ContentsForewordbyDominicO’Brien

Preface

Introduction:WhyIsThisBookNeeded?

1.WhatIsaMindMap?

2.HowtoMindMap

3.WhatIsNotaMindMap?

4.SolutionFinding

5.TheInfiniteApplicationsofMindMaps

6.TheFutureofMindMapping

Resources

Acknowledgements

ForewordIhavebeenusingMindMappingformanyyears.Today,Itraveltheworld,teachingbusinessprofessionals,publicfiguresandentireaudiencestoimprovetheirmemoryandcognitiveabilityintheirpersonalandprofessionallives.However,asachildIwasdiagnosedwithdyslexiaandIbelieveIhadchallenges–andstilldotosomedegree–withattention.IhavefoundthatMindMappingisagreatforcetowardoffthedistractionofAttentionDeficitDisorder.Inshort,ithelpsmestayontrack.

MindMapsarepowerfultoolsforfocusingandprocessinginformation,formulatingaplanofactionandgettingstartedonnewprojects.Infact,MindMappingisahugeguidinghandineveryaspectoflife–andIcan’trecommendithighlyenough!

Aswellasgivingreadersthemeanstotransformtheirownlives,Tony’snewbook,MindMapMastery,willwelcomethemintoalivelyglobalcommunity.ThestoriesandexamplesshowhowMindMappingisaworldwidephenomenonthatispractisedbyalltypesofpeople.Theonethingtheyhaveincommonisthattheyarepassionateaboutthebenefitsofthisthinkingtoolandgoontoshareitwithothers.

IremainimmenselygratefultoTonyforinventingtheMindMap,andwouldrecommendhisnewbooktoanybodywhowantstoimprovetheirthinkingandachieveMindMapmasterythemselves.

DominicO’Brien,eight-timeWorldMemoryChampionandbestsellingauthor

Preface

“I’mlookingforbooksaboutusingthebrain.”

“Tryoverthere,”thelibrariansaid,gesturingtowardashelfofbooks,“inthemedicalsection.”

“No,”Ireplied,“I’vealreadygonethroughthosetitlesandI’venodesiretooperateonmybrain;Ijustwanttolearnhowtouseit.”

Thelibrarianlookedatmeblankly.“I’mafraidtherearen’tanybooksaboutthattopic,”shesaid.“Onlythetextbookswehavehere.”

Iwalkedawayfeelingfrustratedandastonished.Inmysecondyearatuniversity,Iwassearchingfornewwaystocopewithanincreasedacademicworkload,asmystudymethodssimplyweren’tyieldingtheresultsIwasafter.Infact,themorenotesItook,theworseIseemedtodo.WhileIhadyettoappreciatethetruelimitsoflinearthinking,thatdayIrealizedmyso-calledprobleminfactrepresentedanincredibleopportunity.Iftherewerenobooksabouthowtousethebrain,thenherewasanareawithextraordinarypotentialforresearch.

Overtheyearsthatfollowed,Istudiedpsychologyandthegeneralsciences,neurophysiology,neurolinguisticsandsemantics,informationtheory,memoryandmnemonictechniques,perceptionandcreativethinking.Icametounderstandtheworkingsofthehumanbrainandtheconditionsthatallowittoperformatitsbest.

Ironically,myresearchalsohighlightedtheflawsinmyownstudymethods,asitgraduallydawnedonmethatmylecturenoteswereword-based,monotonicandboring;ifanything,theirlinearformatofferedanincrediblyeffectivewayoftrainingmyselftobestupid!Practicemakesperfect:ifyoupractiseperfectly,yourpracticemakesyouperfect.However,ifyoupractisebadly,practicemakesyouperfectlybad.WhenIbegantopractisemoreandmorelinear,monotonicnotetaking,Ibecamemoreandmoreperfectlystupid!Iurgentlyneededtochangebothmythinkingandmyactions.

changebothmythinkingandmyactions.

Bystudyingthestructureofthebrain,IfoundthebreakthroughIwassearchingfor.Thefactthatwepossessaminimumof100billionbraincells,eachoneofwhichcontributestoourthinking,inspiredme.Ifounditenthrallingthateachoftheseneuronshastentaclesradiatingoutfromthecell’scentrelikethebranchesofatree,andIrealizedthatIcouldmakeuseofthismodeldiagrammaticallytocreatetheultimatethinkingtool.

ThisprovedtobeamajorcontributiontothedevelopmentofRadiantThinking(seepage33),whichinturnhelpedleadtothebirthoftheMindMap.

Atitssimplest,aMindMapisanintricatediagramthatmirrorsthestructureofabraincellwithbranchesreachingoutfromitscentre,evolvingthroughpatternsofassociation.However,sinceitsinceptioninthemid-1960s,theMindMaphasprovedtobemuchmorethananexcellentmeansofnotetaking:itisanefficientandprofoundlyinspiringwaytofeedourstarvingminds,intellectsandspirits.Ithasdevelopedexponentiallyand,asyouwillseeinthisbook,canbeappliedinmanyways–fromnurturingcreativityandstrengtheningmemorytohelpingfightdementia.

Overtheyears,theMindMaphasbeenmisunderstoodbysomeandmisrepresentedbyothers,yetmyvisionpersistsofaworldinwhicheverychildandadultunderstandswhataMindMapis,howitworks,andhowitcanbeappliedtoallaspectsoflife.

ThisbookaimstoshowyouhowagoodMindMapcanfeedyouasanindividual,andhowtheMindMapitselfcontinuestogrow,expandandevolveinordertotacklethenewchallengesweallfaceonthisplanet.

Andnow,asweadvanceintothe21stcentury,theMindMapcanbeaccessedandutilizedinnewformsthatmirrorourburgeoningnewtechnicalpossibilities.MindMapscanstillbehanddrawn,ofcourse,buttheycanalsobegeneratedbycomputerprogram,theyareavailableonline,theyhavebeentracedintheArcticsnow,theyhaveadornedthesidesofmountainsandtheycanevenbeetchedbydronesinthesky.

Joinmeinthisgreatadventureandpreparetoradiateyourmentalpowerfarbeyondanythingyouhaveeverexperiencedbefore!

TONYBUZAN

Introduction

WhyIsThisBookNeeded?

AMindMapisarevolutionarythinkingtoolthat,whenmastered,willtransformyourlife.Itwillhelpyouprocessinformation,comeupwithnewideas,strengthenyourmemory,getthemostoutofyourleisuretimeandimprovethewayyouwork.

IdevisedtheMindMapinitiallyasaninnovativeformofnote-takingthatcanbeusedinanysituationwherelinearnoteswouldnormallybetaken,suchasattendinglectures,listeningtotelephonecalls,duringbusinessmeetings,carryingoutresearchandstudying.However,itquicklybecameclearthatMindMapscanalsobeusedforground-breakingdesignandplanning;forprovidinganincisiveoverviewofasubject;forinspiringnewprojects;foruncoveringsolutionsandbreakingfreefromunproductivewaysofthinking,amongmanyotherthings.Inthisbook,youwillcomeacrossinnumerableexcitingapplicationsforMindMaps.Theycanevenbeusedasanexerciseintheirownrighttogiveyourbrainaworkoutandboostyourpowersofcreativethinking.

InMindMapMastery,youwilldiscoverhowMindMappingcanhelpyouaccessyourownmultipleintelligencesandrealizeyourtruepotential.Thepracticalexercisesinthisbookaredesignedtotrainyouinthisexpansivewayofthinking,andyouwilldiscoverthetruestoriesofotherpeople,includingmasterMindMappersandworld-renownedexpertsandpioneersintheirfields,whoseliveshavebeenradicallytransformedbyMindMapping.

Yourbrainisasleepinggiant,andMindMapMasteryisheretohelpwakeitup!

ANewWayofThinkingWhenIintroducedMindMapstotheworldinthe1960s,littledidIsuspectwhatlayahead.Inthepreliminarystagesofmyresearchintohumanthinking,IusedanearlyprototypeofMindMappingtoimprovemystudies.Thiswasaformof

anearlyprototypeofMindMappingtoimprovemystudies.Thiswasaformofnote-takinginwhichIcombinedwordsandcolours.ItevolvedwhenIstartedtounderlinethekeywordsinmynotesandrealizedtheymadeuplessthan10percentofwhatIhadwrittendown.Yetthesekeywordsunlockedcoreconcepts.ThroughmystudyoftheancientGreeks,IknewIneededtofindasimplewaytomakeconnectionsbetweenthekeywordssothattheycouldbeeasilymemorized.

TheancientGreeksdevelopedanumberofelaboratememorysystemsthatenabledthemtoperfectlyrecallhundredsandthousandsoffacts.Thesesystemsreliedonthepowerofimaginationandassociationtomakeconnectionsthrough,forexample,themethodofloci.ThiswasoneofthetechniquesinventedbytheancientGreekstoimprovetheirmemoriesandisalsoknownastheMemoryJourney,theMemoryPalaceortheMindPalaceTechnique(seebox,right).

Icameacrossthemethodoflociduringmyresearchintohumanthoughtprocesses,butIhadbeenunwittinglyintroducedtoanothermnemonicmethodintheveryfirstminutesofmyveryfirstdayatuniversity.ThiswastheMajorSystem–aphoneticmethoddevelopedbytheGermanwriterandhistorianJohannJustWinckelmann(1620–99).Inthefirstlectureofmyuniversityterm,asardonicprofessor,builtlikeabarrelwithtuftsofredhairsproutingfromhishead,walkedintothelectureroomand,handsclaspedbehindhisback,proceededtocallouttherollofstudentsperfectly.Ifsomebodywasabsent,hecalledouttheirname,thenamesoftheirparents,andthestudent’sdateofbirth,phonenumberandhomeaddress.Whenhehadfinished,helookedatuswitharaisedeyebrowandaslightsneer.Hedespisedhisstudents,buthewasamarvellousteacher–andIwashooked.

HowtoBuildaMemoryPalace

AccordingtotheRomanoratorCicero(106–43BCE),thespatialmemorizationtechniqueknownasthemethodofloci(orplaces,fromtheLatinloci)wasdiscoveredbyaGreeklyricpoetandsophos(wiseman)calledSimonidesofCeos(c.556–c.468BCE).

InhisdialogueDeOratore,CicerodescribeshowSimonidesattendeda

banquettoperformapoeminhonourofthehost.Shortlyafterperformingthepoem,hewascalledoutsideandwhilehewasgonetheroofofthebanquetinghallsuddenlycollapsed,crushingtheothergueststodeath.Someoftheirbodiesweremangledbeyondrecognition,whichwasagreatconcern,astheyneededtobeidentifiedinordertoreceivetheproperburialrites.Simonides,however,wasabletoidentifythedeadbydrawingonhisvisualmemoryofwhereeachoftheguestshadbeenseatedaroundthebanquettable.

Fromthisexperience,Simonidesrealizedthatanyonecouldimprovetheirmemorybyselectinglocationsandformingmentalimagesofthethingstheywishedtoremember.Iftheimageswerestoredinthevisualizedplacesinaparticularorder,itwouldthenbepossibletorememberanythingthroughthepowerofassociation.TheresultingmethodoflociwasdescribedinanumberoftherhetoricaltreatisesofancientGreeceandRome,andisbetterknowntoustodayastheMemoryPalace.

When,afterthatfirstlecture,Iaskedhimhowhe’dmanagedtoperformsuchanextraordinaryfeatofmemory,herefusedtotellme,simplysaying,“Son,I’magenius.”Itestedhimforthenextthreemonthsuntilonedayhedecidedtoletusinonhissecret,andtaughtustheMajorSystem.Thismnemonictechniqueusesasimplecodethatconvertsnumbersintophoneticsounds.Thesoundscanthenbeturnedintowords–andthewordstransformedintoimageswithwhichtofurnishaMemoryPalace.

Mynewmethodofnote-takingdrewuponmygrowingunderstandingofmnemonicsystemsandradicallysimplifiedthepracticeoftheancientGreeksbyusingcolourtoforgelinksbetweeninterrelatedconcepts.WhileithadyettoevolveintoafullyfledgedMindMap,itwasalreadymarkedlymoreeffectivethanstraightforwardlinearnote-taking,whichbycomparisonwasmonochromatic,monotoneandmonotonous–withtheresultstomatch.Ifyouaremakingnotesusingonlyblueorblackink,theeffectoftheprintonthepageisbydefaultboring,whichmeansyourbrainwilltuneout,dialdownandeventuallygotosleep.Allofwhichexplainswhy“sleepingsickness”oftenplaguesstudyhalls,librariesandmeetings!

Pleasedwiththesuccessofmynewmethod,Ibegantotakeonpupilsasahobby

andcoachtheminmytechnique.Manyofmypupilshadbeenlabelledasacademicfailuresanditwasrewardingtowatchthemquicklystarttoimprovetheirgradesandoutperformtheirpeers(seebox,right).

TheNextStepsDuringthesubsequentstagesofmydevelopmentofMindMaps,Ibegantothinkinmoredetailaboutthehierarchythatgovernsourpatternsofthinking,andIrealizedthatthereare

keyideas➡keykeyideas➡keykeykeyideas

Buzzingabout“BuzanDiagrams”

JezzMoorewasastrugglingcollegestudentwhenheattendedalectureonanewmethodoflearningcalled“BuzanDiagrams”.Thelecturerexplainedhowtowritedownatopicinthecentreofthepageandfilltheareaarounditwith“keywords”and“prompts”thatwerestrungtogetherwithconnectinglines,therebydispensingwiththeneedtomemorizeelaboratelists.Jezzwasstunnedbyhowsimpleyeteffectivethismethodwas.Frombeinganacademicunderachiever,hewentontoreadeconomicsandpoliticsatuniversityand,afterpost-graduatestudiesincorporatefinance,gainedaMasterofBusinessAdministration(MBA).

Someyearslater,hefoundhimselfatarowingclubsupper.Thesubjectoflearningandeducationcameup,andJezz–fuelledbyhispassionforthetechniquethathadtransformedhisstudies,aswellasaglassortwoofwine–begantolecturetheguestsittingnexttohimonhow“beingcleveriseasy”.Invitinghisfellowguesttointerruptifhewasgoingtoofast,heexplainedhowthetechniqueworkedandhelpfullysketchedadiagramonapapernapkin:“Thereyouhaveit…BuzanDiagrams.”Amomentlapsedbeforetheguestsaid,“YoudorealizeIamTonyBuzan?”

Iwasdelightedtohearfirst-handhowmynote-takingmethodshadhelpedchangeJezz’slife;andJezzandIhavesincebecomethebestoffriends.Intheyearsthatfollowed,IusedMindMappingtechniquestohelpJezzcoach

theyearsthatfollowed,IusedMindMappingtechniquestohelpJezzcoachathleteswhowentontorowforGreatBritainandtobecomeOlympicmedallists.

Inthisway,IdiscoveredthepowerofRadiantThinking,whichIwillexplaininmoredetailinChapter1(seepage33).Asmyunderstandinggrew,IgraduallybegantobuildupthearchitectureoftheMindMapusingconnectionssuchasarrows,codesandcurvinglines.ApivotalmeetingwiththetalentedAustralianlandscapeartistLorraineGillhelpedmeformulatethenextsteps,asshechallengedmetoreappraisetherolethatpicturesandcoloursplayedwithintheMindMap’sstructure.HerinsightsinspiredthewaysinwhichimageryisusedinMindMapstoday.

WhenIcomparedmyevolvingtechniqueswithnotesmadebyhistoricalfiguressuchastheRenaissanceartistsLeonardodaVinci(1452–1519)andMichelangelo(1475–1564),andscientistssuchasMadameCurie(1867–1934)andEinstein(1879–1955),Ifoundsomeinterestingparallelsinthewaysinwhichtheyusedpictures,codesandinterconnectinglines:theirwordsanddiagramsexplodeinalldirectionsacrossthepage,freetoroaminwhicheverdirectiontheirthoughtshappentotake,ratherthanremaininggluedtoastraighthorizontalline.(Seealso“AShortHistoryoftheThinkingBehindMindMaps”,page42.)However,thereal-lifeexperiencesofmygrowingnumberofstudents,clientsandcolleaguessuggestedthatthetechniquesIwasdevelopingweresoaccessible,theycouldhelppeoplefromallwalksoflife:youdidn’thavetobeaworld-classgeniusmakingground-breakingdiscoveriestobenefitfromthem.

MindMapsareanalyticalinthesensethatyoucanusethemtosolveanyproblem.Throughtheuseofassociatedlogic,MindMapsdelverighttotheheartofthematter.Theyalsoallowyoutoseethebiggerpicture.Theyareontheonehandmicrocosmicandontheothermacrocosmic.

KeepingItNaturalIdescribedinthePrefacehow,duringthecourseofmyresearch,Iwasstruckbytheshapeofabraincellitself:notesjotteddownindiagramformoftenseemed,albeitunwittingly,tomimictheorganicstructureofaneuron,withconnectingbranchesreachingfromanucleus.

WhileIwasmullingthisover,Iwouldgoforlongwalksinnature,wheremy

WhileIwasmullingthisover,Iwouldgoforlongwalksinnature,wheremythoughtsandimaginationfeltmuchfreertowander.Itdawnedonmethataswehumansarepartofnature,ourthinkingandnote-takingoughttoreflectnaturetooinsomeway:weshouldreflectthelawsofnatureinallourhumanfunctioning,especiallywhenitcomestoputtingoutsidethebrainwhatisfoundwithinit.

