to question these voices from my past.  It also explained very clearly why some people seem to succeed in life or business with great ease and others can’t succeed at all.  My master-mind group was clear, completely supportive, and always right.  My default, disaster-mind group thought they were supportive, but they provided no support at all.  They seemed to have three objectives:  to maintain the status quo, to make sure that I followed their rules, and to fit in.  I could only achieve what this group believed to be possible, and that wasn’t much.  If a potential was not within their box, I had no ability to keep the group happy and achieve my dream.  I got frequent migraine headaches as if I spent my day banging my head against the wall.

My carefully-selected master mind was clearly an extension of my heart.  They were the people that I truly admired.  They inspired and delighted me with the way they lived their lives.  They were a match to my authentic, true Self.  They had wisdom and power.  Their box, if one even existed, was huge.  I felt I could do anything with their support.

I began to compare the two groups looking for ways to eliminate the disaster mind.  My master-mind group’s advice always felt good and right.  I never felt emotions when they spoke.  Their guidance was always win-win for everyone.  And it always worked.  I never felt that I was making a difficult decision or taking a risk; it was like they helped me to rise above the mundane world.  My default group’s advice came with huge emotional agitation, was often win-lose (with me losing) in intention, and always felt risky at best.  Eventually, I discovered how to delete those voices from my mind.  Every day, I cleared more and more of those past voices by recognizing that they were worthless and wrong.  I quit giving unearned respect to these voices.  I quit making a uniform right when the words were wrong.  I could still love the person that spoke the words; I just no longer listened to them.  I followed my master mind exclusively.

I continue to do this as an informal practice.  And as I do, what lies below those voices is a true voice that sounds a whole lot like my perfect master-mind group.  The voice is no longer a group of people sitting around a conference table in my imagination; it is now my true Self’s voice.  It is a voice that guides me, shows me the way, gives me new ideas, heals my body, and manifests my desires.  I don’t know how I lived without this voice leading me.

In hindsight, I recognize that we all have many people’s voices inside of us.  When we listen to our true master mind, our life feels like heaven; and when we listen to the false committee from our past, life feels like hell.  But the most important insight from the whole experience is that all of this occurred inside of my mind.  I never talked to one other person.  Until this article, I never even told people that I had these groups in my mind–they might have locked me up.  The most astonishing part of the experiment was the fact that my mind knew how my family, friends, authority figures, clergy, policemen, and even old teachers would answer my questions.  Another part of me, my master mind, knew how my idols and most honored board members would answer the questions.

I must share with you one very big word of caution.  You can not put words in your master-mind member’s mouths.  Many people say they have a close relationship with God or Jesus or some other avatar.  In short, the avatar is their master mind.  And that is not a bad thing to do.  But then they say that the avatar told them to declare war with someone.  They say God said I should punish my child.  They say God wanted me to tell that person that they need to convert to my religion.  That is putting the disaster group’s words in the master mind’s mouths.  It is how the idea of the punishing God began thousands of years ago.  That will never lead to success.  And you can’t blame it on the master mind or God or even the disaster group.  You are the moderator of this debate.  You must clearly know who is on what team.  You must let the committee members speak in their own words.  You can’t treat them like puppets.  You gain the most if you don’t argue with the master-mind group, and that can take some practice.  You can fire the master mind; but I’d suggest firing the other group.

This confusion often happens because the disaster mind is just too familiar, too ingrained, and too real to allow another of higher calibre to speak.  It sometimes speaks very loud and with powerful conviction.  This is not an insurmountable obstacle.  But it requires listening, discriminating, and letting go of the past.  It is great when we discover this because if we are doing it to the master-mind group, we’re missing opportunities to grow from high-calibre people in the world as well.

Another trap occurs when people use the master-mind members to correct the disaster mind.  That is often sold as positive thinking.  It can have short-term success, but it will lead to failure in the long run.  You can’t correct these minds.  You can accept them or reject them–those are your only choices.  Success with the master mind concept is about discrimination.  It is about knowing the voices in your mind and accepting only the ideas of the experts.  It is about letting go of the harmful voices just like you would quit a job if you were working for a jerk.

I will share with you a very big secret.  The disaster mind craves for you to listen to it.  It lives off of attention.  The master mind could care less if you listen or take its advice.  So when you start paying attention to only the master mind, the disaster group just fades away.  You’ve taken their food supply away; they all starve to death (not the real people of course–just the thoughts in your mind that you borrowed from them).  And if lots of people started to do this, pretty soon those disempowering thought forms would disappear completely from the whole planet.  Everyone’s life would improve.

This little experiment can really help us to make sense of our minds.  And as the ancient Greeks said in Delphi, knowing thyself is the key to life.  Quantum physics has now proposed that the world we see and experience is much like a hologram of what we hold in mind.  Napoleon Hill discovered this from talking to successful men.  By using my imagination and putting the right people in the boardroom, I tricked my mind into giving me the advice that I needed and wanted.  I gave the best part of me a venue in which to speak.  And the greatest part of the whole experiment is that all of these amazing people worked for me anytime I needed them, completely free of charge.

PS:  If you have trouble clearing the disaster mind’s beliefs, I offer a free e-book and audio class on my website www.nolabelsnolies.com.  You don’t even have to give me your email address to get this gift.  I so appreciate this wisdom that I give it away to anyone that wants it.  Or if you have a group that wants to learn, contact me.  I will come to your group free of charge.  I only ask to cover my expenses.  These principles can change the world without war or major expense.  I am passionate about supporting those people who desire to move in this direction in any way that I can.

Cathy Eck is the founder of Gateway To Gold and her blog https://gatewaytogold.com.  She has studied the ancient mystery school teachings for decades. She is passionate about cracking the code of life’s greatest mysteries and translating the ancient wisdom in a way that is practical, simple, and empowering so that everyone can remember their true Self and live a perfect life.