Gino Wickman (00:00):
And I had my a-ha moment where I looked around that table at those 11 set of eyeballs, and I said, "Wow, these guys are as fucked up as I am."
Rob Dube (00:22):
Hello, everyone. My name is Rob Dube and I am here with Gino Wickman. Hello, Gino.
Gino Wickman (00:28):
Hello, Rob.
Rob Dube (00:29):
What's happening? How you doing?
Gino Wickman (00:31):
What's happening? I'm feeling very thoughtful today, which means I'm full of thought.
Rob Dube (00:35):
I was going to say you look really good.
Gino Wickman (00:37):
Oh, thank you.
Rob Dube (00:38):
But now maybe you're looking thoughtful.
Gino Wickman (00:39):
Maybe thought looks good on me.
Rob Dube (00:41):
A fun topic today, finding your community.
(00:45):
So this came up because I frequently hear from people who are looking for a tribe, a community, their kinds of people. And I also notice that so many driven people are very independent. They've been able to make their way without a lot of support.
(01:05):
And what I've noticed is through a lot of the inquiries we receive for people wanting to join our True Self Mastermind is that people are actually looking for a group of like-minded high performers who are also on kind of an inner journey, a path of shedding what's no longer serving them so they can become their True Self. And so they want to grow, they want to be vulnerable, but they don't want to do it alone.
(01:32):
And of course, there's all kinds of powerful communities out there that have offerings like teachings and connection and even accountability. So for example, in our True Self Mastermind, I don't want this to sound like a commercial, it's just what I know, is that we have a unique group of driven people who have a big focus on their businesses and that success, but also deeply, deeply want to go inside and shed their stuff.
(02:00):
And so what ends up happening is when you put a group like that together, it's a pretty solid bond and it's really kind of hard to describe. I asked some people in our Mastermind to describe it and they said, "It's actually kind hard to describe the bond that you feel."
(02:13):
So I use that as our jumping off point and just curious if anything's coming up for you as always.
Gino Wickman (02:19):
Well, a whole bunch of stuff. I always love when we do these episodes I never know where you're going. I only know the topic that you send me. And so I saw the topic, finding community, again, and sometimes you're going somewhere else I did not think you were going to go, so I didn't know what to expect on this one.
(02:40):
I'll start with my experience, and my experience starts at age 22 with something called a mentor group that the family business was a term that was created and that's just a group of people coming together that kind of mentor each other. Mastermind is what's most common now for that. That's what Napoleon Hill called it. But lots of just peer groups, groups of peers coming together and there's lots of them out there. But for me, I have always been in some sort of a peer group.
(03:12):
And so it started with those mentor groups. I was in three different ones in my twenties, and there is no question it had a huge impact on my success being with like-minded people. That was in the real estate industry.
(03:27):
From there, I got involved in YEO, Young Entrepreneurs Organization, which is now EO, Entrepreneurs Organization, for eight years, which again was very profound with 12 peers, 11, 12 of us total all business owners, had a huge impact on my life at that point in time.
(03:46):
Then I got in Strategic Coach, still in Strategic Coach almost 30 years now. That peer group was very profound for me, had a huge impact on my life.
(03:55):
And then the EOS Worldwide, EOS Implementer Community, we come together every 90 days. It's like heaven, it's a giant love-in.
(04:02):
So my point is I am a big believer in peer groups and finding like-minded people and learning and growing together and there are lots of them out there. So I said EO, there's YPO, Vistage, I'm doing these Shine meetings I've talked about. Again, that's just for an exclusive group of people, a small group of people, but certainly we have our Mastermind.
(04:25):
It's funny because we have had a humorous conversation. We're coming out of our quarterly and it's how I won't sell it. I don't know what it is. It's not like I'm afraid to sell it, I just don't. You made the comment it seems like I sell everything else but our Mastermind. So I will say this, I take great pride in our Mastermind. I think it's very, very powerful. Almost every session is rated a 10. It's a pretty incredible thing. And so if those of you out there are interested in being with a group of driven people that want to free their True Selves, find inner peace, make a bigger impact on the world, increase your energy, that's the place to go.
(05:09):
But the point in all of that is whatever you choose out there, we can't do it alone in my opinion. And so there are rugged individualists out there that just don't play well with others and they do just fine. And so it's for you to decide are you the kind of person that wants to be in a peer group to learn and grow faster or are you someone that just doesn't play well with others? And I think at the end of the day, most of us are drawn to wanting to surround ourselves with peers and learn and grow faster.
(05:44):
So there's what comes to mind for me.
Rob Dube (05:46):
Yeah, I wanted to share also a little bit of my experience because I was also in YEO many years ago and I remember going in and thinking everybody is so successful in this group, and I think I was like 28 or something, and I thought everybody had their Masters of Business, MBA. I literally went in and thought every single person here has their MBA. And after the first meeting I realized nobody had their MBA. It was so refreshing for me and it was such a relief because it was the first time I realized that as an entrepreneur, as a driven person, you actually didn't have to have your MBA to be successful, which was something I was walking around with six years previously. It was this thing that got in my head at some point.
(06:35):
And so EO started, which it's now, as Gino mentioned it's now called EO, that started to open me up to be a bit more vulnerable. But I have to say I had my armor up for many years. I still was posturing and still showing more success than was really there, which I think for those of you driven people out there are listening maybe you can relate to that on some level.
(07:00):
After I sold my business, I found a community that's still very important to me, the Small Giants community, and I found that to be a group of super authentic people that really cared for the totality of their employees' lives and really purpose-driven leaders. So that's what happened with me.