Igraduallydevelopedmytechniquesintoathinkingtoolthatcouldbeappliedtoawholerangeofhumandailyactivities,andthatwouldmirrorthecreativityandradianceofourthoughtprocesses.TheresultwasthefirsttrueMindMap.

ConventionalNote-takingvsMindMappingTheboxbelowshowsthekeycharacteristicsoflinearnote-takingsetagainstthoseofMindMapping.

ConventionalNote-taking MindMapping

Linear Multi-faceted

Monochrome Colourful

Word-based Wordscombinedwithpictures

Listedlogic Associatedlogic

Sequential Multidimensional

Restrictive Imaginative

Disorganized Analytical

GoingForwardToday,peopleallaroundtheglobearefamiliarwiththeconceptofMindMapping.InadditiontoMindMappingconferences,WorldMindMappingChampionshipshavebeenheldintheUK,Singapore,Chinaandmanyothercountries.DuringtheChampionships,variousdisciplinesaretested.Competitorsare,forexample,invitedtocreateMindMapswhilelisteningtoalectureonanunfamiliarsubject,oronasettext.Theresultsarethenmarkedaccordingto20differentcriteria,suchastheimpactoftheimagery,theuseofhumour(forinstance,throughpuns),theattractivenessoftheMindMapanditsoriginality,andwhetheritobeysthefundamentalprinciplesofMindMapping.

WiththespreadoftheMindMapandtheresultingimprovedglobalmentalliteracy,itcouldbeassumedthatthecaseforMindMappingisallwrappedupbynow–thattheMindMapisprotectedandsecure,andthereislittlemoretobesaidaboutit.Yetsadlythatisnotthecase.

Whileitistruethattherehavebeensomewonderfulrealizationsofmyoriginaldreamthateveryman,womanandchildshoulddiscoverthebenefitsofMindMapping,therehavealsobeensomeproblems.Overrecentdecades,theMindMaphasattimesbeenmisunderstoodandmisappropriatedbythosewhopurporttobetrainedteachersintheartofMindMapping,butwhoseunderstandingoftheprocessturnsouttobefundamentallyflawed,andwhosepracticethereforedoesn’tfollowthekeyLawsofMindMappingthatyouwillfindinChapter2(seepage60).WheneverMindMappingismistaught,IbelievethereisariskthatultimatelythepurityandpoweroftheMindMapitselfwillbecompromised.

Fortunately,however,theMindMapisarobustentity.Itis,afterall,anevolutionaryformofthinking,perfectlyadaptedtotherequirementsofourdigitalage–andbeyond.

HowtoUseThisBookMindMapMasterywillshowyouhowtousethispowerfultoolinyourownlifewhereverittakesyou.Thisbookisstructuredsothatyoucanreaditfromcovertocoverandalsokeepdippingintoitasanongoingsourceofreference:

Chapter1:WhatIsaMindMap?willintroduceyoutothekeyprinciplesunderlyingtheMindMap,settingoutitsessentialingredientsandexplainingwhyMindMappingworks.ThischapteralsosketchesabriefhistoryoftheMindMapfromearlycivilizationtotoday.

Chapter2:HowtoMindMapofferspracticalexercises,usefultipsandtraininginhowtouseMindMappingeffectively.ItsetsouttheLawsofMindMappingandlooksatpracticalapplicationsforMindMapsineverydaylife,includingathome,work,ineducationandforcreativity,wellbeingandmemory.

Chapter3:WhatIsNotaMindMap?clearsupsomecommonmisconceptionsaboutwhattheMindMapisandwhatitisn’t,andaimstotackle

anyconfusionsurroundingthisincredibletool.

Chapter4:SolutionFindingconsiderswhichstepstotakeifyouaretryingtocreateMindMapsbutstillcan’tseemtomakethemworkforyou.IttacklesrelatedissuessuchasMindMappingandindecision,andoffersMindMappingworkouts.

Chapter5:TheInfiniteApplicationsofMindMapsexplainstheincrediblescopeofMindMapsandhowtheycanbeusedatamoreadvancedlevel.ItoffersfurtherguidanceandinspiringinsightsintohowtouseMindMapsininnovativewaystotransformyourownlife.

Chapter6:TheFutureofMindMappingconsidersMindMappinginadigitalageanditsrelationshipwithArtificialIntelligence,whilelookingtowardthefuture.

IcannotimaginemylifewithoutMindMaps.Iusethemeveryday,whetherI’mlecturing,planningmyweekorwritingarticlesandbooks!TheyhavechangedmyworldinmorewaysthanIcouldeverhaveconceivedpossible.IbelievethatMindMapMasterycandothesameforyoutoo.

Forthoseofyouwhoarecompletelynewtothistechnique,youareabouttodiscoveranamazingtoolwiththepotentialtoblowyourmind!ForthoseofyouwhoarealreadyfamiliarwithMindMapping,whilethisbookmakesnoclaimstoreinventthewheelofMindMaps,itwillsurelyputsomepowerfulnewtyresonitandtakeyouplacesyou’dneverimagined.

It’snowtimetosetoutonyourownMindMappingadventureanddiscovertheincrediblepowerofyourbrain…

2HowtoMindMap

UnlockthePotentialofYourBrain

Unlikeothertypesofvisualtool,MindMappingunlockstheincrediblepotentialofthebrainbyengagingthefullrangeofcorticalskills,fromtherationalandnumericaltotheimaginativeandinventive.AgoodMindMapprovidesanarenainwhichtobrainstormcreativelyusingacombinationofwordsandimages.Infact,MindMapsarebetterthanthis,astheyencourage“brainblooming”throughthecombinedpowersoftheimaginationandassociation,creatingtheperfectconditionsforaproliferationofideas–andthemoreideasyougenerate,thebettertheiroverallqualityislikelytobe.MindMappingwillbroadenthehorizonsofyourthinkingandwillofferyouthemeanstoboostyourmentalaccuracy,insight,creativityandfreedomofthought.

Inthedecadessincetheirfirstintroduction,MindMapshavebeenadoptedbyhundredsofmillionsofpeoplearoundtheworldinordertomaximizetheefficientuseoftheirbrainpower.Theireffectivenesshasbeenconfirmedbynumerousscientificandpsychologicalstudies,andtheyhaveproventhemselvestobearemarkablyversatiletool.AswewilldiscoverinChapter5,aMindMapcanbeusedinabsolutelyanyaspectoflifewhereimprovedlearningandclearerthinkingwillenhanceperformance.

Askyourself,“HowcanMindMappingimprovemylife?”Nowbegin!

InChapter1,IinvitedyoutocreateyourownMindMapbywayofintroducingyoutoaMindMap’skeycomponentssuchasimages,colours,branchesandwords(seepage27).Aswithanyskill,yourMindMappingconfidenceandtechniquewillimprovethemoreyoupractise.Togetthemostoutofthischapter,Isuggestyouapproachitasanenjoyablesetoffun,practicalexercises.Setasideanyinhibitionsorinsecurities,andhaveagoatmakinglotsofdifferentcolourfulMindMapsfollowingtheprinciplesthatIwilllayoutinmoredetailinthefollowingpages.

Beforewebegin,I’dliketomakeaquicksuggestion:althoughyouwillbegivingyourbrainavigorousworkout,bekindtoyourself(always!).YourMindMapswillleadtothebestresultswhenyourapproachislighthearted,colourful

andinteresting.Paradoxically,playisaseriousbusinessbecauseitactivatestheimagination,whichisoneofthelynchpinsofMindMapping.Ifyoufindyourselfgettingstuckorfrustratedatanypoint,takeabreakandcomebacktoyourMindMaplater.(SeeChapter4,“SolutionFinding”,formoreguidance.)Orstartanotherone,perhapsfromthequiverofMindMapsofferedin“The99Applications”inChapter5(seepage159).MindMappingismosteffectivewhenundertakeninburstsofabout20minutes.

MindMappingisnotabout“success-and-failure”,“do-or-die”rigidthinkingperse,andnobodyisgoingtojudgeyouonyourresults(unlessyouentertheWorldMindMappingChampionships!).TherearecertainLawsthatwillhelpyougetthemostoutofMindMappingandenableyoutocreateparticularlypowerfulMindMaps.ThenotionofLawscouldperhapsseemcounterintuitiveatfirstwhenitcomestocreativityandthegenerationofideas;however,theseLawsaredesignedtosupportyourthinkingwithastructure,allowingittoflourishratherthantogettangledupandflounder.

UnderstandingtheLaws

WhiletheLawsofMindMappingaredeceptivelysimple,theyareveryeffective.Ifyoudeviatefromthem,youwon’tcreateatrueMindMap.Instead,youwillprobablyendupwithoneofthediagramsthatwewillbelookingatinChapter3,orwithsomethingthatresemblespurechaos!

TheLawsofMindMapping

1.Alwaysuseablanksheetofpaper,placedinlandscapeposition.Makesurethesheetislargeenoughtoallowyoutocreatesubbranchesandsub-sub-branches.

2.Drawapictureinthecentreofthepaper,representingyoursubject,usingatleastthreecolours.

3.Useimages,symbols,codesanddimensionthroughoutyourMindMap.

4.Selectkeywordsandwritetheseusingcapitalletters.

5.Placeeachwordorimageonitsownbranch,sothatitstandsbyitself.

6.Radiateflowingbranchesoutfromthecentralimage.MakethebranchesthickertowardthecentreoftheMindMap,andthinnerastheyradiateoutwardintosubbranches.

7.Keepbranchesthesamelengthasthewordsorimagesonthem.

8.UsecoloursthroughouttheMindMap,developingyourowncolourcodeinthebranches.

9.Useemphasis,arrowsandconnectinglinestodepictassociationsbetweendifferentrelatedtopicsinyourMindMap.

10.AimforclarityinyourMindMapbypositioningyourbranchesincarefullythought-throughspace.Rememberthatthespacebetweenthingsisoftenasimportantasthethingsthemselves.Imagine,forexample,thespacebetweentreesinaforest:yourbrainnegotiatesthesegapstounderstandwhereyouareandwhereyouaregoing,ratherthanthetrees.

DEVELOPINGYOUROWNSTYLE

FollowingtheLawsfreesyouuptodevelopyourownunique“fingerprint”,orrather“eyeprint”,stylewhilestayingtruetotheessentialspiritofMindMapping.TogettoknowandtrulyabsorbtheLawsofMindMapping,keepacopyofthemhandy(perhapsintheformofaMindMap)andconsultthemregularlywheneveryoudoanyMindMapping.WithinashorttimetheywillhavebecomesecondnaturetoyouandactliketheDNAofyourMindMapgenes!

TakeyourMindMappingjourneystepbystep:setyourgoalsforyourfirstMindMap;thenyourfirsttwoMindMaps;thenyourfirstfiveMindMaps;yourfirsttenMindMaps;yourfirst25MindMaps;yourfirst50MindMaps…rightuntilyoureachyourfirst100MindMaps(yourcentury!).Bythetimeyouhavereached100MindMaps,ifyouhavebeenconsultingtheLaws,youwillhaveattainedahighlyskilledlevelofMindMapping.

MindMapscansometimesbecomecomplexastheyspreadacrossthepage.TheLawsaredesignedtohelpimprovetheirclarityineveryrespectandtherebystrengthentheirimpactonyourbrain,aswellasonthebrainsofotherpeople.Togetabetterunderstandingofwhythisisso,let’sexaminethekeyelementsinalittlemoredetail,aswellassomeotherconsiderationsthatrelatetothem.

HowtheLawsShapeaMindMapTheeasiestwaytoexploretheeffectsandusefulnessoftheLawsistoputthemintopracticebycreatingaMindMap.First,makesureyouhavecompletelygraspedthebasicsofMindMappingbymemorizingthesevenstepssetoutinChapter1(seepage28).ThenyouwillbereadytoapplytheLawstoaMindMapaboutatopicofyourownchoice.Whynottryingcreatingonenow,asyoureadthewordsonthefollowingpages?

InChapter1,IusedtheexampleofShakespearetoillustrateeachofthestepsaswewentthroughthemtogether.Forthisexercise,IwouldnowlikeyoutotakeamomenttoreflectontheproblemorsubjectyouwouldliketoMindMap.(Ifyouneedinspiration,turntothe“MakeYourThoughtsVisible”exerciseonpage73.)

GATHERYOURRESOURCES

Onceyouhavechosenyourtheme,andbeforeyoustartworkingontheMind

Onceyouhavechosenyourtheme,andbeforeyoustartworkingontheMindMapitself,gatheranyothermaterials,researchoradditionalinformationyouneed,sothatyouhaveeverythingreadilytohand.

Forexample,ifyouwanttouseaMindMaptomakenotesaboutacertaintextyouarestudying,makesureyouhaveacopyofthebooknearbysoyoucanconsultitasyoucreateyourMindMap.

TopreventyourMindMapfrombecomingcramped,especiallyasitradiatesouttowardthemargins,workonalargesheetofblankpaper.It’simportantthatthepaperisplainwhiteanddoesn’tfeaturelinesoranydecorationthatwilldetractfromyourcreativeprocess.Alwayspositionthissheetofpaperinalandscapeposition,asthiswillgiveyoumorefreedomandspaceinwhichtocreateaMindMapthanpaperplacedinaportrait(vertical)position.Moreover,theinformationonahorizontalMindMapiseasiertoabsorbataglance,asitallowsyoutoscantheentirepageinanon-linearfashion,radiatingfromthecentre,ratherthanreadingthepagelefttoright,lefttoright,lefttoright–likewatchingtennis,gettingastiffneck–andtoptobottominthewaythatyouusuallytackleatext.

Placethepaperonaflatorraisedsurfaceinfrontofyouor,ifyoulike,pinittothewallandworkstandingup.Araisedsurfacesuchasanarchitect’sdrawingboardwillimproveyourpostureandgiveyouabetterperspective.Alternatively,MindMapseatedonthefloorifyoufindthiscomfortable.Someartists,suchasthePortuguese-bornBritishpainterandprintmakerPaulaRego,sometimessitonthefloortopaintanddraw,asthisseeminglychildlikeapproachcanbeliberatingwhenitcomestothinkingcreatively.

liberatingwhenitcomestothinkingcreatively.

YoucanmakeaMindMapinanyplace,inanyphysicalposition,especiallyifyouareayogapractitioner,agymnast,adanceroralittlekid.YoucancreateaMindMapinyourmeditationposition,forinstance,asMindMapswillhelpsettleandbalanceyourthoughtsbysynchronizingtheworkingsofyourbrain’stwohemispheres.Manypeople,especiallychildren,makethemwhilelyingflatontheirstomachonthefloor,proppinguptheirheadwiththeirhands.

Butthereisnoneedtoturnyourselfintoacontortionist!KeepyourMindMapasuprightasyoucan,withitsbranchesasclosetothehorizontalaspossible,whichwillmaketheMindMapmucheasiertoreadandrecall.Asyouwriteanddraw,allowyourhandtotravelacrossthepaper,ratherthanrotatingthepaperitself.

ToincreasethevisualappealofyourMindMapanditsimpact,collectaselectionofcolouredeasy-flowingpens,ranginginthicknessfromthinnibtohighlighter,tovaryandtostrengthenyourMindMap’scolourcodingandvisualappealtothememory.(RememberthevonRestorffeffectdiscussedinChapter1,page40.)

MakeyourowntransportableMindMapkitofplainpaperandcolouredpens,andcarrythiswithyouwhereveryougo.Thisway,youwillneverfindyourselfstuckwithlinedpaperandabluebiro.

Ifyouareinabusinessmeeting,youcouldcreateadraftMindMapinblackandwhite,andthencolouritinorredrawitcompletelyatalaterstage.Itisalwaysuseful,nomatterhowbrilliantyourMindMapis,toreviewitsoonaftercompletingit.Socolouringinablack-and-whitedraftisgoodpractice.However,colourisakeyelementinpromotingcreativity,whichmeansthatifyouinitiallycreateyourMindMapinblackandwhite,youwillberadicallylimitingyourabilitytogeneratenewideas.

CHOOSETHECENTRALIMAGE

Whenyouhaveasubjectinmind,starttodrawacentralimageinthemiddleof

Whenyouhaveasubjectinmind,starttodrawacentralimageinthemiddleofyourpaper,usingdimension,self-expressionandatleastthreecolourstomakeitvisuallyengagingandmemorable.Thinkabouthowtosymbolizeyoursubjectinasinterestingandasimaginativeawayaspossible.IfaparticularwordisabsolutelycentraltoyourMindMap,converttheworditselfintoanimagebyusingdimensionandcolourstoenhanceitsvisualappeal.Adynamiccentralimagewillautomaticallyfocustheeyeandthebrain,triggeringnumerousassociations.

WhatdoyouwantyourMindMaptorevealtoyou?Keepthisgoalinyourthoughtsateverystep.

SETOBJECTIVESANDBASICORDERINGIDEASThemaincategories,whichradiateinbranchesfromthecentralimage,areknownasBasicOrderingIdeas(BOIs)andconstitutethecoreframeworkofaMindMap.

