People often ask us how we stay connected to folks when we are traveling around so much.  “It’s simple I say, the same way you do.” Then they proceed to give me a weird look.  I ask them, do you have to call your friends and plan a time to get together or go do something?  Do you have to make reservations or buy tickets to an event you want to go to?  You still have to have conversations with folks and make plans to do things together, we are just more intentional about it than most.  You see one of the things we believe in is surrounding yourself with folks who will bring you up, not down.  So sometimes to do this we aren’t just looking for those folks in our proximity, but instead are focused on growing and have some common interests together.

With this in mind, every year we are involved in at least one mastermind group, sometimes 2 depending on the things we are working on in our business or learning.  One of our favorite mastermind groups is KREI.  This is a mastermind for christian real estate investors.  

We have had the tremendous blessing of getting to meet and know amazing people all across this country that we never would have had we not been intentional about our learning and experiencing life.  Masterminds work differently.  Some are designed to be learning platforms, while others are designed to be in person networks, and some are hybrids of both of those things.  But the premise is usually the same, a group of people who may not know each other come together for a common purpose.  

Our KREI group started out meeting virtually monthly, then we started having in person meetings 2-3 times a year, then we have weekly calls and prayer groups and accountability partners.  While each mastermind group may not incorporate all these things, they may morph into what the group needs more versus what was originally planned.  With that being said, giving feedback to the leadership is crucial to making sure things get done that benefit the whole group, not just 1 or 2 that are giving feedback.  The mastermind group you picked today may not be the one you stay with for 5 years in a row, but you do want to pay attention to what your needs are either personally or for the business and if the group is addressing those.  One of the masterminds I joined was the Raisemaster’s group by Hunter Thompson.  He did a phenomenal job of teaching and implementing, but for us, it was only needed for a season.  We still keep in touch with many folks from that group, as you develop lifelong friendships from there, but we don’t need to stay in the mastermind beyond 1 year.  

So when we travel to different areas, we are blessed to have friends and family throughout the whole country so it is easy to find someone to connect with while we are there.  Plus being able to see them more than just hearing them on a phone call is so much more of a powerful connection for both us and them.  Consequently, when we are back in the PNW for the summers our time is packed with getting togethers with friends and family, and hiking and river adventures.  If we go to an area where we don’t know anyone, we will reach out to some of our different mastermind groups and see if they know someone who is in the area we need to meet.  Quite often there are and it is a great networking opportunity to meet amazing people.  

Now I really better get on that plane and get to Los Angeles, or I will miss out on an opportunity to meet new folks.