You Are One Person Away: Why the Right Mastermind Group Changes Your Results
By Chris Diwo · Published 2026-11-12 · Updated 2026-11-15
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The fastest way to change your life is rarely a new plan. It is a new room.
Your room is stronger than your goals
Most of us believe change is a question of discipline. Set the goal, find the plan, push harder.
But look at how much of your life runs on the people around you. The way you talk about money, the size of what you think is possible, how you handle a bad week: you picked most of it up from the people you spend time with, and you never decided to.
The Short Answer
The people around you shape your habits, standards and sense of what is possible more than your goals do. A mastermind group is a small, regular group of people with similar ambitions who meet to share progress, solve problems and hold each other accountable. It works because it changes your environment, not just your plan. Often the distance between you and a big opportunity is one person, and a mastermind puts you in the room where that person is.
What I learned by paying for the room
I have learned this by paying for it, more than once. I have spent real money on total immersion events, where you live inside a topic for days with people who take it as seriously as you do. I have also paid to join masterminds.
The immersion events gave me a jump. You leave with a new level of energy, clarity and ideas.
The masterminds gave me something different and, for my daily life, more valuable: ongoing inspiration. A jump fades. A group that you meet again next month keeps pulling you forward. It raises what feels normal to you, week after week, and that is where lasting change comes from.
The people you want to become are not in your room
Here is the problem. The people you most want to learn from are rarely sitting next to you.
You want to build a business, and your friends have jobs. You want to grow a side project, and nobody around you has launched anything. You want more calm and more joy, and everyone you know is as busy and stressed as you are. They are good people. They simply cannot show you a version of life they have not lived.
So you do what most people do. You try to figure it out alone, from the outside, with books and videos. That works, slowly. It is also lonely, and it is very easy to quit.
Your environment is always shaping you. The only question is whether you chose it.
You are often one person away
In my experience, the distance between where you are and a big opportunity is often one person.
One person who has already done what you are trying to do and can show you the shortcut. One person who makes an introduction. One person who says “you should do that” at exactly the moment you needed to hear it. One person whose standard is so high that yours quietly rises to meet it.
You cannot plan for that person. You can only put yourself in rooms where that person exists. A mastermind is a room built for exactly that.
The mastermind I am building
That is why I am creating one. It is a simple monthly subscription where like-minded people come together, with live Q&A sessions at the center.
It is for:
Entrepreneurs who carry a business and want peers who understand the weight of it.
Hungry people who are not satisfied with where they are and want to be around others who feel the same.
People starting a side gig who need courage, ideas and accountability to take the first step.
Anyone who wants better results with more joy and less stress, and knows that willpower alone is not the way.
I built it the way I wanted the masterminds I joined to be: simple, regular and full of people who are going somewhere. No complicated programme. A room worth being in, every month.
What Is a Mastermind Group?
A mastermind group is a small group of people who meet regularly to help each other grow. Members share what they are working on, bring their biggest challenge, get honest input from the group and commit to a next step before the next meeting.
The idea is old. Napoleon Hill described it in 1937 in Think and Grow Rich: two or more minds working together in harmony towards a shared purpose. What has changed is how easy it has become to join one. Many masterminds now meet online, so the right people no longer need to live in your city.
A good mastermind has four things:
A clear focus, such as business, personal growth or leadership.
A regular rhythm, usually monthly or every two weeks.
People at a similar level of ambition, so everyone gives as much as they take.
Accountability: you say what you will do, and next time someone asks whether you did it.
Mastermind, Coaching or a Course: Which Do You Need?
Each one solves a different problem. Many people need more than one at different times.
| Mastermind | 1:1 coaching | |
|---|---|---|---|
Best for | Ongoing inspiration, ideas and accountability from peers | One specific change, worked on deeply | Learning a method at your own pace |
Who guides you | The group, with a host | One coach | Pre-recorded material |
How personal | Shared time, many perspectives | Fully personal | General |
Rhythm | Monthly, ongoing | Weekly or every two weeks, for a set period | Whenever you want |
What it changes | Your environment and your standards | A specific pattern or goal | Your knowledge |
A simple rule: if you know what you need to change and want focused support, choose coaching. If you want to understand the method first, start with the workshop or the online course. If you want people around you who keep pulling you forward month after month, choose a mastermind.
One Person Can Change Your Team, Too
Everything in this post applies at work.
Culture rarely changes because of a new values statement. It changes person by person. Research on social networks, such as the work of Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, has shown that behaviours and moods can spread through groups of people who are connected to each other. Inside a company, that means one calm, clear leader changes the meetings they sit in. One person who keeps learning makes it normal for others to learn. And one person who is constantly stressed can set the tone for a whole team.
For HR and leadership teams, three practical ideas follow:
Invest in the people others watch. Your informal role models shape behaviour more than any policy. Supporting them has a multiplier effect.
Build peer groups, not only training days. A small group of leaders who meet monthly to share real challenges keeps learning alive long after a workshop ends.
Start with state, not strategy. A leader who can handle their own stress makes clearer decisions and creates room for others to think. That shows up in the team before it shows up in the numbers.
Brain & Heart Solutions runs workshops for teams in Norway on stress, focus and leadership, and can help you set up a leadership peer group that lasts.
How to Choose a Mastermind Group: Five Questions to Ask
Not every group is worth your time or money. Ask these before you join:
Who else is in it? You want people who are going somewhere, at a similar level of ambition to you.
How often does it meet, and is the rhythm realistic for you? A group you skip does nothing.
Who hosts it, and what has that person done themselves?
What happens between meetings? Look for some form of accountability, not just a monthly call.
Can you leave easily? A monthly subscription with no long lock-in is a sign the host trusts the value.
Watch out for groups that promise guaranteed income, pressure you to decide on the spot, or are mostly a way to sell you something bigger.
Questions People Ask About Masterminds
What is a mastermind group?
A mastermind group is a small group of people with similar ambitions who meet regularly to share progress, solve problems together and hold each other accountable. The term comes from Napoleon Hill’s 1937 book Think and Grow Rich.
How does a mastermind group work?
Members meet on a fixed rhythm, often monthly. Each person shares progress and a current challenge, the group gives input, and everyone commits to a next step before the next meeting. Many groups also include live Q&A sessions with the host.
Is a mastermind worth it?
A mastermind is worth it when the people in it are a step ahead of you or as ambitious as you, and when you actually show up. The value comes from the ongoing environment, ideas and accountability, not from any single session.
What is the difference between a mastermind and group coaching?
In group coaching, the coach leads and teaches. In a mastermind, members learn mostly from each other, and the host guides the conversation. Many modern masterminds combine both, with peer sessions and live Q&A.
Is there a mastermind group for entrepreneurs in Oslo?
Yes. Chris Diwo is building a monthly mastermind for entrepreneurs, people starting a side business, and professionals who want better results with less stress. It is held in English. You can join the waitlist through my newsletter.
Can a company run a mastermind for its leaders?
Yes. An internal leadership peer group works on the same principles: a small group, a regular rhythm, real challenges and accountability. It keeps learning alive between training days. Brain & Heart Solutions can help set one up as part of a team workshop.
Join the Room
You do not have to figure this out alone, and it will take you longer if you try.
Join the waitlist through my newsletter and you will be first to hear when the first group opens.
Not sure yet? Book a 30-minute call
The mastermind is a peer group for learning and accountability. It is not therapy or medical treatment.
Chris Diwo is an NCS-certified consultant and coach based in Oslo, Norway, and the founder of Brain & Heart Solutions. He runs neuroscience-based workshops and coaching in English for people and teams.