AstrongsetofBOIswillgetyourMindMapofftothebeststartcreatively:byidentifyingyourBOIsandorderingtheminavisuallymeaningfulway,youwillbeabletoseemoreclearlyhowfurtherideasandconceptsrelatetothewholeandfitwithinyourMindMap’shierarchyofideas.

AsyoubeginyourMindMap,consideryourobjectivescarefully:•Whatinformationorknowledgedoyouneed?•Whicharethemostimportantsevencategoriesinthetopicunderconsideration?

•Ifthiswereabook,whatwoulditschapterheadingsbe?Whatlessonsorthemesarethere?

•Whatquestionsdoyouneedtoask?(Promptssuchas“What?”,“Where?”,“Who?”,“How?”,“Which?”,“When?”canmakeveryusefulmainbranchesinaMindMap.)

•Intowhichsub-categoriescanyoudivideyourtopic?

YourBOIscanalsoaddressthefollowingconsiderations:

•Structure–theformofthings•Function–thepurposeofthingsandwhattheydo•Properties–thecharacteristicsofthings•Processes–howthingswork•Evaluation–howbeneficialthingsare•Definitions–whatthingsmean•Classification–howthingsrelatetoeachother•History–thechronologicalsequenceofevents•Personalities–people’srolesandcharacters

Togetstarted,youcouldjotdownthefirsttenwordsorimagesthatspringtomind,thengrouptheseundergenericheadingstoformyourmainradiatingbranches.

BRANCHOUT

AssuggestedinChapter1,makethebranchesclosesttothecentralimagethicker,toemphasizetheirimportancetoyourbrain,andwriteyourBasicOrderingIdeas(BOIs)abovethem.AnysubbranchesthatsproutfromamainbranchwillholdinformationthatsupportsthatparticularBOI.Themostgeneral(inclusive)conceptstendtositclosertothecentralimage,whilethelessgeneral(moreexclusiveorspecific)conceptsappearonthesubbranches,furtherawayfromtheMindMap’scentre.

IfyourMindMapisstillatanexploratorystage,youcouldwelldiscoverthatsomeoftheperipheralideasturnouttobemoreimportantthanthoseyouinitiallyplacedtowardthecentre.Whenthishappens,simplythickenuptheouterbrancheswherenecessary,therebyaddinganotherlayerofinteresttoyourMindMap.

Makeallthebranchesreachoutinanorganic,wave-like,flowingmannertoenhancetheirvisualappeal.Inadditiontothis,ifyoumakeyourbranchescurveandradiateorganically,eachonewillhaveauniqueshapewhichcanthenbefurtherusedtoactivateyourrecalloftheinformationheldwithinthatbranch.

EXPRESSYOURSELFTHROUGHIMAGES

TogetmaximumvisualimpactandcreativeinspirationoutofMindMapping,andhavefunintheprocess,useimageswhereverpossible(aswithwords,eachoftheseshouldnestleintoitsownbranch).Don’tworryifyouhatedartclassatschool;nooneisgoingtobejudgingyourartisticability.TheimagesonyourMindMapabsolutelydon’thavetobemasterpieces:quickdescriptivesketches,drawings,symbolsanddoodlesallworkwell!.Infact,youdefinitelydon’twanttogetboggeddownincreatingtheperfectimage;MindMappingisallaboutgettingideasdownonpaperquickly,sothinkofyourillustrationsasaformofshorthandtorepresenttheessenceofyourdeepestthinking.

Whereaslinearnote-takingusesthethreebasicskillsoflinearpatterning,symbolsandanalysis,imagemakingengagesawiderangeofcorticalskills,fromimagination,logicandspatialawarenesstotheuseofcolour,form,linedimensionandvisualpatterning.

UsingimageryinMindMapshasanother,widerbenefit:itwillhelpimproveyoureverydaypowersofvisualperception.Whateveryourlevelofartistry,anyattemptatdrawingwillencourageyoutofocusmorestronglyonreallifeforinspiration,andyouwillbecomemoreawareoftheworldaroundyou.

Finally,notonlydoesaMindMapuseimages;itisanimageitself!AMindMapismucheasiertopictureinyourmind’seyethanapassageoftext.Astudyintoimagerecognition,carriedoutbyProfessorRalphHaberin1970,foundthathumanshaveanalmostphotographicmemorywhenitcomestotherecognitionofpictures,makingimagesanexcellentmemoryaid.Incredibly,Haberfoundthattheaveragehuman,whenshown10,000photographs,canremembermorethan98percentofthem.

Justimaginethatwhenyouhavecompletedyourfirst100MindMaps,youwillmostlikelyremember100outof100ofthem–that’s100percentrecall.Nowimagineyourfirst1,000MindMaps!Andnowimaginecompleting10,000MindMapsfor10,000booksyou’vestudied:evenifyoucanrecallonly98percentofthem,howincrediblewouldthatbe?MindMappingoffersarelativelyeasywaytobecomeageniusamonggeniuses!Yourfirst100MindMapswillbeabattalionofsoldiersagainstthebastionofignorance.

Makeyourimagesasclearaspossible.ThegreatertheclarityinyourMind

Makeyourimagesasclearaspossible.ThegreatertheclarityinyourMindMap,themoreelegant,gracefulandattractiveitwillappear.Aclearimagewillleadtoaclearresponse.Claritywillcleansethelensesofyoureyesandwillhelpyoutoseetheworldmorelikeachildoranartistdoes.Yourpowersofperceptionwillincrease.

PLAYWITHWORDS

Forclarity,impactandfreedom,remembertouseonlyonekeywordoneachbranchofyourMindMap.Asinglekeywordisaloteasiertorememberthanaphraseandwilllodgeinthememory.Likeapebbledroppedinapool,itwillrippleoutandtriggerlotsofdifferentassociations,therebystimulatingyourthinking.Moreover,byfocusingononewordperbranch,youareforcedtodeliberateaboutpreciselywhichwordbestrepresentsyouridea.Thismeansactivelyengagingyourpowersofdiscriminationandanalysis;anditisoftenaprocessthatrequiresadegreeoffocusthatislackinginlinearnote-taking,whichbycomparisoncanbeamuchmorepassiveandunproductivepractice.

Akeywordshouldalwayssitonabranchofthesamelength.ThiswillallowyoutoplaceanumberofwordsincloseproximitytoeachotherinyourMindMap,therebyencouragingyoutofindevenmoreassociationsasthewords“bounce”offeachother.ItwillalsomakeyourMindMapappearlessclutteredandallowyoutoincludemoreinformationinit.

Writethewordsincapitalstogivethemdefinitionandtomakeiteasierforyourmindtovisualizethem.KeepingyourMindMap’shierarchyofideasinmind,youcanuseupperandlowercaselettersinthesubbranchestoshowtherelativeimportanceofwordsonyourMindMap.

TomakethemostimportantelementsinyourMindMapstandoutandbecomeeasytoremember,writeanywordsassociatedwiththemin

THREEDIMENSIONSDEVELOPSYNAESTHESIA

Theword“synaesthesia”referstoaperceptualphenomenoninwhichareactionisprovokedinasenseorapartofthebodythroughthestimulationofanothersenseorbodypart.Forexample,apersonwithsynaesthesiamightassociateeachdayoftheweekwithadifferentcolourandtexture:Tuesdaysmightbebluewiththetextureofdeep-pilecarpet,whileSundayscouldbeyellowwiththetextureofbubbles.

Synaesthesiaisoftendescribedasamentaldisorderthatcausespeopletobecomeconfusedbytheirsensoryperceptions.Iwouldarguethatthisattitudeismistaken,aswell-organizedsynaesthesiacanactuallyincreasethepowersofthebrain.AMindMapcanbeconsideredanorganizedsynaestheticthinkingtool.Inaway,itisaphysicalandmentalmanifestationofthepowerofassociation.So,let’sdispelanyfearsaboutthis.UsesynaesthesiawhenMindMappingbyengagingallfivesensesinyourwordsandimages:sight,smell,hearing,tasteandtouch.Alsothinkaboutthepowerofmovement,whichcanbesuggestedthroughtheorganicformofthebranches,andconsiderinwhatotherwaysthiscanbemademanifestinaMindMap.

BECOMEACODEMAKER

Wehavealreadyseenhowcolourisoneofthemostpowerfultoolsforenhancingmemoryandcreativity.Tomakeyouruseofcolourhaveevenmoreimpact,createyourowncolourcodesbymatchingspecificcolourstoyourBOIs.AcarefullyconsidereduseofcolourcodeswillhelpyouaccesstheinformationinyourMindMapmorequickly,improveyourmemoryofit,andincreasethenumberandrangeofyourcreativeideas.

Imagineyouare,forexample,creatingaMindMapofWuXing,thefivetraditionalelementsinChinesephilosophy.Keepingthemostsuitablecoloursinmind,youwoulddecidetocolourthemainbranchforWoodingreen,Fireinorange,Earthinbrown,MetalinsilverandWaterinblue.

Inadditiontousingcolourcodesinyourmainbranches,youcancreateothercodestoforgeinstantconnectionsbetweendifferentareasofyourMindMap.Thesecodescouldbequitesimpleandtaketheformofcrossesandticks,forexample;orunderlinesandshapessuchascircles,trianglesandsquaresplacedcarefullyaroundyourMindMap;ortheycouldbemoreelaboratesymbols–evenshownin3D.Thinkofthetraditionalfootnotesymbolsusedintypographyasaprototypeofthesortsofsymbolyoucouldinvent.AndremembertheMajor

asaprototypeofthesortsofsymbolyoucouldinvent.AndremembertheMajorSystemthatImentionedbrieflyintheIntroduction,whichusesacodetoconvertnumbersintosoundsandthenwords.

Likefootnotesymbols,youcanusecodestolinksourcematerialsuchasbiographicalreferencestoyourMindMap,ortorepresentparticularelementssuchasanynames,datesoreventsthatcropupfrequentlyinyournotes.Whichevercodesyoucreate,theywillhelpreinforcethecategorizationandhierarchyofyourideasintheMindMap.

ThemorevisuallyexcitingyourMindMap,thebetteryourresultswillbe.

MAKECONNECTIONS

Likecodes,connectingbranchesandrelationshiparrowscanbeusedtolinkupseparateareasandbranchesonaMindMap,showinghowseeminglydifferentconceptsrelatetoeachother.Inthisway,branchesandarrowsalsohelpyourbraincreateconnectionsbetweenideas.InkeepingwithaMindMap’suseofimagery,connectingbranchescantaketheformofcurves,circles,loopsandchainsoranyothershapesthatappealtoyourimagination.

RelationshiparrowswillautomaticallydirectyoureyetoconnectonepartofaMindMapwithanother;inthisway,theyencourageyourmindtofollowyourgazeandtherebygivespatialdirectiontoyourthoughts,promotingdivergentandhighlycreativethinking.Likeconnectingbranches,arrowscanvaryinsize,formanddimension.Theycanalsobemulti-headed,linkinganumberofdifferentbranches.

USEBOUNDARIESANDCHUNKING

IinventedBrainPatternNotesinthe1950sand1960sasaprecursortothefullyfledgedMindMap.TheyfeaturedinmyBBCTVseriesUseYourHead.AlthoughBrainPatternNotesreliedonwordsratherthanimages,theyusedbranchesandcolour:inthem,Iinstinctivelysurroundedseparatebranchesandtheirsubbrancheswithcolourfulboundaries.Thoseboundariescouldtaketheformofawavylineoracloud-likebubble,andwouldencloseasetofideas

associatedwithaspecifictopicinawaythatmadethemeasytorememberandtocommunicatetoothers.

LittledidIknowitatthetime,butthistechniqueissimilartochunking,whichisawell-knownmnemonictechniquefirstdescribedbytheAmericanpsychologistGeorgeArmitageMiller(1920–2012)in1956.ThetermcamefromMiller’sfamouspaper“TheMagicalNumberSeven,PlusorMinusTwo”,inwhichheexplainedhowtheshort-termmemorycanonlystoresevenitemsofinformationefficiently.Millerthendescribedhowatechniquesuchaschunkingcanbeusedtoextendmemoryspan.

AsIdevelopedtheMindMap,Isawhowchunkingcouldplayausefulroleincertaincircumstances.InMindMapping,theoutlineofaboundarycreatesauniqueshapeofitsown,makingitmemorableinitsownright,aswellasgroupinginformationinawaythatsuitstheworkingsoftheshort-termmemory.BoundariesandchunkingcanbeespeciallyhelpfulwhencreatingintricateMindMapsthatcoveravarietyoftopicswithmanydifferentlevelsofinformation.

However,boundariesandchunkingshouldbeappliedsensitivelytoMindMaps,asthereisadelicatebalanceatwork.IfaMindMapisstillaworkinprogress,everyextendingbranchneedstobe“open”andfreetomakenewconnections.Ifabranchisoutlinedwithaboundarytoosoon,theMindMapperwillpotentiallyplacethemselvesinarestrictiveprison.

Ensurethatyouneverconfineyourthinkingtoalinearprison.AgoodMindMapperremainsfree.

MakeYourThoughtsVisibleFeelingstuck?Chooseoneofthesetopicsasyourcentralconcept:

happinesspeaceworksuccess

NowthatyouhaveyourMindMapstarterkit,itistimetopractisecreatingMindMaps.Themoreyoucando,thebetter!KeepreferringtotheLawsasyougo.

yougo.

OnceyouhavecompletedyourMindMap,takeagoodlookatit.Whatdoyoulikeaboutit?Whatneedsalittlemoreattention?MindMapyourownresponsesandreactions.

Now,chooseanothersubjectandstartagain.

GIVEYOURSELFSPACETOBREATHE

WehaveseenhowthesizeofawordoranimageisusedtodenoteitsimportanceinaMindMap’shierarchy.

Thelargeranitem,thegreateritsvisualimpactandthemorelikelyyouwillbetorecallit.

ThespacebetweenelementsinaMindMapcanbeasimportantastheitemsthemselves.TherightamountofspacearoundeachitemwillgiveyourMindMapclarityandstructure,andmakeitmorevisuallyappealing–whichinturnmeansthatyouaremorelikelytoabsorbtheinformationinit.

DevelopmentofaMindMapper

TherearethreestagesinthecareersofmostsuccessfulMindMappers:

Acceptance:BeforeyoustartMindMapping,setasideanypreconceptionsyouhaveaboutyourintelligence,yourimaginationoryourartisticskill.FollowtheLawsofMindMappinguntilyoubecomecompletelyfamiliarwiththem.YouwilldiscoverevenmoreabouttheimportanceofimagesandcolourbystudyingtheworksofartistssuchasLeonardodaVinciandLorraineGill,whoinfluencedthedevelopmentofMindMapping.

Application:OnceyouhaveunderstoodtheLaws,applythembycreatingasmanyMindMapsasyoucan.UseMindMapswheneveryouneedtotakenotes,forexample,orifyouneedtomakedecisionsoracquireanewskill.Youwill

findarangeofpracticalapplicationssuggestedinthischapter.Haveagoatthese,andthinkofotherwaysinwhichMindMappingwillenhanceandenrichyourownlife.

Adaptation:Withtime,youwilldevelopapersonalMindMappingstyle.OnceyouhavecreatedhundredsofMindMaps,youwillbereadytoexperimentbyadaptingtheMindMapform,takingittothenextlevel.

Journalling

KeepaworkingMindMapjournaltomakeMindMapspartofyoureverydaylife,perhapsusinganexercisebookoraringbinder.Justmakesurethatthepaperinitisblankandunlinedsothatyourbrainisfreetothinkcreatively,inanon-linearanduninhibitedway.PutyourfirstMindMapinprideofplaceonthefirstpageofyourjournal.(GluetheMindMapsintoyourjournalifnecessary.)YoucanuseaMindMapjournalproductivelyalongsideMindMappingdiaries,schedulesandplanners(seeChapter5,page164).AjournalwillallowyoutoseehowyourskillatMindMappingimproveswithtime.Itwillprovideastorehouseforyourideas,sothatyoucanseeataglancehowyourthinkingisevolving.Anditwillbeahandyresourcetodipintowheneveryouneedinspiration.

KeyApplicationsofMindMaps

WhenIoriginallydevelopedtheMindMap,Ididn’trealizeatfirstquitehowadaptablethisthinkingtoolis.Tobeginwith,Iwasintentonfindingaharmonicwaytoexternalizethoughts–tomaterializeontheoutsidewhatlayinsidetheworkingsofthebrain.AsI’vementioned,thistooksomedecadestoachieveandintheprocessanarchitectureofthinkingemergedthatwithtimeevolvedintotheMindMap.WhenIhadrefinedtheMindMap,myfascinationwiththeartofmemoryremainedatthefore,andIusedMindMappingmainlyasamnemonicdevice.Abreakthroughcamewhenmybrother,ProfessorBarryBuzan,challengedmetorevisitmyentireapproachtoMindMapping.HeaskedmewhyIhadonlydevelopedtheMindMapforthepurposesofmemory,ratherthanforotherformsofthinkingsuchascreativity.Atfirst,Idismissedhissuggestion.ButIsleptonit,andthenextdayIrealizedmybrotherwasright!MindMaps

ButIsleptonit,andthenextdayIrealizedmybrotherwasright!MindMapscannaturallybeappliedtoallareasoflife.

