Alisha here I joined a mastermind recently… and I’m here to dish on ALL the details!  

Full disclosure: I’m not someone who believes in these, I generally think they’re overhyped, especially the ones who are led by a person of influence/celebrity (like mine is). 

I joined this mastermind for two primary reasons:

1. When they say you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. So I’ve been (organically) looking for new rooms to put myself in, without much luck. When this opportunity presented itself, I thought the timing of it (on the heels of a lawsuit in the staffing company) was great timing to make the leap. 

2. The leader of this mastermind, Sophia Amaruso, is a business person I have followed for over a decade, whose journey is full of vulnerability, and whose resilience I admire. I knew she would have knowledge that I needed to get (both) businesses to the next level. 

With that said, I committed to a 6-month journey alongside 5 other women, including an in-person retreat in Los Angeles. The retreat happened last week and in total, we’re about 4 months into things. So, being that we’re at the halfway point, here’s my reflection and what I want to share with you all: 

• This is exactly what I needed, when I needed it. The months between April and June were some of the most challenging (personally and professionally) that I have endured. Joining a space with supportive, knowledgeable, and sophisticated business owners has been an antidote to the chaos I dealt with during those months. 

• I am already better for this. It’s intimidating to enter a space where you may be the most novice or to share vulnerable stories about what’s happening in your business, but it also has made me stronger and more resilient. After enduring one of the hardest periods professionally (being sued in our staffing business), I now have knowledge I can share too. 

• Sophia is the real deal. It would be easy for a person with influence to oversell themselves or under-deliver on their presence in a group setting. Not the case with Sophia. She is as present, as transparent, and as helpful as anyone else in the group. She leads when necessary and also defers when she doesn’t know an answer. She doesn’t try to overinflate herself but also is present for all the convos. 

I can say, pretty unequivocally, that my mind has been changed about masterminds after this experience.

While I will still remain skeptical, I am open to them (including staying in this one). And so I am hopeful you will take my journey in this as a lesson for you to consider things you may have otherwise overlooked, as an opportunity to learn or grow yourself while also lending knowledge and development to others.