(07:19):
I'm now excited to be running this Mastermind with Gino. Again, this sounds like a commercial, but it really isn't. It's coming from our hearts and to be able to facilitate that through what we've learned in these groups and then how we could do some things a little bit differently based on the content that we've written about in Shine and teach.
(07:42):
A thought that comes up for me, Gino, is how do you find what's right for you? If you're looking for your community, what are some of the things that you're thinking about at different times in your life? I know you've been in some groups that maybe didn't work so great for you, and I have as well where I kind of tried it out and said, "This group isn't for me. This community, it doesn't click."
Gino Wickman (08:08):
Yeah. Well, a couple thoughts. First I want to go back to something you said because you reminded me of something really funny, at least you'll be the judge of this out there. But when I joined YEO, I was one of the original 10 members in the Detroit chapter, now known as EO. Same thing. I went into that very intimidated, very insecure. I thought I was going to be surrounded by these people that just knew so much more than I did. And I was about six to 12 months in, and I have my a-ha moment where I looked around that table at those 11 set of eyeballs and I said, "Wow, these guys are as fucked up as I am." So it was just so beautiful to realize we are all just trying to figure it out.
(08:57):
And so if in any way you are nervous about joining a peer group because you feel that way, it's not so and so with that a-ha, quite frankly, that's how EOS was born because that was my a-ha in saying, "Wow, I know how to help these people. I'm going to spend the rest of my life helping these people." That's secondary to the a-ha that we're all trying to figure it out. And most of us have these facades that look like we've got it all figured out because that's what we need to put on for the world, and it's just not so.
(09:25):
And so now to get to your question, how do you find a group? What is the right group? I have been blessed that I haven't, maybe I got in one group. What really happens for me is I just outgrow them, and that sounds terrible, but I have such a strong belief that I teach everybody that will listen is that you will outgrow your peer groups. You will outgrow your mentors, you will outgrow in most cases. So for me, I just simply outgrew some of those groups. So it's not like it was the wrong group, it was the right group at the time, but I just outgrew it. And again, no discredit to anyone.
(10:06):
So when looking for a group of peers, again, I use the term like-minded, I look at it as think about where you want to be and surround yourself with people that are where you want to be or are going where you want to go, and whatever those words are that fill in that blank, that group exists. And if you can't find it, create it, go find four people and start a group of five, it'll be a beautiful thing. So just start with that. Where do you want to be? And then just find those like-minded people.
Rob Dube (10:37):
Yeah, that's good advice. I like that. I was thinking about the trajectory too. As I mentioned, when I got into EO, it was very surface level, very business oriented. But then I started to notice a shift where we started talking about some things that were going on in our personal life. It could be an issue with one of our kids or a family member, whatever it might be. And then what I started to notice is it evolved into some more deeper discussions about our own stuff. And that for me was where I was like, "This is what I actually really need. I need a group of people." That was just me.
(11:18):
So there are groups out there that can go beyond just the business surface, but there's also groups that are fully focused on maximizing success within your business. Just find the one that makes sense for you.
(11:33):
You mentioned there are people that go at it completely alone, and that just stirred my brain a little because when I was preparing, I had this feeling like, "God, everybody really should find their group. I mean, there's got to be a group for everybody." And you've had so many sessions with so many leaders and talked to so many people. What is the difference there for somebody who's just very, strong isn't the right word, just independent, not feeling like, "I need a community. I got it. I can figure this out," I guess?
Gino Wickman (12:08):
Yeah, I mean, I'll use me as an example because I'm pretty rebellious and I got to a place where I didn't feel like I needed a peer group per se that goes that deep. I had that all through my twenties, all through my thirties. And again, Strategic Coach is one of my peer groups and that's focused on something different. There's 50 of us in a room, so it's not as intimate. I found that I didn't need the accountability because I'm able to hold myself accountable. So for me, I just didn't, I'm not craving that level of intimacy because I have it in so many places in my life that I don't need it in a peer group.
(12:52):
So I don't think, I really believe that there are some people walking the earth, I don't know what percentage, but they just don't need it. In other words, they're going to be fine doing it on their own. It's like the research I did on successful entrepreneurs that have had a mentor and not had a mentor, and it's like 50/50, and the ones that didn't have a mentor were pretty successful. So it's not like you're going to fail if you don't have a peer group. It's just if you are seeking that, if that's something that's important to you, if you feel like that's something that's going to give you that advantage and help your growth, then that's for you. And if it's not, I don't think it's for everybody. My two cents, and I'm willing to be wrong on that.
Rob Dube (13:33):
No, I think that's your scientific study on humility, not humility, on mentors, having a mentor.
(13:44):
Well, one of the things when I was thinking about community, for whatever it's worth for anybody listening, is if you have a group of people that you are feeling comfortable enough to be fully authentic, fully your True Self or working towards becoming your True Self, I'm noticing a lot of benefits in that, and I've noticed that for my own self because you start to see who you really are. It gets deeper because they project back to you or they reflect back to you. Excuse me. And there's a sense of accountability there. I mean, I think if you have a group of people who are gentle, but maybe then there's a couple of people who are kind strong and just calling you out, I think there's something really special about that. Maybe you can even find it on your leadership team. I don't know.
(14:29):
So anyway, that's all I have to say about that. Gino, what else is coming up for you on this topic? Anything before we close it out?
Gino Wickman (14:38):
Rob, we've said it all, my friend. We've said it all.
Rob Dube (14:40):
I love when you say that. I feel at peace when you do.
(14:43):
Well, everyone, thanks again for joining us and we'll see you next time. As always, stay focused and much love.
Gino Wickman (14:50):
Thank you for listening in today. We truly appreciate you taking the time to spend with us, and please tune in for the next episode. Until then, we wish you all the best in freeing your True Self. Stay focused and much love.