MINDMAPTHEKEYAPPLICATIONSOFMINDMAPPING!Laterinthischapter,wewillbelookinginmoredetailatthevariedandexcitingwaysinwhichMindMappingcanbeused.Beforezoominginonthedetail,let’sconcentrateonsomeofthekeyapplicationsofMindMapping–andwhatbetterwaytodothisthanthroughaMindMap!

Step1

ToMindMapthesixmajorapplicationsofMindMaps,beginwiththecentralimage.Inthiscentralimage,theword“APPLICATIONS”issurroundedbytheoutlineofakeytomaketheworditselfmorememorable.

Step2

Abranchgrowsfromthecentralimage.InthisMindMap,ittakesthelabel“HOME”andiscolouredorange(forhearthandhome).Themainbranchstartstogrowsubbranches.HOME,forexample,isassociatedwithlove,family,friendsandpastimes.

Step3

FivemoremainbranchesfollowforWORK,EDUCATION,CREATIVITY,WELLBEINGandMEMORY.Someofthesehavesmallrelevantsymbolsbesidethem.

Step4

Thesemainbranchesalsostarttogrowsubbranches.EDUCATION,forexample,isassociatedwithschool,university,studiesandexams.

Step5

ThecompletedMindMapfollowstheLawswithasinglewordsittingoneachbranch,accompaniedbylotsoffunandmemorableimages.

WhilethisMindMaplooksatthesixkeyapplicationsforMindMapping,thinkaboutthesixaspectsYOUwouldchooseifyouweretomakeaMindMaprepresentingthekeyareasinyourownlife.

ThinkofthisMindMapaboutkeyapplicationsasanembryonicMindMapwithwhichtoexploretheincredibleuniverseofyourlife.Thesefirstsixapplications

whichtoexploretheincredibleuniverseofyourlife.ThesefirstsixapplicationsareplanetsandyourMindMapisaspacecraftthatwillenableyoutovisiteachofthesixlandingpointsinturn.Onceoneofthemhasbeenexploredorcompleted–perhapswhenyouhaveachievedagoalorbecomeachampioninyourfield–MindMappingwillhelpyoutravelontodiscovernewexperiencesandmeetnewchallenges.

YoucanuseaMindMapforeveryaspectofyourlife:businessorleisure,studyorpersonaldevelopment.Youcould,forexample,MindMapthebestconversationsyou’veeverhad,orcreateaMindMapforyourdreams,thenusetheMindMaptoturnthosedreamsintostoriesorpoems.

ThenextpagesexploreeachofthefundamentalapplicationsofMindMaps–home,work,education,creativity,wellbeingandmemory–ineachcasesuggestinglotsofgreatwaysinwhichyoucanuseMindMappingtoachieveyourgoalsinthoseareasoflife.IhaveincludedsomesampleMindMapstoactasinspirationandapossiblestartingpoint,butofcourse,aseachperson’sMindMapsareuniquetothem,yourownMindMapswillprobablyenduplookingquitedifferent.MoreadvancedusagesofMindMapsforeachoftheirkeyapplicationsaresuggestedthroughoutChapter5.

KEYMINDMAPAPPLICATION1:HOME

Formanyofus,theoldsayingistrue:homeiswheretheheartis.Homeprovidesarefugefromtheworldandaplaceinwhichtoexpressourindividualityandenjoysomeofourclosestrelationships.Itisbothasafehavenandtheequivalentofanalchemist’scrucible–wherewecreateimportantmemoriesandexperiencelife-changingmilestonessuchasbirth,childhood,marriage,parenthoodandretirement.It’salsotheplacewherewenurtureourdreamsandchaseourpersonalambitions–andhavefunandthrowparties!

AchieveaPersonalGoal

Takeamomenttoreflectontheareasinyourdailylifethataremostimportanttoyou.Nowthinkaboutwhatgoalsyouwouldliketoachieve.TheMindMapoppositeisallabouttrainingforamarathon,butitsunderlyingprinciplescouldbeadaptedtohelpyouachieveanypersonalgoal.TheBasicOrderingIdeas(BOIs)reflectalong-distancerunner’skeyconcerns:training,nutrition,

equipment,motivationandobstacles.UsingthisMindMapasinspiration,makeaMindMapforagoalofyourown.

Drawacentralimagethatrepresentswhatyouwanttoachieve.Next,reflectonthiscentralimageandcreateBOIbranchesthatrelatetoit.Thesecouldrelatetothepracticalstepsyouneedtotakeandthingsyouneedtoacquire,whetherthat’sequipmenttobuyorsomethingmoreintangible,suchascourageorperseverance.Motivationisanimportantbranch,askeepinggoingiscrucialtoanylong-termgoal.Youcanexploreallthebenefitsyouwillgainfromsuccess,whethertheyrelatetoyourhealth,financesorself-esteem,andnotedownwhoorwhatwillsupportyouinyourendeavour.Youmightwantanotherbranchaboutobstacles,asfacinguptoallthepossibleobstaclesisagoodstartingpointfordealingwiththem.Yoursubbrancheswilldelvedeeperintothesethemes,topindowndetailssuchasthelengthoftimeyouneedtoreachyourgoal,andexactlywhatyouneedtodotogetthere.YoucanexploretheindividualstagesofyourjourneyasfullyasyouneedinthisMindMap,orperhapscreatemoreMindMapstoexploreeachstepfurther.

MINDMAPFORACHIEVINGAPERSONALGOAL:MARATHONTRAINING

Ifyouhaveatendencytoputotherpeoples’needsaheadofyourown,youarelikelytofindgoal-settingMindMappingespeciallyhelpful.Perhapsyou’dlovetorunamarathonbutyoualwaysendupbeingtoobusyrushingaroundonbehalfofothers–gettingthekidstofootballmatches,pickingupyourpartnerfromthegym–todoanyexerciseofyourownatall(nevermindtrainingforamarathon!).Ifso,creatingaMindMapisagreatwaytoensureyourowngoalbecomesapriorityintheeverydayroutineofyouandyourfamily.HangyourfinishedMindMaponthewalltoremindyouandeveryoneelseofyourdreamambition,andmakesurestrivingtoachieveitreallydoesbecomepartofyourdailylife.

PlanYourWeek

Settingasideyourbiglifegoalsforamoment,whatdoyouneedtoachievethisweek?Howabouttomorroworevenlaterontoday?

MindMapsmakegreatpersonalorganizersandplanners.Ratherthanclickingonindividualdatesonacomputerscreen,leafingthroughdiarypagesorflickingendlesslythroughacalendar,aMindMapofyourweeklyactivitiesenablesyoutodigestinonegowhatliesahead.Forewarnedisforearmed,andwhenyoucanyouseeataglancewhattheweekholds,youwillbepreparedandknowhowtoallocateyourtimeandenergymostproductively.

Foryourcentralimage,chooseasymbolthatrepresentsyourthoughtsabouttheweek,orthemostimportantaspectofit.Alternatively,youcouldsimplydrawapictureofyourhome,orrepresentthedateinsomeway,suchaswitha3Dversionof“WeekXX”(it’sWeek26inourexample).Movingclockwisearoundthecentralimage,usedifferentcolourstocreatesevenmainbranches,oneforeachdayoftheweek.Writethedayabovethebranch,thenfillthesubbrancheswiththingsyouwouldliketoremember,orscheduledactivities.Useconnectingarrowstolinksimilaractivitiesondifferentdays,oraddsomechunkingifthereisasetofactivitiesthatisparticularlyimportantononeofthedays.

MINDMAPFORPLANNINGYOURWEEK:WEEK26–ANNIVERSARYWEEK

Intheexampleonpage83,theMindMapperisplanningawonderfulweddinganniversarycelebrationonSaturdaynight,sothecentralimagesincludealovingcouple,aswellasanexcitedchild(therearelotsofplaydateshappeningthatweektoo).PlanningthecelebrationsinvolvesMindMappingareminderonMondaytobookarestaurantandticketstoseeaband,aswellastheall-importantbabysitter.ThegiftsandthecardwillbetakencareofonFriday–withMindMappingthere’snodangerofgettingintotroubleoveraforgottenanniversaryorbirthday!AlltheotherkeyeventsoftheweekareMindMappedtoo,frommeetingsandapresentationatworktochildren’sactivitiestoexercisesessions.

YoumayfindithelpfultouseyourweeklyMindMapalongsideMindMappingplannersandschedulers(seeChapter5,page164),asthiswillallowyoutozoominonthedetailsofindividualdaysaswellasgainanoverviewoflongerperiodsoftime.Thatway,youwillbeabletolookaheadandenjoyadegreeofcontroloveryourschedule,avoidclashesandanypotentiallyunpleasant

surprises,makingsureyoumaintainahealthyandrewardingbalanceofwork,restandplay.

PLANTOGETHER

Ifyoushareyourhomewithotherpeople,whetherthat’sfamilyorhousemates,whynotcreateajointweeklyplannerMindMapforallyouractivities?Manyofuswillhaveexperiencedthedisagreementsandrowsthatcanflareupwhenthereareconflictingactivitiesenjoyedbydifferentmembersofthehousehold,orwhenindividualsdon’tseemtobepullingtheirweightandtakingontheirfairshareofthehouseworkorothertasks.Anotherproblemformanyhouseholdsliesinthewayinwhichthedifferentmemberssimplydon’tknowwhattheothersareuptowhentheyarenotalltogether.ThegoodnewsisthataMindMapcanremedythisandchangeeverybody’sbehaviourforthebetterbymakinghouseholdmembersmoreappreciativeofeachotherastheybegintounderstandjusthowbusyeverybodyelseis,orsimplybymakingsurethateverybodytakestheirturntotakeoutthetrashanddothewashingup!

LikeapersonalweeklyplannerMindMap,ajointplannerwillincludebranchesforeachdayoftheweekahead,withsubbranchesshowingallthedifferentactivities–and,importantly,chores!–thatarescheduledtotakeplaceonanyoneday.YoucanalsouseaMindMaplikethistoinspireeveryonetosticktotheirchosengoal,whetherthat’spractisingguitarfor20minuteseverydayorgoingforarunthreetimesaweek.Stickyourjointplannertothefridgeorsomewhereelsewhereeveryonecanseeitanditcan’tbeignored.

MindMappinghouseholdsarehappierandhealthier–andgiveeachothermorebreaks!

PlanaKids’PartyWhodoesn’tenjoyagoodparty?Planningaparty,however,canbequiteanothermatter–especiallyachildren’sparty,whereexpectationsappeartohaverocketedinrecentyears.Longgonearethedayswhenyoucouldjustfeedthelittledarlingssomejellyandicecream,andexpectthemtoentertainthemselvesforacoupleofhours.Today,throwingakid’sbirthdaypartycanbeabitlikeorganizingamilitarymanoeuvre,coveringallthebasesandpreparingforeveryeventuality.Happily,theMindMapisonhandtohelp.InthisMindMap,I’veusedtheexampleofachildren’sbirthdaypartywithasuperherotheme,butyou

usedtheexampleofachildren’sbirthdaypartywithasuperherotheme,butyoucanofcourseuseanythemeyoulike–orleaveoutthechildrencompletely,ifyouwish!

MINDMAPFORPLANNINGAKIDS’PARTY

Thecorelogisticsofmostpartiesarethesameforchildrenandadults:onceyou’vesetthedate,youneedtochooseatheme(ifyouwantone)andavenue,settingconsiderationssuchascost,spaceandtransportagainsteachother.Thendrawupyourguestlistandplantheentertainment,thefoodanddrinksandthedecorations,exploringtheseonthemainbranchesandsubbranchesofyourMindMap.Ifthepartyisgoingtoincludeanyspecialfeatures,suchasgames,swimmingoramagician,includetheseinyourMindMaptoo.Youcouldalsouseoneofthebranchestoexplorehowyourpartywillreflectthetheme,perhapsthroughcostumes,decorationsandthesmallgiftsthatthechildrengettotakehome.Withanexcitingtopicsuchasakid’sparty,youcanreallyhavefuncreatingyourMindMap,especiallyifthereisathemeinvolved.

FindthePerfectGift

Youarewellaheadwiththepartyplanning,sonowyouhaveplentyoftimetobuygifts.AMindMapisagreatwaytorecordthelikesanddislikesofyourfamilyandfriendswhenitcomestobuyingpresents.Ifyouhaveeverfoundyourselfwanderinginadazearoundadepartmentstoreclutchingasolitarypairofsocksorashoppingbasketcrammedwithpotentialgifts,andnoideawhomtogivethemto,youwilllikelyfindaMindMapthatorganizesyourideasveryhandy.

Tocreateyourowngift-findingMindMap,drawaninspiringcentralimageinthecentreofahorizontalsheetofpaper.Thiscouldbeawrapped-upparcelwithabowontop,orastarburstingoutofabox,orsomethingwildlikeaunicornwitharainbow-colouredhorntosymbolizewishescomingtrue.

Useyourimaginationtomakeyourcentralimageinterestingandeyecatchingtocapturethespiritofgiftgiving.

Nowcreatecolour-codedmainbranchesforeachofthepeopleonyourshoppinglist.Createsubbranchesfortheirlikesanddislikes.Usesymbolsaswellaswordstoillustratethese.Fillyoursubbrancheswithfunimagesthatrelatetotheintendedrecipientofthegift.

Next,createsub-sub-branchestopushyourimaginationandinventivenessontothenextlevel.Inaperfectworld,whatwouldyoubuythatpersonifmoneywerenoobject?Oriftherewerenoconsiderationsofgeographytotakeintoaccount,oranyotherobstacles?Returningtoreality,whatwouldafun(andaffordable)equivalentbe?

WhenyouhavecompletedyourMindMap,keepitinyouryearlyplanner,whereyoucanrefertoitwheneverafriend’sorrelative’sbirthdayapproaches.OruseitalittlebitlikeaconventionallistatChristmastime,tickingoffeachofthebranchesoncetheperfectpresenthasbeenfoundforthatperson.

Remember:nevercrossoutanythingonaMindMap!

CrossingoutanythingonaMindMapmeansobliteratingwhatyouhave

CrossingoutanythingonaMindMapmeansobliteratingwhatyouhaveaccomplishedanderasingamemoryofyourlife;incontrast,apagefullofpositiveticksorsmileyfacesacknowledgesyouraccomplishments.IfyouareusingyourMindMaptobuypresentsorplananevent,alwaysuseatickoranotherappropriatesymbolwhenyou’vefoundtheperfectgiftorcompletedatask.

PlanaRomanticMinibreak

Haveyoueverfalleninloveandwantedtotreatyourheart’sdesiretoawonderfulsurprise?Orperhapsyouhavebeentogetherforyears,andarelookingforwaystorekindletheflamesofromance?Whatbetterwaytocelebrateorcementyourrelationshipthanbywhiskingyourlovedoneofftoawonderfullocationforaminibreak,whereyoucanspendqualitytimetogether…Unfortunately,likethrowingaparty,planningaromanticgetawaycansometimesbeastressfulbusiness,andtheworryoforganizingitcantakethesparkoutoftheexperiencebeforeyouevengetthere.Tomakeyourtimetogethermagicratherthanmayhem,useaMindMaptoplanallthedetails,fromwheretostaytohowtogettheretowhattodo.

Whetheryouaregoingtotreatyourlovedonetoaminibreakcompletewithwoodlandwalks,finewinesandcosyingupbythefire,ordancingtilldawnonanexoticbeachsomewhere,useaMindMaptofine-tunethedetails.Intheareaofromance,MindMapscanactlikeamagicwand,helpingtheenchantmentoflovetobecomestronger–andremainstrong,asitmeansthatpassionandimpulsearetemperedwiththoughtfulnessandplanning.

Onceyoureturnfromyourbreak,ifeverythinghasgonewellyoucouldkeepyourMindMapasapreciousmemento.If,ontheotherhand,thingshaven’tgonesmoothly,perhapsforreasonsbeyondyourcontrol,youcouldkeeptheMindMapasahandyreminderaboutwhattododifferentlynexttime(whichmightevenmeangoingawaywithanotherperson…).

ImproveaDifficultRelationship

Sometimes,despitethebestofintentions,arelationshiphitstherocks.Thetroublemightnotalwaysoccurinarelationshipwitharomanticpartner,butcouldjustaseasilybewithaparent,asibling,acolleagueorafriend.Whoever

isthesourceofyourunhappiness,relationshipdifficultiescanbeadevastatingexperienceanditcanbeverydifficulttoknowhowtomakethingsbetterortorepairanydamage.Ifyouareexperiencingproblemsinarelationship,aMindMapcanhelpyoufindasenseofperspectiveandawayforward;itcouldhelpyouunderstandtheotherperson’spositionandspotwhereyoucancompromise.(SeealsoChapter5,page169,foramoreadvancedapproachtoconflictresolution.)

