We have seen in a couple of other articles the benefits that accrue to members of a good Mastermind trading group, and some ideas on how to find and join a good Mastermind group. Having joined a Mastermind, how should you behave?
Most of your behavior should be guided by the principles of being a good neighbor. Supporting the community of the Mastermind group includes the following ideas:
1. Waching out for your neighbors, which means observing their trading style and commentary and offering them thoughtful feedback designed to help them in their trading practice.
2. Integrity: this is an element of good citizenship. Your advice comes from your best place. You speak the truth as you see it. When you offer research ideas or the results of analysis, you have actually done the research and have taken care with numbers, facts, and references. The principles of good scholarship apply here.
3. Observing and respecting boundaries: Masterminds are not families, although they have familial moments. They are professional gatherings of like minded individuals who share outlooks on the practice of trading which is intended to improve the way we earn a living. Now there may be some groups somewhere that purport to be Masterminds but are really social networks in disguise, either by intention or through lack of professional focus. If your goal is to be a professional trader you should move on to another group which shares your focus.
4. Pitching in to help those in need. Sometimes people will ask for help, and sometimes it is up to you to sense the need and respond even if the recipient doesn’t recognize the need yet. Respectful help is called for, perhaps even an intervention. But remember that horses can be led to water but may not want to drink and there is only so much you can do for people. Sometimes all you can do is make a good faith effort to show the way or share an insight.
5. Accepting good faith offers of help. In the same way, there will be times when people offer you advice and help that you may not see a need for, and you may consider this to be a breach of personal space or simply an insult. Give your mastermind members the benefit of the doubt in these cases and presume their intervention is coming from a good place and is intended to help you. Who knows, you just might be wrong and are being shown the way out of a dilemma you may not even recognize.
6. Accepting advice in the spirit it was intended: even if the truth can be hard to hear, or you disagree with the insights or recommendation, be grateful that the members of your Mastermind have your best interest in mind.
It is true that in the end, only you are responsible for all of your trading results. But it is also possible to find a great deal of comfort, insight, support and ideas inside your Mastermind. Cherish the connection to fellow traders and work hard to improve your own practice and the practice of others. Your diligence, patience and care will be rewarded in many ways.