"Master Mind" and Mentors

(c)1988, David Humes

What is a "Master Mind?" I read the concept about eight years ago when reading Napoleon Hill's "The Master Key To Riches." In the book he tells how he performed a 20-year study and interviewed over 500 of the most successful men of that time, including Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, George Eastman, John D. Rockefeller, etc..

What he came up with is 17 principles common in all high achievers as part of his legendary encyclopedia "The Law of Success." One of these principles is the master mind principle. It basically states that we become like the people we associate with, and if I may add, the printed material we read and the things we watch and/or listen to.

Remember we have a choice. Without even considering the possible self-esteem degrading, negative programming or underachievement attitude repercussions, we can, by default, let people and outside factors, that are seldom looking out for our best interest, influence our thoughts. On the other hand, we can have the responsible attitude of "I am the master of my environment; not circumstances outside of myself, excepting only an act of the devil, war or government."

With this in mind, it becomes apparent that if we want to succeed in the music business in a big way, we must surround ourselves with highly successful people that are doing what it is that we want to be doing.

After defining the aspect of the music business we want to pursue, we can then make a list of our colleagues that we highly respect. We can't only associate with those more successful than us. But by understanding this principle, we can purposefully choose to associate with those more successful than us, rather than spending our lives with people that have chosen not to grow or that just want to consume our time with trivialities.

Spending your time with those below your level of competency or achievement will boost your ego, which can be great for self-esteem building when done occasionally, but it stifles growth when done exclusively. Spending your time with the people, books and tapes that can guide, teach and inspire you helps build character as well as success. Which brings me to your ultimate "Master Mind" group: mentors.

I strongly suggest you have at least one teacher, coach or mentor. We'll refer to him/her as "mentor." If you have a problem with using a mentor to emulate for the purpose of becoming more like him/her, i.e., afraid you might "lose" yourself or something; just remember that when you came into this life, you knew nothing. You had to learn everything from someone else. If anything, you'll be happier when you can more clearly define what you're trying to become.

There are many ways in which we can associate with our mentors without actually meeting them. For instance, we can read books and articles about them to get an idea of how they think. The way they think is the way we need to think if we desire to achieve a level of accomplishment similar to theirs. Musicians can get stupendous insight from their mentors by watching videotapes of their performances and instructional "clinic" presentations. Attending live clinics is a great way to meet your mentor(s) and possible candidates for your "Master Mind."

Do you want to become like the people with whom you're associating with now? If your answer is yes, great! I'll see you at the top! If your answer is no, you may need to reevaluate your choice of who you're investing your time with. Remember, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got." Your chosen "Master Mind" and mentor(s) will have a stupendous impact on your future success or failure.