MINDMAPFORIMPROVINGADIFFICULTRELATIONSHIP

InaMindMaplikethis,theideaisnottoclosedownyourthinking,toconfirmanyprejudicesyoucouldbeharbouring,ortoentrenchyourposition,buttoremaintruetotheprinciplesofRadiantThinking–andtoallowyourideastoradiateoutaccordingly.Tothatend,IwouldadviseyoutouseneutralorpositivetermswhereverpossibleinyourMindMap.Inmyexampleopposite,theMindMapperhasaproblemwithhisbrother,Dan.He’schosenacentralimageofabiketorepresentthepositivechildhoodmemorieshehasofgoingcyclingwithDan.ThefirstbranchexploresthefeelingsthatbubbleupatthethoughtofDan,bothnegativeandpositive.ThesecondbranchdelvesintospecificsofwhattheMindMapperdoesn’tlikeaboutDan,whilethethirdbranchmovesontolookinmoredetailattheMindMapper’sownresponsetoDan;doingthis,hebeginstounderstandhowhecanrespondtoDaninabetter

way.Thefourthbranch,whichendsupbeingthebiggestbranch,looksatallthethingsthattheMindMapperlovesabouthisbrother,andthefinalbranchexploreswhohecouldturntosupporthisattemptsatreconciling.Interestingly,thegirlfriendwhowasinitiallyperceivedasaproblem(oneofthereasonsDanisunavailable)becomesapotentialsourceofhelponthisbranch.

MakeyourMindMaphonest,openandbalanced.Workthroughyouremotions,yetremainreceptive:foreverypotentialnegative,includeapositive.Ifyoufindtheprocessupsetting,takeabreakandcomebacktotheMindMapwhenyoufeelcalmer.Whenyoureturntoit,youmaywellfindthatitalreadyrevealsallsortsofpossibilitiesthatwillhelpyoufindawayoutofthischallengingsituation.

KEYMINDMAPAPPLICATION2:WORK

Accordingtorecentstatistics,theaverageBritonwillspendtheequivalentof12fullyearsatworkduringhisorherlifetime.What’smore,researchersatLondonMetropolitanUniversityhavefoundthatfouryearsofthisperiodwillbespenttalkingonthephone.AstudybyManagementTodayclaimsthatworkersinthepublicsectorarelikelytospendnearlytwoyearsoftheirworkinglifeinmeetings,andaroundsixmonthsofthistimewillbewastedonneedlessminutiaeandpointlessdiscussions…

Inthefaceofsuchdiscouragingfacts,howcanwemakeourworkinglivesmoreproductiveandenjoyable?WithMindMapsofcourse!

WhetheryouarecreatingaMindMapforresearchworkorforprojectmanagement,approachitinthespiritofagame,ratherthanasachore,toensureacreativewin–winoutcome!

ThefollowingpagesexploresomekeyusesofMindMapsinabusinessenvironment,fromtimemanagementtoresearchtoreportwriting.SeealsoChapter5formoreadvancedapplicationsofMindMappingintheworkplaceandelsewhere.

TimeManagement

MindMappingisamultitasktoolsoit’sidealforhelpingyoutomultitask!WehavealreadyseenhowusefulaMindMapcanbeforplanningyourweek(page82).Doyoufindyourselfgettingsocaughtupintheday-todaydemandsofworkthatyounevergetachancetoplanandprioritize?Creatingawork-focusedMindMapatthestartoftheworkingweek,orperhapsattheendoftheprecedingone,isagreatwayofforcingyourselftostopandreassessyourpriorities.AMindMapfortimemanagementcouldbestructuredaroundthedaysoftheweek,highlightingdeadlinesandimportantevents,orperhapstheBOIscouldreflectthedifferentprojectsyouareworkingon,withsubbranchesexploringthekeyprioritiesforeachprojectovertheweektocome.ItmayfeelcounterintuitivetostopworkinordertocreateaMindMap,buttimespentmanagingyourtimewillcreateevenmoretimeinthelongrun!

ResearchaTopic

Ifyouworkinanofficeenvironment,thechancesareyouwillhavetocarryoutsomeresearchatsomepoint.Thiscouldbeintosalesperformance,newmarketstoexplore,orinnovativeandmoney-savingapproachestoexistingtasks.

WhenusingaMindMaptoresearchatopic,createacentralimagethatdefinesthesubjectsuccinctlyandpositively.Thefirstofyourmainbranchescouldrepresenttheapproachorangleyouintendtotake,whilethesecondmaylistthetypesofinformationyouwillneedtoresearch,suchasevidence,opinion,hardfacts,andotherexistingresearchandanalyses.Athirdbranchcouldrelatetoyoursources,withsubbranchesforprimaryandsecondarysources.Yourfourthbranchwouldthenbeforwaysyoucanassessyourmaterial,whileafifthbranchlookedathowbesttoorganizeyourinformationandfindings.Perhapsdedicateasixthbranchtothebestwaysinwhichtopresentyourresearchtomaximizeitsimpact.

Thesubbrancheswouldlookatthesemainareasinmoredetail.Asyoufillthemin,youmaybesurprisedbytheideasthatcomeup–don’tcensorthem.MindMappingisgreatfor“thinkingoutsidethebox”.Don’tbeafraidtoleavesubbranchesemptyattimes;thiswillencourageyoutocomeupwithcreativesolutionstofillthegaps.

WriteanAnnualReport

IntheMindMapexampleopposite,youarefacedwiththedauntingtaskofcreatinganannualreport.Whilemakingyouraccountspublicinanannualreportmaybealegalrequirement,thisisalsoanopportunitytoshowcaseyourbusinessanditssuccessesoverthelastyearinordertoattractinvestorsandcustomers,andreallymakeyourenterprisestandoutinthemarketplace.

Yourcentralimagecouldbeonethatencapsulatesthecompanyvision,tohelpyoukeepittotheforefrontofyourmind.Ifyouareanorganicjuicemanufacturer,asintheexampleinthisbook,youmightwanttosketchatrendybottlesurroundedbyfruit.

Nowworkthroughthestructureofyourreport,allocatingabranchforeachelement.Asyouwork,you’llprobablyfindthatcreativesolutionsandunusualapproachesspringtomind.Forexample,perhapstheCEOcouldbefilmeddeliveringtheintroductionandalinktothisrecordingembeddedintheonlineversionofthedocument.Onebranchcouldexploretheindustryoverviewandtheopportunitiesandchallengesrecentchangeshavepresentedtoyourcompany.Thenextbranchcouldthendelveintothereport’snextsection:arecapofbusinessobjectives,especiallywithregardtofinancialtargets,theneedtostayaheadofthemarketintermsofdesignandalsooffergreatcustomerservice.

Thenmoveontoachievements–thisisanimportantbranchsobecreativewithyourMindMapdesign.Onebranchwillremindyouofthefinancialdetailsyouneedtoinclude,andyoucanuseanotheronetoexplorepossibleconclusions.Finally,takeabranchortwotothinkaboutideasforthedesignofthedocument(especiallyimportantifyouareworkinacreativeorfashionableindustry)andthepresentationitself,ifthereportisgoingtobedeliveredaspartofanevent.

MINDMAPFORWRITINGANANNUALREPORT

AJourneyontheMagicCarpetofMindMapping

Excellenttoolsforplanningandmemorization,MindMapshaveanespeciallystrongaffinitywiththespheresofworkandeducation,makingtheseaspectsofourlivesmuchmorerewardingandpleasurable,asdemonstratedbythestoryofSriLankan-bornDrDilipAbayasekara.

Today,Dilipisindemandasaprofessionalspeaker,communicationstrainerandauthorwhosebooksincludeThePathoftheGenie:YourJourneytoYourHeart’sDesire.HeisalsoaformerInternationalPresidentofToastmastersInternational,aworldwidenon-profiteducationalorganizationthatempowersindividualstobecomeeffectivecommunicators

andleaders.YetDilipstartedhiscareerasascientist.Onhiswaytoworkoneday,hestartedlisteningtoataperecordingaboutMindMappingandbecamehungrytolearnmore.Hetakesuphisstory:

IstartedtoMindMapanddiscoveredthepowerofitfrommyveryfirstattempt.Atthattime,Iwasascientist.IappliedMindMappingtomywork,usingittooutlinemyreportsfrommylabnotebook,andtoanalysetechnicalissues,spotpatterns,gaininsightsandorganizedata.ThediscoveryofthepotentialapplicationsofMindMappingwasamind-blowingandmind-liberatingexperienceasIappliedMindMappingtoanythingandeverything!IalsodiscoveredthatifyouMindMapyourthoughts,youcanthinkbetter!Iwassoexcitedaboutthepowerofthistool,Itaughtittomywifeandmytwochildren.

Iwentontohaveacareertransitionfrombeingascientistintobeingaspeechcoachandtrainer,acollegeprofessorandapastor(allofwhichIcurrentlydo).TheoneindispensabletoolthatiscommontoalloftheseexcitingventuresisMindMapping.IhavetaughthundredsofprofessionalsandpastorshowtoMindMap.

Iwas(andstillam)anavidspeakerandamemberofToastmasters,soitwasquitenaturaltoapplyMindMappingtospeechpreparation.GonewerethedayswhenIlabouredoveraspeech,writingeverysentenceinlinearform!Idiscoveredthatnotonlywasspeechpreparationmorefun,Igeneratedmoreideas,savedmoretime,andhadtheMindMapsoetchedinmymindthatIdidnotneedtorefertonoteswhenIdeliveredthespeech!Infact,IrecallthatonedaywhenIwasdrivingtoaToastmasters’clubmeetinglocatedanhouraway,Iaskedmypre-teendaughtertoMindMapaspeechthatIdictatedtoherasIdrove.Itwasfrommydaughter’sMindMapthatIdeliveredmyspeechthatevening!

Ifanyoneeverdoubtstheircapacitytothinkintelligentlyandcreatively,andhavefundoingit,Iofferonesolution–stopdraggingyourmentalfeetontheroadoflife;jumpontothemagiccarpetofMindMapping!Itisatoolformentalliberationandapathtothejoyofdiscoveringone’slimitlesscapacityto

andapathtothejoyofdiscoveringone’slimitlesscapacitytothink,createandrevelinusingwhatwetoooftentakeforgranted–themind!

Ifyouareinvolvedinacademiaoreducation,youcouldadaptanannualreport-styleMindMapforgivinglectures,presentingpapersoressaywriting(seeEssayPlanning,page102).

LimityourMindMappingtoburstsof20minutestokeepyourbrainrelaxedandyourthinkingfresh.

GreatProjectManagement

Whetheryouareorganizingaconference,launchinganewproductrangeorputtingonaschoolplay,projectmanagementispotentiallyacomplicatedandtime-consumingprocess.Ittypicallyinvolvesanumberofstages,fromthegenerationofideas,toplanning,delegation,allocatingresources,steeringandproducingthefinishedresult.AMindMapcanoffervaluablehelpateverystageofprojectmanagement.

Tomakesureyoursiseffective,useasheetofpaperthatislargeenoughtoencompassallthestepsyouneedtotake,oruseminiMindMapswherenecessary(seeChapter4,page142).Keepanopenmindateverypointintheprocedure,assessingthepotentialofeverypieceofnewinput.Makesurethateverysignificanttaskorconsiderationintheprojectisallocatedamajorbranchofitsown.Whentasksneedtobeaddressedurgently,emphasizethewordsandimagesthatrelatetothemwithahighlighterpen.Assoonastheyhavebeencompleted,markthemoffwithasatisfyingtick.

ForanadvancedMindMaponprojectmanagement,seetheversiononpage105thatPolishentrepreneurMarekKasperskicreatedforhisstudents,whichincludesbranchesforgoals,schedule,tasks,milestones,quality,budget,calendar,reporting,resources,trackingandbringingtheprojecttoaclose.YoucanselectandadapttheBOIstosuityourownproject.

KEYMINDMAPAPPLICATION3:EDUCATION

IbelieveeverychildonthisplanetshouldbetaughthowtoMindMapaspartoftheirbasicrighttoaroundededucation.ExperienceandstudieshaveshownhowMindMapscanhelpyoungchildrenandstudentsofallagesimprovetheirlevelsofconcentrationandcomprehension,memorizeinformationmoreeasilyandprepareconfidentlyforexams.

Likeanypractice,it’sgoodtostartyoungifyouwanttoachieveperfection.(ThinkofthosefledglingviolinistswhograduatefromtheYehudiMenuhinSchoolandgoontobecomesuperstarslikeNigelKennedyandNicolaBenedetti.)IhavementionedhowmyMindMappingadventuresbeganwhenIwasastudent,andtodayIreceivestoriesfromteachersandstudentsallovertheworldfromwhohavediscoveredthebenefitsofthisincrediblethinkingtool.

Butdon’tjusttakemywordforit…

Revision

Aswillbeclearbynow,MindMapsareincrediblyeffectiverevisionaids,breakingdownlengthytextsintoeasilydigestednuggetsofinformation.Atsomepointduringoureducation,manyofuswillhavestudiedtheworksofgreatauthorsandthinkers,andthenhadtomemorizeenoughabouttheminordertoanswerquestionsunderexamconditions.InChapter1,welookedatShakespeareasageneralexampleofhowtomakeaMindMap.Nowlet’sfocusononeofhisbest-knownworks–thetragedyMacbeth.

Accordingtosuperstition,Macbethissaidtobeacursedplay,andactorsbelieveitisunluckytosayitsnameinthetheatre.Instead,theyusetheeuphemism“theScottishPlay”.AttheheartoftheplayisthecharacterofMacbeth,awarriorherowhoseprivateambitionsandexcessiveprideleadtohisdownfall.AMindMapexploringthefigureofMacbethwoulduseadepictionofhimasitscentralimage.AsIhavestressedbefore,youmustn’tworryaboutyourartisticskills,orfeelinhibitedinanyway,whenyouarecreatingimagesforyourMindMap.

Asimplesketchworksjustaswellasadetaileddrawingforthecentralimage,solongasitiscolourful,fullofenergyand

longasitiscolourful,fullofenergyandencapsulatesthethemeforyou.

OneofthemainfeaturesaboutMacbethishisambition,sothisisthewordplacedonthefirstmainbranchinthisMindMap.Thebranchendsinanarrowtosymbolizehisrocketingaspirations.TherestofthemainbranchesrelatetoMacbeth’sotherdominantpersonalitytraits,includinghiscourageonthebattlefield,hispangsofconscience,andthewayhechangesfrombeingaherointoamonstereatenupbyambition.

TheMindMapstartstosproutsubbranchestoshowhow,forexample,Macbeth’sambitionexpressesitselfinhisdesiretobekingandtoestablishhisownroyalline.Furthersubbranchesareadded,referringtothewaysinwhicheachofMacbeth’sdominantpersonalitytraitsrelatestoactsintheplay–suchasthewayinwhichhiscouragetransmutesintofear,andhowheovercomesthequalmsofhisconsciencetojustifymurder.

ThecompletedMindMapreflectsMacbeth’stransformationfromherotozero,andindicateshowhisfallcontributestotheoutcomeoftheplay.NotehowtheimagescreateasenseofenergyandcapturethedifferentfacetsofMacbeth’scharacter,fromthejaggedyoutlinesofthe“deviousness”branchtothestrongboxedgingofthe“courage”branch.Youcantakethiscreativeapproachtoprovideanoverviewofanytopicofyourchoosing.

MNDMAPFORREVISION:MACBETH

EssayPlanningInsteadofaboring,linearessayplan,useaMindMaptostructureyourwrittenwork.AMindMapwillgiveyouausefuloverviewofyourintendedapproachatanearlystage,helpingyoutoidentifyandresolveanypotentialflawsinyourargumentbeforeyougetboggeddowninit.

Createacentralimagethatreflectsthemainfocusofyourpiece,anddrawmainbranchesfromthistorepresentyourintroduction,mainargumentandconclusion.Addabranchforyourresearchandanotherforanyotherrelevantinformation.Youcouldalsoaddbranchesforanykeytextsorfiguresthatarerelevanttoyourpiece.Usesubbranchesforthemesthatrunthroughyourpieceandconnectingarrowstodeveloplinksbetweenthedifferentstrandsinyouressay.Chunkingcanalsobeaproductivewaytogrouptogetherimportantthemes.Besuretousesymbolsandimagesthroughouttoengageyourbrainandyourimagination.

WhileyourMindMapisgrowing,certainkeywordsandimagescansuddenlybecomelikesupernovas,burstingoutfromtheirsurroundingsandgenerating

newminiMindMaps.Keepyourmindandyouroptionsopen,andfollowwheretheselead(seealsoChapter4,page142,ontheuseofminiMindMapsinsolutionfinding).

OnceyouhavecompletedadraftMindMapandrefinedyourargument,fillingoutthedetailsofyourintroductionandconclusionalongtheway,youcouldfinditusefultomakethisdraftthebasisofanother,more“polished”MindMap.KeepreferringtobothMindMapsasyouwriteyourfinalpiece.

ThestepsforwritinganessaycanalsobeadaptedsothatyourMindMapbecomesanexcellentrevisionaid,asintheexampleexploringthecharacterofMacbethonpage99.

AMindMapforAllAgesIamsometimesaskedwhetherMindMapscanbeusedbypeopleofallageswithequalsuccess.TheanswertothisquestionisaresoundingYES!

SkillinMindMappingisnotdependentonage,sex,colourorcreed;aMindMapisareflectionofthebrain’srawintelligence.

