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A Mastermind Group Can Catapult Your Progress

Dr. M. Woodruff Johnson- www.trade2win.com/articles

 The price action moved steadily upward on the 5 minute Russell E-mini chart. At that moment

Stacey sighed heavily as she was in a short which was prompted by a level upon level supply

zone that she had identified on the 60 minute time frame. She had placed her stop just above

the top zone’s line amounting to 3 points. She had faith in her trade plan, but the price action

seemed to be of another mind. It was perilously close to stopping her out. She couldn’t help butthink about the many times that the price action hit her stop, took her out, then retraced to go

on and hit the planned target leaving her behind and bemoaned. But, she also remembered the

many other times when she gave in to the anxiety that acted like a pressure cooker in her chest

till she couldn’t take it anymore and moved or removed her stop only to incur drastic

consequences.

 Just then Stacey took a deep breath and called her trading buddy Cathy. They were in a

mastermind group together. Cathy and Stacey traded some of the same instruments and as well

they had done some extensive work on their mental game vowing to be there for one another

and for the other members in the community they had formed. Cathy could see that the call was

from Stacey and quickly answered her phone…even though she was in a trade and would

otherwise not have allowed herself to be distracted. Stacey quickly shared with Cathy what she

was facing in the trade. Cathy then asked Stacey: “What matters most in this trade Stacey,

following your plan and your rules, or giving in to the urge and throwing your A-Game out of the

window?” It only took a moment for Stacey to be reengaged with what was most important in

that moment…following through with her plan and rules. She thanked Cathy and said good bye.

Stacey was able to endure the discomfort of her anxiety as she documented the trade and the

phone exchange in her Thought Journal. Moments later she noticed that the price action had hit

her stop and she was out of the trade. Rather than feeling dejected, she felt empowered by the

private victory she had in holding her ground and resisting the urge to violate her rules. She

then whispered another thank you to Cathy and she was grateful for the relationship that hadbeen formed through their mutual “learning community.”

Having and being a part of a learning community or mastermind group can be a real power

house to your trading. A community is positive and powerful in many ways. It fosters a common

sense of direction, objectives and aims; and, it can be very helpful in supporting personal

responsibility and accountability. Community can also assist its members in forging a greater

commitment to trade planning and following through with rules due to the team spirit and

emotional bonding that takes place. One way that this can happen is the personal connections

that are encouraged because they evoke a richer, more involved sense of “selves.”

Community comes from the Indo-European word mei meaning “change or exchange” andostensibly was joined with another root kom meaning “with” to form kommein meaning “shared

by all.” The ideas of “change and exchange” and “shared by all” are powerful precursors to

personal and collective learning and development that are so important and necessary to the

evolution of peak performance trading. It creates cooperation and reliable interdependence

which at its core are building blocks of the type of synergy (the sum of the parts are greater than

the whole) that can propel the growth of the community members. There is a common purpose

that stems from articulated values of the trading process; and this leads to greater positive

results. Additionally, it becomes a practice field for skill building, which is another core principle

to any endeavor that is performance oriented. The community also holds opportunities for

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specific and valuable contributions from its members that further cement its value and again

produces increased performance. When this happens, it also provides sustainability to the

endeavor and elevates a shared vision of success for all based upon traders living up to their

personal and collective commitments.

 There are several core processes that can support a learning community or mastermind group;

i.e., Capability, Commitment, Contribution, Continuity, and Collaboration.

Capability – a focus on members’ skills so that those strong in one area can complement thosewho aren’t and vice versa. The group also must encourage learning and improvement among its

members as a “collective” undertaking. Everyone’s improvement is everybody’s business. They

must care about one another and care about being the best that they can be. They must have or

develop the capacity for dialogue; i.e., open and honest feedback and sharing of ideas.

Commitment – commitment to the team builds when people are an active part of the experience

of creating something they value together. Looking at common problems through the prism of 

positive feedback and support will not only empower the group it will also act as an emotional

camaraderie to help bond the group further.

Contribution – it is imperative that all members be willing to contribute; i.e., time, effort,leadership, skills, intellectual and emotional honesty, and enthusiasm.

Continuity – learning communities can’t survive without some measure of continuity.

Memorializing through documentation and stories can help with this. In other words, the

masterminds institutional memory must be both written and carried person-to-person.

Master mind is important business and as new members come into the fold they need to be

helped to understand their responsibilities, and the practices of the learning community. In this

way both continuity and sustainability can be addressed. If one person (perhaps a leader) moves

on the others retain the history, vision, and values of the community. When a new leader

emerges the community doesn’t have to start over.

Collaboration – developing reliable interdependence is the essence of effective collaboration.

“All for one and one for all” may sound storybook but this is the kind of attitude that will foster

collaboration that is meaningful, purposeful, relevant and substantive. Effective collaboration

means that there is a sense of interpersonal reliability…you can count on me and I can count on

you. It is achieved through common goals, genuine relationship, a shared vision and a belief in

the common cause that formed the initial impetus for the community’s coming together.

Across the planet some of the most stunning achievements in all manner of endeavors have had

at their core a mastermind group, a learning community. Team efforts work across the board,

not just in sports. Trading is a 100% mental game and if you have a caring, strong, effective andcommitted support community behind you and you behind them, then you become more caring,

strong, effective and committed. It’s about doing what it takes to develop your A-Game and then

bringing that A-Game to your platform and keeping it there during all of your trading session.