The Mastermind Tradition
The Mastermind Principle has a
very rich and
distinguished tradition
When researching his book, Mr. Hill came to realize that many of the wealthiest, most successful, most powerful people throughout history have belonged to masterminds. They didn’t always talk about them publicly and they didn’t always call them masterminds. But they were around.
One example of this going back in history is King Arthur and The Knights of The Roundtable. King Arthur didn’t just command his knights, he would get feedback from them and hear their thoughts on various matters.
It was almost unheard of for a King to seek counsel so publicly from so many of his subjects at once. Maybe that’s why he’s also considered to be one of the greatest kings in history.
Andrew Carnegie who commissioned Mr. Hill, Nelson Rockefeller, Charles Schwab and other magnates, were in a mastermind together.
There was another mastermind called The Vagabonds – this was comprised of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, former President Warren G. Harding, Harvey Firestone of Firestone Tires – amongst others.
Just imagine being in that circle – the information and wisdom that was shared!
Members of The Vagabonds in a Mastermind in 1921
A more recent entrepreneurial example of a high level mastermind at work is the Maverick 1000, made up of top entrepreneurs and disruptors from across the world, such as Richard Branson, Russell Simmons and Tim Ferriss of the 4 hour work week.
Richard Branson
Russell Simmons
Tim Ferriss
Another great example is a mastermind of Movie Directors, which included
George Lucas, Oliver Stone, Steven Spielberg and Brian De Palma.
They would often collaborate and share ideas together. One great example of what came from this is at the beginning of the Star Wars movies which
George Lucas directed.
When the print scrolls down the screen, as in the very first movie which made cinema history when it said
It became a trademark of Starwars.
It became a trademark of a generation.
What most people don’t know is George Lucas didn’t actually come up with that idea! It was Brian De Palma’s idea.
And it came up during a mastermind session amongst the group.
Think about that. One of the most famous, recognizable moments in the history of cinema never would have occurred if it wasn’t for the power of the mastermind.
What amazing idea might you possibly miss without the right Mastermind?
And the co-authors of Chicken Soup for the Soul, the top selling self help book in history, which has sold over 500,000,000, copies worldwide at this point.
Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield are very big proponents of the Mastermind Principle and have run masterminds of their own.
Jack Canfield
Mark Victor Hansen
Mitch with Mark Victor Hansen
Co-Author of Chicken Soup For The Soul