AMindMapisamirrorofthemind’sinnerworkings.Inthisway,abrightandimaginativechildisjustaslikelytocreateausefulMindMapasaCEOofmanyyears’standing.Moreover,allchildrenareequippedwiththe“kids’kit”ofquestions–Why?How?What?When?Where?–whichactlikegrapplinghookstoreachthepeaksofknowledge.AdultswoulddowelltoadoptachildlikeapproachwhenMindMapping!

Let’sremindourselvesoftheLawsofMindMapping(seeChapter2,page60).TheLawsplacenoemphasisonexpertiseorexperience.InMindMapping,theuseofcolour,imaginationandinventivenessconfirmthenaturaldevelopmentofartisticskill.Inaddition,aMindMapisconstructedfromimagesandindividualkeywordsratherthanturnsofphrase.ThismeansthataMindMapcutsthroughjargon,waffleandartificetogettotheheartofamatterinamannerthatisslightlyreminiscentofthewayinwhich,forexample,ayoungchildspeaksitsmind.

Finally,aMindMapreliesonthepowerofRadiantThinkingratherthanon

Finally,aMindMapreliesonthepowerofRadiantThinkingratherthanondeductionandreduction.Asanopen-mindedthinkingtool,aMindMapchartstheprocessesofthebraininactioninsteadoffixatingonconclusionsandoutcomes.

PlantingaGardenofIdeas

MarekKasperskiisaPolishentrepreneur,theOnlineEditorofSynapsiamagazineandalecturer.HeexplainshowMindMapsinformhisteachingmethods,whilehisMindMapshowsthesortofdetailthatcanbeincludedinanadvancedversion:

AMindMapislikeagardenwhereideascangrowandblossomsothatotherswhoviewitmayalsobeinspired.Asalecturerinhighereducation,Ioftenneedtoexplaindifficultconceptstostudentsofvaryingabilities.NotonlydoMindMapshelpmystudentsunderstandtheseconcepts,theymakeitmucheasierforthemtoreviseandrememberthesalientpoints.AMindMapexcitestheirimagination,startsthemonajourneyandhelpsthemdiscovernewareastoexplore.IencouragethemtocreatetheirownMindMapsduringlectures.Thisoftenleadsthemtoaskquestionstheymightnototherwisehaveconsidered,whichbenefitstheentireclass.

TheMindMapsIcreateformyclassesrangefromverysmallconceptmapstolargeonesencompassinganentiresubject.Ifindit’scrucialtofollowtheLawsofMindMapping.Mystudentsrespondtoimagesverywell,especiallythosewhohaveEnglishasasecondlanguage,asimagesspeakauniversallanguage.UsingcolourinaMindMapisalsosoimportant.Notonlyiscolourfun,itisessentialforhelpingmystudentsfocusoneachbranchandanalysetheinformationinit.Iencouragemystudentstouseimagesratherthanwords,ortocombinethetwo.ManyoftheconceptsIdiscussinmyMindMapsarelinkedtootherideaswithintheMindMap.Thisisofgreatbenefit,asitassistsinweavingtheideastogetherintoabigpicture.

MindMaponprojectmanagementbyMarekKasperski

WhatDoYouWanttoKnow?I’magreatbelieverinlifelonglearning.Haveyoueverbeentemptedtostudyanewsubjectoracquireafreshskill?

Whateveryourageorcircumstances,youhaveeveryrighttokeeponpushingyourselfbyexercisingyourbrain–whichwillhelpyouengagewithlifeandkeepyourmentalfacultiessharp.Ifyouhaveanydesireatalltonurtureatalentordeepenyourunderstandingofaparticulartopic,IencourageyounowtoexplorethaturgeintheformofaMindMap.

Whatsubjectinterestsyou?Usethisasthebasisofyourcentralimage–andmakethatimagecolourful,imaginativeandinspiring.Tochoosethemainbranches,startbyaddressingthesequestions:

mainbranches,startbyaddressingthesequestions:

•Whatbenefitswouldstudyingthesubjecthaveforyou?•Whattoolsorstudyaidsdoyouneed?•Wherecanyoustudy?•Howdoesyoursubjectrelatetosociety?•Whatoutcomesdoyouhopetoachievefromyourstudy?Qualifications?Skills?ImprovedCV?

•Whatconsiderationsorobstaclesarethere?Howcanyouaddressthese?

Growyoursubbranchestoexaminetheseandanyrelatedpointsinmoredetail,andenliventheMindMapwithimagesandsymbolsthroughout.Whenyouhavefinished,takeagoodlookatyourMindMap.Whatstepswillyoutakeinlightofwhatyouhavediscovered?

KEYMINDMAPAPPLICATION4:CREATIVITY

Creativityislikethegoldeneggofpersonaldevelopment:weallwanttobemorecreative,yethowtoclimbthebeanstalk,claimthetreasureofcreativityandbringitintoourlives?Manyofusmayhavebeenfeddamagingmythssurroundingcreativitywhileweweregrowingup:thatcreativepeoplearemavericks,unreliable,foolhardyandadangertothemselvesandothers;thattheyaresomehow“special”andsetapartfromtherestofsociety.Ifthisisthecase,itisperhapsnosurprisethatwearesometimesadversetorecognizingcreativityinourselves.

Amuchmorebalancedandproductiveapproachrecognizesthemanystrengthsofcreativepersonalities:theytendtobepioneers,boundarypushers,inventorsandintelligentrisktakers.Theyaremoreoftenthannotoriginal,flexible,focused,colourful,drivenandvisionary.Theyarechildlikewithoutbeingchildish.

Creativethinkingisn’ttheprerogativeofgeniuses;itissimplytheabilitytothinkinoriginalwaysandtobreakawayfromthenorm.Likeamuscle,yourcreativitywillgrowstrongerthemoreyouexerciseit.Themoreyoupractise

creativitywillgrowstrongerthemoreyouexerciseit.Themoreyoupractisecreativethinking:

•Theeasieritwillbeforyoutocomeupwithnewideas•Themorereceptiveyouwillbetofreshperspectives•Themoreoriginalyourideaswillbecome

Creativityislinkedtoplay,anothercrucialpartoflife–thekeytolearning,discovery,relaxation,wellbeingandproductivity.Birdsandmammalsallplay,bothinthewildandwhendomesticated,asdosomefish,reptilesandeveninsects.Duringchildhood,playchangestheconnectionsofneuronsintheprefrontalcortexandhelpswirethebrain’sexecutivecontrolcentre,whichperformsakeyroleinmanagingemotions,makingplansandsolvingproblems.Playforgestheconnectionsbetweenbraincellsanddendrites,andtherebybuildsupaninternetofconnectionsinachild’sbrain–or,toputitanotherway,aswediscussedinChapter1(seepage52),thechild’sowninternalMindMap.

Ifwearelucky,ourworkcansometimesfeellikeplay.Ifwearenotsolucky,weneedtolookforwaystointroduceanelementofplayintoourlives.Onpage106wesawhowtouseMindMappingtochooseanewsubjecttostudyoracquireanewskill;thistechniquecaneasilybeadaptedforfindinganenjoyablehobbyorsport.Itcanalsohelpyoumakethemostofyourleisuretimebyfindingrewardingwaysinwhichtounwind.

Tellme,whatisityouplantodowithyouronewildandpreciouslife?

MaryOliver,“TheSummerDay”

MaketheMostofYourSpareTimeThesayinggoesthat“Nooneeversaidontheirdeathbed,‘IwishI’dspentmoretimeattheoffice’”;I’msurethesameappliestowatchingmoreTV.InthewordsofAmericanpoetMaryOliver,weonlyhave“onewildandpreciouslife”,souseaMindMaptomakethemostofyoursinwhateverwaybringsyousatisfactionandfulfilment.

Ifyoufindthateverymomentseemstobefilledupwith“busy-ness”,aMindMapcanhelpyouidentifytimesofthedaythatyoucanmakeyourownandalso

Mapcanhelpyouidentifytimesofthedaythatyoucanmakeyourownandalsoexplorewhatyoureallywanttodowiththem.Whetheryoudecidetolearnanewsubject,takeeveningclassesorspendyourweekendsinasportshalloronafootballpitch,thechoiceisyours.

MINDMAPFORMAKINGTHEMOSTOFYOURSPARETIME

AsaMindMaplikethisisallaboutfreeingyourselfuptoexpressyourcreativity,trytobeasinventiveaspossibleinyouruseofimagery.Theexampleonpage109isfullofinspiringimages,includingaribbon-wrappedclockrepresentingthegiftoftimethatyouaregivingyourselfandillustrationsexpressinggoals,suchasdoingmorepainting,hikingandtravelling.

YoucanuseaMindMapnotonlytofindoutexactlywhatyouwanttodoinyoursparetimebutalsotoworkoutwhenyoucandoit:someactivitiesyoumightbeabletoenjoyatlunchtimesorevenduringyourcommute,whileothersyoucanfitinonweekdayeveningsorattheweekend.Perhapsyouhaveadreamthatwouldmeantakingasabbatical,suchastravellingtoAfricaorIndia?Ifyoudo,putitonyourMindMap!Onlybyrecognizingourgoalscanwemakethem

do,putitonyourMindMap!Onlybyrecognizingourgoalscanwemakethemhappen.

Creativitycanofcoursetakemanyforms–frompaintingtheceilingoftheSistineChapeltopreparingadeliciouslunch,fromwritingabooktothrowingaparty,fromcomposingasymphonytoplayingthepennywhistle.Whateverformcreativitytakes,aMindMapcanfacilitateitsexpression.

ACreativityWorkout

InChapter1(seepage33),IexplainedtheconceptofRadiantThinkingandintroducedyoutotheHumanLanguage.Wediscoveredhoweveryhuman–youandmeincluded–isfluentinthetwinfacultiesofassociationandimaginationfrombirth.NowI’dliketoinviteyoutoplayalittlegame.

IhaveusedversionsofthisexerciseformanyyearswhenteachingMindMappingandmemory-improvementtechniques,andIwasintriguedtodiscoverthelategreatBritishpoetTedHughessimultaneouslydevelopedasimilarpracticewhenshowinghisstudentshowtowritepoetry.It’sanexercisethatrevealsthecreativesparkthatexistswithineachandeveryoneofus.Haveadictionarytohandbeforeyoustart.

•Pickanobjectatrandom.Thiscouldbesomethingthatyouseeintheroomorsomethingthatpopsintoyourmind.

•Closeyoureyes,flickopenthedictionaryandplaceyourfingeronthepage.

•Now,openyoureyesandwritedownthewordyouhavechosen.

•Repeatninetimes,randomlydippingintothedictionary,untilyouhavetendifferentwords.

•Nowfindasmanyassociationsasyoucanbetweentheobjectandeachofthosewords.

Ifyoufindthisalittledifficulttodoatfirst,keepgoingandIpromiseyouwillfindassociations–howeveroutlandishtheseseem!

willfindassociations–howeveroutlandishtheseseem!

Afterapproximately20minutes,readthroughyourconnections.

Prettycreative,aren’tyou?

HowtoLiveCreatively

PhilChambersisaWorldMindMappingChampion,theChiefArbiteroftheWorldMemorySportsCouncil,asuccessfulbusinessmanandtheauthorofHowtoTrainYourMemory.HeexplainshowMindMapshaveinformedhiscreativethinkingforthreedecades:

MindMapshelpedmereviseforexamsatschool.Atthetimetheywerelittlemorethanspiderdiagramswithlotsofcolourbutlackingstructureandincludingphrases.However,theywerestillsignificantlymoreusefulthanlists.AtuniversitymystyleimprovedandIhadbigMindMapsadorningmybedroomwalls.

InowuseMindMapstostructuremywriting.Itmakessensetothinkclearlyaboutwhatyouwanttosaybeforesittingdowntotype.Byseparatingtheprocessofthinkingfromwriting,Ihaveverylittleredraftingtodoandendupwithamorecoherentdocument.Thisisespeciallyimportantwhenwritingbooks.

Asaninstructor,alargepartofmyjobiscreatingpresentations.Toprepare,ImakeaMindMapwiththedifferenttopics,actionsandflowofconcepts.ThisallowsmetoconstructappropriateslidesandIcanthenusetheMindMapastheperfectillustrationtoguidestudentsthroughthesession.

Amajorproblemwithabusylifeisplanningyouruseoftime.AMindMapistheperfecttoolforthis,fromaquickdailyplantoabroadermonthlyone.IliketohaveaMindMapnexttomydeskandahighlightersoIcanstrikeouttasksoncecompleted.

AsMindMapscanbeworksofart,IliketogivethemasgiftsintheformofbirthdayandChristmascards.IthasbecomeatraditionformeeachyeartotakeaChristmassongandcreateananimatedMindMapofthelyricsinvolvinghumourandimages.AsyoucanseefromtheMindMapbelow,MindMappingplaysapivotalroleinmuchofmylife.

MindMapontheusesofMindMappingbyPhilChambers

KEYMINDMAPAPPLICATION5:WELLBEING

Thereisaprovenpositiverelationshipbetweenphysicalwellbeingandmentalperformance.Today,lobbygroupsarecampaigningtomakethegovernmentacknowledgetheconnectionbetweenthetwowhenmakingpolicy,astheyarguementalhealthandphysicalhealthshouldnotbethoughtofasseparateentities.

Ihavealwaysenjoyedphysicalactivitiessuchasrowingandrunning;andIamafirmbelieverthat,inordertoflourishmentally,youshouldcareforyourphysicalwellbeing.Ialsobelievetheoppositeholdstrue:thatpoormentalhealthcanbedetrimentaltophysicalhealthandevenmakesomeconditionsworse.

Five-timeOlympicgoldmedallistSirSteveRedgravehasawell-developedunderstandingofthemind–bodyconnection.Hehasstressedhowvitalthebrain

understandingofthemind–bodyconnection.Hehasstressedhowvitalthebrainistoanysportingachievement,andhassaid,“Whenyoucompeteatahighlevel,youhavetobeverystrongmentally.”.HeisalsoafirmsupporteroftheworkthatmeandmyfellowMindMappersdo,saying:

“TonyBuzanisoneoftheveryfewpeopleIhavemetwhoreallyunderstandssocompletelyhowimportantthebrainistoanysportsmanorwoman.”

AchieveHolisticWellbeing

Thesedaysweunderstandthatgettingingreatshapeisnotaboutfocusingsolelyonexerciseandrestrictivediets,butaboutpromotingall-roundwellbeing,includingnourishingourbodiesproperly,gettingenoughsleep,destressinganddoingthethingsthatmakeushappy.Thegoodnewsisthatyoudon’thavetospendafortuneontheservicesofapersonaltraineroralifestylecoachtohelpyoufeelandlookgreat.Instead,useaMindMaptocreateapersonalholisticwellbeingplanofyourown.Trytocreateimagesthatwillinspireyoubyradiatingvitalityandgoodhealth.Yourmainbranchescouldreflectthekeyareasthatcontributetoyourall-roundwellbeing–theexampleonpage115exploresnutrition,exercise,destressing,sleepandhappiness,butyoumightchoosetofocusonslightlydifferentareas.Asyoufillinthesubbranches,lookingatwhatsupportsyouroverallwellbeingandwhathindersit,youwillseehowcertainactivitiesbenefityouinmanydifferentways.Perhapsexercisecropsupnotonlyasawellbeingtargetofitsownbutalsoasameansofgettingmoresleepanddestressing,whichinturnhelpspromotehappiness.Inmyexperience,mentalhealthandphysicalfitnessareinextricable.

MINDMAPFORACHIEVINGHOLISTICWELLBEING

ThemoreyouworkonyourMindMap,themoreitwillspeaktoyouandofferyouallthecoachingyouneed!

MakeaMindMapyourNumberOnepersonaltrainer!

EatWell

AmoretargetedMindMapcanalsobeusedfornutrition,tomakesurethatyoueatahealthydietthatincludesabalanceofallthemajorfoodgroups(carbohydrates,proteins,dairy,fruitandvegetables,andfatsandsugars).

YoucanuseaMindMapasaweeklymealplannerbyadaptingyourpersonalweeklyplannerMindMap(seepage83)tofocusonfoodratherthanactivities.Thesubbranchescouldlisttheday’smainmeals,spreadingouttodetailtheingredientsofeachmeal,alongwithitsnutritionalvalue.IfyoucreateanMind

Mapfocusingoneatingwellatthestartofeachweek,you’llprovideyourselfwithahandyshoppinglist.

Ifyouarelookingtoincludemorevitaminsandmineralsinyourdiet,tryfocusingonyourdietevenmorecloselyandcreateaMindMapthatliststhem,alongwiththefoodsinwhichtheyarefound.It’snotalwaysobviouswherethemainvitaminsarefound,soI’veprovidedalistbelow.

Onceyouhavedecidedonyourcentralimage(perhapsabottlewiththelabel“V&M”or,ifyoulikedrawingpeople,apictureofsomeonewho’sjustradiatinghealth),createbranchesforeachofthemainvitamingroupsandminerals,thenfillthesubbrancheswithwonderfulsymbolsandimages,perhapsusingchunkingtogroupthemtogether.Useconnectingarrowstounderscorelinksbetweendifferentgroups.ThenyoucanframeyourmagnificentlyillustratedMindMapandhangitonthewallasaguideandinspirationtoensureyoualwayseatabalancedandvarieddiet.

Vitamin/Mineral Sourcesinclude

VitaminA cheese,eggs,oilyfish,milkandyoghurt,liverandliverpaté

Bvitamins peas,fruit,eggs,meat,vegetables

Folicacid: broccoli,spinach,asparagus,peas,chickpeas

VitaminC citrusfruits,greenandredpeppers,strawberries,potatoes

VitaminD oilyfish,redmeat,liver,eggyolk

VitaminE seedsandnuts,oliveoil,wheatgerm

VitaminK leafygreenvegetables,vegetableoils,cerealgrains

Calcium milk,leafygreenvegetables,tofu,soya,nuts

Iodine fish,shellfish

Iron meat,beans,nuts,dark-greenleafyvegetables

KEYMINDMAPAPPLICATION6:MEMORY

AsI’veexplained,IoriginallyinventedtheMindMapasamnemonictool,anditremainsoneofthemostpowerfulmeansavailableforrememberingvast

itremainsoneofthemostpowerfulmeansavailableforrememberingvastquantitiesofinformation.EveryuseofMindMapscoveredinthischapterstrengthensyourmemoryinsomeway,fromembeddingthekeypointsofatextinyourbraininordertoreviseforanexamorwriteanessay,torememberingallthethingsyouneedtoachieveoverthecomingweekandremindingyourselftoexerciseandeatwell.

WehaveseenhowimportantthepowerofassociationisintheformationofaMindMap:whencombinedwithimagination,itfeedsandwatersthebranchesoftheMindMap,encouragingthemtoradiateorganicallyfromthecentralimage.Inadditiontothis,associationactsasakeytomemoryitself.

In1969,AmericancognitivescientistsAllanM.CollinsandM.RossQuilliantestedthewayinwhichmemoriesareorganizedforefficientenquiry,allowingustodipintoourmemorybankswithoutamoment’shesitation.Theyfoundthatoursemanticmemory(awayinwhichwemakesenseoftheworldthroughlogicandlanguage)isorganizedlikealibraryofsorts,withinterrelatedcategoriesornodesrepresentingspecificfeaturesorconcepts,whicharethenconnectedtooneanother.

Ourindividualexperiencesshapetheseconnections,whichmeansthateverybodyhastheirownspider’swebofassociations:forexample,“bird”isconnectedto“flight”isconnectedto“sky”.AMindMapworksinharmonywiththisprocessbytakingasubjectandthenusingimaginationandassociationtolinktogethereverythingtheMindMapperknowsaboutit.

TheindividualnatureofoursemanticnetworksisonereasonwhyaMindMapisinevitablysuchapersonalcreation:togetthemostoutofoneandtoimproveyourchancesofmemorizingtheinformationinit,youwillhavetocreateyourownMindMapratherthanrelyononethathasbeenmadebysomebodyelse.ThisisonereasonwhyIpersonallypreferhand-drawnMindMapstodigitalversions,usefulthoughthosecanbe.Itcanalsobeslightlymoredifficulttounderstandsomeoneelse’sMindMap,asthewaythatpersonassociatesandlinksinformationmaynotbethesameasyours,andthatslightdifficultywillmaketheMindMaplessusefultoyou.

SpoutingNonsensebyHeart

EdwardLear(1812–88)wasanEnglishartistandauthorwho,amonghisothernotableaccomplishments,wasQueenVictoria’sartteacherandtheauthorofsomewonderfulnonsenseverse.Heisprobablybestrememberedtodayfor“TheOwlandthePussycat”.

Wewillbeleavingthosefeatheredandfurryfriendstotheirowndevicestoday.Instead,IinviteyoutoreadthefollowinglimerickbyLear:

TherewasanOldManwhosaid,“Hush!Iperceiveayoungbirdinthisbush!”Whentheysaid,“Isitsmall?”Hereplied,“Notatall!Itisfourtimesasbigasthebush!”

NowmakeaMindMapofthelimerickthatincludesitsimagery.

Whenyouhavefinished,studyyourMindMapforaboutfivetotenminutes,oruntilyouthinkyou’vememorizedtheinformationonit.Setittooneside.

Onafreshsheetofpaper,recallandwriteoutthelimerickfrommemory.Howdidyoudo?

Ifyouenjoytheprocess,makeaMindMapforalongerpoem.Beforeyouknowit,youwillbeabletocommitwholeballadstomemory!

Whenweareattemptingtoreviseandmemorizeinformation,problemstendtooccurintheshort-termmemory,asthisiswherenewinformationisinitiallycollectedbeforebeingpassedontothelong-termmemory.Earlierinthischapter(seepage72),welearnedhowthepsychologistGeorgeArmitageMillerdiscoveredthattheshort-termmemorycanonlyholdapproximatelysevenpiecesofinformation.Ifthisinformationistoberetainedbythelong-termmemory,ithastoberehearsedbeforeitcanbepassedon,whichiswhylast-minutecrammingforanexamcanbesodifficult:forinformationtobeefficientlyremembered,ithastobecollatedandconnectedinsomeway.Andthis,ofcourse,iswherechunkinginMindMapscancomeintoitsownasa

meansofrecallingdata(seepage72).

TheveryactofphysicallycreatingaMindMaphelpstomaketheinformationinitmorememorable,enablingyoutovisualizeandrecalltheprocessofcreatingit.Throughtheuseofcolourandimages,aMindMapengagesthebrainandimprintsitselfonthememory.

IfyouwishtorecalltheinformationinyourMindMapprecisely,Iwouldsuggestthatyoutakeyourtimetostudyitcarefullyandreviseitsconnections,imagesandbranches.Themoreyoudothis,themoredecisivelytheinformationwillbeimprintedonyourmemory.

Fromplanningapartytosalvagingarelationship,memorizinglyricsormakingapolished,professionalpresentation,aMindMapmakesmattersmanageablebybreakingdownatask,textorsituationintoitselements.Ithighlightsconnectionsandinvitesthebraintoengageasanactiveparticipantintheprocessbylookingforsolutions,committingdetailstomemoryandworkingonoutcomes,ratherthanremainingapassivereceptacleforinformation.

However,therearemanytimeswhensomethingthatappearstobeaMindMapisnotinfactaMindMap.HowcanyoutellatrueMindMapfromafalseone?Theanswertothatquestioncanbefoundinthenextchapter.

3WhatIsNotaMindMap?

ThischapterdispelssomeofthemythsthathavesprunguparoundtheMindMap,andexaminescasesofmistakenidentity,explainingwhyfakeMindMapsarenotnearlyashelpfulasthosethatfollowtheLawsofMindMapping.ItprovideshandytipsforcreatinggenuineMindMapsaswellasguidanceonhowtospottheimposters!

MythsandMisconceptions

Sincetheirinventioninthe1950sand1960s,MindMapshavegoneontohelppeopleallaroundtheworld–andtheycontinuetotransformlivestoday.It’sthegreatestrewardIcouldhaveeverhopedfor;IneverceasetobedelightedbytheglobalreachandappealofMindMapping.ByworkingwithourinnateHumanLanguage,harnessingthetwinforcesofimaginationandassociation,theMindMaphasbecomeathinkingtoolthattranscendsculturaldivisions.

GiventhepopularityofMindMaps,perhapsitisn’tsurprising,then,thatoverthedecadesvariousmythsandmisconceptionshavearisenaroundthem.MyheartsinkswheneverIcomeacrosssomeofthemorecommonmisunderstandings,suchasthemistakenbeliefthatMindMapsandspiderdiagramsarethesamething.

Moreover,thereisarealriskthatanyconfusionbetweenMindMapsanddiagramssuchasconceptmapsandpyramiddiagramscouldcompromisetheintegrityoftheMindMapitself,asitmeanssomepeoplemaynotappreciatethepowerofMindMappingorrealizeMindMaps’fullpotential.Likewise,IfinditfrustratingwheneverImeetindividualswhohavebeenexposedtopoortrainingbythosewhopurporttobeexpertsinMindMapping,despitebeingpoorlytrainedthemselves.

Let’ssortthewheatfromthechaff,andclearupanyconfusionaboutwhataMindMapisandwhatitisnot.

MythBusting

InChapters1and2,welookedbrieflyatthehistoryofMindMapsinrelationtothedevelopmentofvisualthought,andthewayinwhichthedeepancestryofthisthinkingtoolcanbefoundinthestunningcaveartofourStoneAgeforebears.WetouchedonthepioneeringpracticesofculturessuchasancientGreece,andconsideredtheworkofgeniusessuchasCharlesDarwin,whouseddiagramstodeveloptheirideas.

Unfortunately,therearesometodaywhoconfusesimilaritywithsameness,and

whothereforecreditthePhoenicianphilosopherPorphyryofTyros(c.232–303CE)withtheoriginsoftheMindMap.ANeoplatonist,PorphyryorganizedtheideasofAristotleonadiagramtraditionallydescribedasanarbor,ortree,thelayoutofwhichisnotdissimilartotheKabbalisticTreeofLifeintheJewishmysticaltradition.ThereisnocentralimageinPorphyry’sdiagram(seeChapter1,page45),norarethereanyillustrations;thewordsareplacedinanorderedmannerinspheresandalongconnectingpathways.Thethinkinghereisnotradiant,asitisinaMindMap.

Similarly,IsometimescomeacrosspeoplewhosuggestthatLeonardodaVinciinventedMindMapping.Perhapsthisisn’tsurprising:afterall,thispioneeringthinkerwassoaheadofhistimethathewassketchingincrediblecontraptionssuchaswingdevicesandthehuman-powered“ornithopter”400yearsbeforetheWrightbrotherssuccessfullyflewthefirstpoweredaeroplanein1903.DaVinci’scombinationofwordsandimagesinhisnotescertainlyhelpedshapetheearlystagesofmyresearchintothenatureofhumanthought;yetthisgreatartistandthinkerdidnotusecolourschematicallyinhisdiagrams,which,aswehaveseen,isakeyelementinMindMapping.

Likewise,therearethosewhocredittheinventionoftheMindMaptoSirIsaacNewton(1642–1727),theEnglishscientistwhodiscoveredgravityafterobservinganapplefallingfromanappletree.Thisdistinguishedscientistusedintriguingconceptdiagramstocharthisideas,butthesetooweremonochromaticandtooktheformofa“tree”growingupwardratherthanexpandingradiantly,likeastarburst,thewayinwhichaMindMapspreadsacrossthepage.WhilethethinkingofgeniusessuchasdaVinciandNewtonisclearlytimeless,toconfusecenturies-olddiagramswithmodernMindMapsisalittlelikemistakingapennyfarthingbicycleforasuperchargedmotorcycle!

ACaseofMistakenIdentity

PeoplewhoarenewtoMindMapsandwhohaveyettomastertheLawsofMindMapping(seeChapter2,page60)mayatfirstfindthemselvescreatingdiagramsthatsuperficiallyresembleMindMaps,butthatturnouttobesomethingcompletelydifferent,suchasaspiderdiagram,pyramiddiagram,conceptmap,fishbonediagramorsunburstchart.

SPIDERDIAGRAMS

LikeMindMaps,spiderdiagrams(seebox,opposite)canbeusedforplanningessaysandfororganizingideas.Theyoftenhaveahighlystructuredlayout,withlegsprojectingfromacentralidea.However,unlikeMindMaps,theydon’talwaysusecolourandveryrarelyuseimages.Aspiderdiagram’slegsareusuallylinearandspindly,ratherthanorganicandvaryinginthickness.

PYRAMIDDIAGRAMS

Pyramiddiagramsaresimilartospiderdiagramsbuttheyplaceagreateremphasisonhierarchy.WhilethemainideasitsinthecentreofaspiderdiagramoraMindMap,inapyramiddiagramthecoreconceptispositionedatthetopwiththeassociatedideasprogressingdownfromitinanorderedmanner.Thismeansthetendencyisfortheeyetoscanthepagefromtoptobottominaone-directional,rigid,linearmanner,ratherthanrangingfreelyoverthediagraminawaythatencouragesthebraintocomeupwithfreshconnectionsandnewinsights.

Pyramiddiagram

GivetheSpiderItsLegsBackTakealookatthespiderdiagrambelow:

Nowturnbackto“HowtoCreateaMindMap”inChapter1(page27),andreadthroughthesevenstepsagain.

Whenyouareready,haveagoatmakingaspiderdiagramusingthetemplateaboveasaroughguide,thenusethisinformationtocreateaMindMap.

Onceyouarefinished,comparethetwo.

Whichimageisthemoststriking,appealingandmemorable?

Why?TakealookbackattheLawsofMindMappinginChapter2(page60).InwhatwaysdotheLawsmakeaMindMapmorevisuallyappealingthanaspiderdiagram?

CONCEPTMAPS

Conceptmapspresentideasandinformationintheformofwordsandphrasesthatareplacedinboxesorcircles.Likepyramiddiagrams,theseunitsareconnectedinadownward-branchinghierarchicalstructure,meaningthatconceptmapstendtobereadfromthetopdown,withalltherestrictionsthatthatentails.Theirconnectingarrowsareusuallylabelled,asarethebranchesinMindMaps.However,thelabelonaconnectingarrowinaconceptmapcantaketheformofaphraseratherthanasingleword,solosestheimpactthatasinglekeywordhas.Moreover,coloursandimagesarenotafeatureofthesegraphicaltools,lesseningthevisualimpactofaconceptmap,aswellasitsappealtothebrain.

lesseningthevisualimpactofaconceptmap,aswellasitsappealtothebrain.Conceptmapsoftenhaveapedagogicalfunction,presentinginformationthatistobelearnedbyrote,whereasMindMapscanbeusedasatechniqueforbrainstorminganddevisingnewstrategies,aswellasinmanyothercreativeways.

Conceptmap

FISHBONEDIAGRAMS

AlsoknownasIshikawadiagramsaftertheywerepopularizedinthe1960sbytheJapaneseorganizationaltheoristKaoruIshikawa(1915–89),fishbonediagramstaketheirnamefromtheirshape.The“bones”ofthediagramrelatetoparticularfactorsorconsiderations,whilethecumulativeeffectsitsatthe“head”,meaningthatfishbonediagramsareusuallyreadfromlefttoright(orrighttoleftifyouareinJapan!).Theyarelinear,monochromeandthefocusinthemisoncauseandeffectratherthanonignitingthepowersoftheimaginationandassociationinordertostimulatethebrain.

Fishbonediagram

SUNBURSTCHART

Alsoknownasasunburstdiagram,ringchart,multilevelpiechart,beltchartoraradialtreemap,asunburstchartiscompactandformedofconcentriccircleswhichrepresentlayersofhierarchicaldata.Eachlayerisdividedintocategoriesorsegments,whichareoftendepictedindifferentcolours.Thechartsdonotuseimagery.Whileperhapsusefulforsummarizingdata,theycanbehardtoreadandarenotagreattoolforinspiredcreativethinking.

Sunburstchart

HowtoSpotaNon-MindMapYounowknowwhataMindMapis,andwhatitisnot!WhentheLawsofMindMappingareneglected,theresultisalltoooftenmonotony,alackoforderandclarity,andsprawlingconfusion.OryoumaycomeacrossadiagramthatsuperficiallyresemblesaMindMap,butisactuallysomethingelsealtogether.

Generallyspeaking,MindMapsaremuchmoreadeptatreleasingthepowerofcreativethinkingthanothertypesofvisualtool.WhiletherearekeystepsandessentialelementsinaMindMap,theimageryineachoneisuniquetothatMindMap:thereisnoformaliconography,norarigoroussenseinwhichaMindMapcanbe“rightorwrong”inthewaythatagraphicsuchasapiechartcouldbemathematicallyflawed,forexample.

MindMapsdonotgenerallyrelatetosteps,systemsorprocesses,yettheyarefullofmovementandaresteepedinaninnatelogic.Theyhavebeencalled

illogicalbysomebecausetheyarenotbasedonlists,linesandnumbers–yetnothingcouldbefurtherfromthetruth.AMindMap,ononelevel,isasuperblylogicalthinkingtool,becauseinaMindMapthingsonlyconnecttootherelementsthroughthepowerofassociation,meaningthereisanatural,causallinkbetweenthem.Afterall,logicistheabilitytomakeappropriateassociationsinordertocometoarationalconclusion.

Moreover,inadditiontorepresentinginformation,theveryactofcreatingaMindMapstimulatesthebrainandengagesthememory.Itisamanifestationofthethoughtsandideasofitsindividualcreator.

AMindMap’suseofcolour,imageryandvisualconnectionsisinformal,organic–andessentialtoitsproperfunctioning.

AMindMapcanbecomeathingofconsiderablebeautyinitsownright.IhaveseensomeMindMapsthathaveliterallytakenmybreathaway,suchasthefineexamplefromChinaonpage132.ThisMindMapwascreatedbyRichardLin,aformerbusinessmanwhoistodayasuccessfullifecoach,publicspeaker,universitymentorandmasterMindMapper.

Takealong,hardlookatthiswonderfulMindMap.Whatimagerycanyousee?WhatdoyouthinkthisMindMapisabout?

Didyounoticethecomputerscreenunderneaththecentralheading?Richard’sMindMapisdescribingthebrainasa“neck-topcomputer”,andeachofthebranchesrelatestoakeyprincipleofMindMapping,suchastheuseofcolour,dimensionandassociation.It’samasterpieceofMindMappingandIloveit!

TocheckwhetheryouarelookingatatrueMindMap,considerthefollowing:

Isthereaclearcentralconcept?

Isthereaclearcentralimage

depictingthatconcept?

Doesthediagramradiatefromthecentre?

Istherealwaysonewordperbranch?

Arethereanyimages?

Iscolourusedthroughout?

IstheMindMapclear?

IstheMindMapnaturalandorganicinappearance?

IstheMindMaphighlyvisuallyappealing?

Iftheanswertoanyofthesequestionsis“no”,youarenotlookingatatrueMindMap.

MindMaponthebrainasaneck-topcomputerbyRichardLin

Withtimeandpractice,youtoowilldevelopyourownuniquestylewhenMindMapping.

Andthat’sreallysomethingtobecelebrated!

ImagineLosingtheLaws

TakealookatoneoftheMindMapsyoucreatedwhilereadingthroughChapter2.

•ImagineyourMindMapwithnocentralimage,thebrainandheartofitextracted.

•ImagineyourMindMapwithnocolour,andconsideritslackofpower.

•ImagineyourMindMapwithonlystraightlines,andthinkofitsrigidityanditslackofappeal.

•ImagineyourMindMapwithnoimagesthroughout,itslifeblooddiluted.

•ImagineyourMindMapwithmorethanonewordperbranch,andvisualizehowclumsyitwouldbe.

•ImagineyourMindMapbranchesandkeywordsareofunequallength:seehowitsstructurecollapses.

•NowimaginetheaccumulatingdisadvantagesofeliminatingalloftheLaws–andpicturewhatalawless,chaoticanddisintegratingstatethatwouldbe…

4SolutionFinding

AtsomestageinyourMindMappingjourney,youmayfeelthatMindMapsjustaren’tworkingforyou.Pleasedon’tgiveup!Thischapteroffersallthesolutionsyouneed,includingtipsonaskingtherightquestions,dealingwithaclutteredormessypage,andwhyyoushouldletrepetitioninaMindMapbeyourguide.ItwillshowyouthatMindMapscanalwayshelpyoufindtherightpath–allyouneedtodoispersevere.

PerseveranceistheKeytoSuccess

Intheiruseofthepowersofassociationandimagination,andtheirinherentlogic,theLawsofMindMappingareamanifestationofthemoregenerallawsofgoodthinking.JustlikethebranchesofaMindMapspreadintonewareas,theLawsofMindMappingcanbeappliedinaninfinitevarietyofways.Theyarealwaysthereasamaptoguideyou,andasasafetynetreadytocatchyou,soturntothem,shouldyoueverfindyourselfinneedofencouragementorreassurance.

Don’tbediscouragedwhenyourunintoobstacleswithyourMindMapping.RememberthatyouhavealreadyreachedasignificantstageinyourMindMappingjourney.ThefactthatyouarerunningintodifficultiescouldsimplybeanindicationthatyouaretakingyourMindMappingpracticetoanewlevel.Ifyoupersevereinfacinguptoeachapparentobstacleasitarises,andcompletealltheexercisesinthisbook,bythetimeyoufinishreadingit,youwillbewellonthewaytoMindMappingmastery.

Ifyouareencounteringproblems,perhapscometoapointinyourjourneywhereyouneedtoclarifybothyourapproachtoMindMappingandyourthinking.Youcould,forexample,findithelpfultorereadChapter3,“WhatIsNotaMindMap”.IhavefoundthatmanypeoplewhosaytheyareexperiencingdifficultiesinMindMappingarenotinfactworkingwithMindMapsatall,butaremakingspiderdiagrams.Sometimes,theyhaveforgottentheimportanceofcolourorofusingkeywords.

Often,itisnottheMindMapcausingtheproblem,butaperson’sfearsaroundit.Fearisthegreatmindkiller.Ifyouwereevertofindyourselfonaboatinturbulentseas,youwouldholdtighttotheropes,steertherudderandtakecontrolofthehelm;inthesameway,ifyoueverfindyourselfinrockywaterswhenMindMapping,tightenyourcommandoftheLaws.

Check–andcheckagain–thateachMindMapisfollowingtheLawsofMindMapping.

TakeagoodlookataMindMapthatdoesn’tseemtobeworkingforyou.Now

turnbacktotheLawsofMindMappinginChapter2(seepage60),andreadthemthroughagaincarefully.

ImagineyourMindMapisaFormula1racingcar:duringthecourseofarace,yousteerintothepitstopsothatmechanicscancheckandserviceyourcar,andsendyousafelyonyourway.Inthesameway,makeanefforttoserviceyourMindMapandtokeeponmakingsurethatitisbeingservedbytheLaws.

IfyouhaveaMindMapthatstrikesyouasbeingpotentiallytroublesome,keepacopyoftheLawsinfrontofyouandreferbacktoitwhileyouexaminetheMindMapinmoredetail:

•AreyouworkingonapieceofunlinedpaperthatisatleastA4insizeandplacedhorizontally?

•Isthecentralimagepositionedinthemiddleofthepageanddrawninatleastthreecolours?

•Isthecentralimageeye-catching?•Ifthecentralimageincludesaword,isthatwordin3Dormadetolookinterestingtypographically?

•Arethemainbranchesindifferentcolours?•Isthereonlyonewordperbranch?•Havethebranchessproutedhealthynumbersofsub-branches?•Haveyouusedimagesthroughout?

Iftheanswertoanyofthesequestionsisno,makeanotherversionofyourMindMapthatstickstightlytotheLaws.Inallprobability,youwillachieveamuchbetterresult.

AMindMapalwaysworkswhenitisworkedwell.

AsktheRightQuestion

Goodquestionsmakeallthedifferencewhenitcomestoachievingexcellentresults.Askingtherightquestionislikeaiminganarrowatthebull’seyeofyourgoal,anddrawinganarrowfromthequiverofyourcuriosityandintellect.

goal,anddrawinganarrowfromthequiverofyourcuriosityandintellect.

WheneveryoucreateaMindMap,thinkcarefullyaboutthequestionortopicthatyouwishtoaddress.Aneffectivequestionortopicwill:

•Triggerthepowersofassociationandimagination•Beopen,allowingconsiderationandassessmentratherthanclosedyes/noresponses

•Inspirecriticalandanalyticthinking•Createclarity•Challengeassumptions•Stimulatebreakthroughthinking•Achieveabalancebetweenthecontent(who?what?when?andtheprocess(how?why?)

•Inspireapositivereaction

Poorlyformulatedquestionsleadtoflawedanswers.Toavoidambiguityinyouranswers,keepyourcentralquestionshort,clearandprecise.WhenyoubegintoconsideratopicinaMindMap,focusonitlikeamoviedirectorwithazoomlens.

MindMapaGoodQuestion

Readthroughthebulletpointsoppositeagain.Keepingthesepointsforemostinyourthoughts,makeaMindMapthatcapturesthemandconsidersthenatureofaneffectivequestionortopic.

Rememberthatanartist’sgreatestfearoftentakestheformofablankcanvas.Themostimportantstepissimplytomakethosefirstmarks.UsethisMindMaptohelpyoueliminatethefearofcommittingyourselftopaper.Makeyourfirstmarks,andthenkeeponmakingthem!Remember:MindMappingisanongoingprocess,inwhichyouareinvitedtoaskquestionafterquestion.

LookatyourMindMap.Askyourselfaboutyourcentralquestion.Asyou

LookatyourMindMap.Askyourselfaboutyourcentralquestion.AsyoucontinueMindMapping,alwaysdouble-checkthatitworksandbereadytoreadjustifnecessary.

UseSimpleyetPowerfulImages

Likethequestionortopicyouwishtoconsider,keepyourcentralimagesimpleyetstriking–sothatitpacksthepunchofabrand’slogo,yetwithadashmorecolour.Keepthelinescleanandclear,andmakeyourcentralimagefocused.

ThespreadofyourMindMapacrossthepage,asitsbranchesbecomeincreasinglyfilledwithsymbolsandwords,isawonderfultestimonytothefactthatyourbrainisgeneratingmoreideas.ShouldyourMindMapappearovercrowded,youhavesimplyreachedthestageofgeneratingminiMindMaps–or“child”MindMaps,whichoftenhavethepotentialtogrowintobigadultMindMapsthemselves(seepage142).

MakeSpaceforYourIdeas

Let’ssaytheproblemdoesn’tseemtolieinyourcentralimage.Youlikethecentralimage:it’scolourful,eye-catchingandeffective.Itimmediatelytriggersallsortsofassociationsinyourimagination.

Ifthisisthecase,takealookatthemainbranchesofyourMindMap.Areyoulookingatfertilewoodlandoranunrulytangleofbrambles?Canyoustill“seethewoodforthetrees”?

ClarityisanimportantelementinaMindMap.Ratherlikethefocusonasymmetryandspaceinikebana,theJapaneseartofflowerarranging,theareaaroundeachbranchinyourMindMapisassignificantinsomerespectsasthebranchitself.

“Negative”spaceinartisticcreationshelpstodefinetheboundariesoftheobjectandaddsbalancetoacomposition.

EmbraceMessiness

A“messy”MindMap,however,isfarfrombeingadisaster.Thereisnoneedtogiveyourselfahardtimeifyouendupwithone.Usually,amessyMindMapissimplyareflectionofyourthoughtprocessesatthetimeyoucreatedit.PerhapsyouwerequicklyMindMappingtorecordaphoneconversationortakenotesforalecture?Ifso,yourMindMapwillreflectthechallengesofMindMappingatspeedwhilefollowingthetwistsandturnsofadiscussionortalk.

IfyoubelieveyourMindMapismessy,Iwouldaskyoutoadjustyourcameralensandtakeanotherlook:evenifyourMindMapspreadschaoticallyalloverthepageandishardtoread,pleasebehappywithwhatyou’veachieved!WhileyourMindMapmaynotbeaworkofgreatbeauty,itwillneverthelessbeavaluablefirstdraftthatcanbeusedasthebasisforasecondMindMap.Afterall,mostofthegreatartistsmadesketchesbeforefinishingtheirmasterpieces.

ANoteonMessiness

It’stimetorethinkourdefinitionoftheword“messy”!

Traditionally,notionsof“tidy”and“messy”note-takinghavebeendefined–dareIsayit–arbitrarilybythoseintheacademicarenawhoareusedtolinearwaysofthinking.Forthem,“neat”notessticktothelinesonapagelikesmallbirdsgluedbylimetotwigs,whereas“messy”notestakeflightandhopabout,combiningwords,signs,symbolsandnumbers.

ThereareeventhosewhowoulddescribethenotesofgeniusessuchasLeonardodaVinciandCharlesDarwinasbeing“messy”.Thefactisthatweshouldberethinkingourdefinitions:

Colourful,branching,“messy”notesareanythingbutmessyintermsoftheirpowerandimpact!

Giventhatlinearnotesmakeassociationverydifficult,loseprofoundconnectionsandeliminatetheHumanLanguagefromthebrain,shouldwereallybecallingthem“neat”?Iwouldarguethatlinearnotesareactually

reallybecallingthem“neat”?Iwouldarguethatlinearnotesareactuallytrulymessyinmanyrespectsinthattheymessupthinking,logic,creativity,confidence,enjoymentandthepotentialforfun.Indeed,Iwouldgosofarastosaytheymessuplifeitself!

BeforeyoubeginworkonasecondMindMap,double-checkwhethertheorganizationofyourfirstdraftisflawed.Aresomeoftheassociationsweakorweretheymadeinerror?

Rememberhow,inChapter2(seepage104),MarekKasperskilikenedaMindMaptoagarden?InyoursecondMindMap,pruneawayanyunnecessarybranchesandsub-branchestogiveyourselfclarity.Ifnecessary,reorganizethemainbranchessothatthesequenceofyourBasicOrderingIdeas(BOIs)isunderpinnedbylogicandnumericalorder.Forthosebranchesthatyouwishtokeep,makesuretheyarefirmlyfixedinplaceandspreadpleasingly–likeafruittreesupportedbyasturdytrellis.

Onceyouhavecutawayanyredundantorrepeatedinformationonyourbranches,newshootsarelikelytoappearthatwillproducefruitintheformoforiginalideasandassociations.

BeginyourMindMapagain.Howareyougoingtoimproveit?

SowMiniMindMaps

IntheprocessofrevisitingyourMindMap,youmayfindthatsomeideasorissueshavebeenexposedthatcouldbeusefullyturnedintominiMindMaps,especiallyifdevelopingthemonthemasterMindMapwillmakeitproblematicallycomplexanddifficulttodecipher.MiniMindMapsorbitthemainMindMaplikemoonsaroundaplanet.TheyexploreaspectsofthemainMindMapincloserdetailwithoutclutteringitup.

Providedthereisenoughroom,aminiMindMaportwocansitonthesamepageasthemasterMindMap.Ifthereisn’tspace,givethemapageoftheirown.Thinkofafamilyinwhich,overtime,achildhasgrowntothepointofneedingaroomoftheirown.TreattheseminiMindMapsasyouwouldarealchild:notwithdisdain,butwithencouragement.Ratherthanrespondtothemwith

withdisdain,butwithencouragement.Ratherthanrespondtothemwithnegativity,nurturethem.

MiniMindMapsareespeciallyrewardingtoolsifyoufindyourmasterMindMapraisesmorequestionsthananswers.UseaminiMindMaptoaddressanynewquestionsaswellastackleoffshootsanddigressions.YoucanevenuseminiMindMapstoexploretwosidesofanargument,whichisespeciallyusefulwhenwritinganessay,forinstance.(SeealsoChapter5,page169forusingMindMapsinconflictresolution.)

LetRepetitionGuideYou

Everynowandagain,youwillfindthataseeminglyunimportantwordappearsrepeatedlyinaMindMap,ononebranch,thenanotherandanother.Thisisnotaproblem.Thisisabreakthrough.

Throughrepetition,akeywordbecomesa

keykeyword

orevena

keykeykeywordAwordthatemigratestoanotherbranchofaMindMapisnotunnecessaryorboring,buttheexactopposite:itreinforcesthestrengthoftheideathatitembodies.

Ifyounoticeawordisrepeated,underlineittomakeitstandout.Ifitappearsthreetimes,putasmallboxarounditwhereveritappears:itisclearlyimportant.Ifitappearsfourtimesormore,itisshoutingoutforyourattention!Drawtheboxesarounditinthreedimensions.NowlinktheboxestoformagiantboxaroundyourwholeMindMap.Putthisgiantboxinthreedimensionsaswell.

YourMindMapisnowheldwithinalargerframework,asawordthatyouoriginallythoughtrelativelyinsignificantturnsouttobeofprimaryimportance.

Thisrepresentsaparadigmshiftinyourthinking–andisthereforeamajorleapforwardinthewayyouaretacklinganissue–becauseitshowsthatyouarereframingyourunderstandingandapproachtoasubject.

IstronglyrecommendthatyouusethewordthathasmadeitselfknowntoyouinthiswayasthenewcentralimageinyournextMindMaponthissubject.

DealwithIndecision

OftentheactualprocessofcreatingaMindMapleadstoaclearsolutionbyprovidingabalancedoverviewofasituation.IfyourMindMapdoesn’tinviteyoutochooseaclearpathofaction,itistimetoengagethepowersofyourintuition.Tossacoinanddecide–headsortails–whichoftheoptionsyouaregoingtopursue.Takenoteofthestrengthofyourreactionandwhetheritisoneofdisappointmentorjoy;thenallowyourfeelingstodecidewhichchoiceistherightoneforyou.

Ifyoustillcan’tdecide,digdeeperintoyourdilemmathroughtheuseoffurtherMindMapsandminiMindMaps:donotprocrastinate.Procrastinationismentallydrainingandcounterproductive,whereaspursuingaclearcourseofactionisliberating,energizingandleadstodirectlivedexperience,evenifthatexperiencemaynotalwaysfulfilexpectations.Itisalwaysbettertobeproactiveandtodosomethingthantowallowunproductivelyinthepitofinertia.

KeepGoing!IfyouproduceaMindMapandfindthatyouhaveastrongnegativereactiontoit,donotbedismayed!

PersistenceiskeyinMindMapping,andIwouldurgeyouto“try,tryandTRYagain”!

Thisisthemantraofeveryteacher;persistenceisallifyouwishtoachievemasteryinanyfield–includingMindMapping.MindMapswillstrengthenyourabilitytopersistastheycontinuetoofferupsolutionsforyou,helpyoutodissolveproblemsand,intheprocess,giveyoutheenergytokeepontrying.

IhavementionedbeforehowyoudonotneedtopossessgreatartisticskilltobecomeanaccomplishedMindMapper:themoreMindMapsyoucreate,thebetteryouwillinevitablybecomeatthem.However,ifyoureallyfeelinhibitedaboutyourdrawingskills,youcouldfindiMindMapsoftwareuseful,especiallyifyoudrawonthisinconjunctionwithcreatingMindMapsbyhand.Thissoftwareautomaticallygeneratesthick,organicbranchesforyourBOIs,andsmallerbranchesforsub-branches.Italsoincludesalibrarycontainingthousandsofhigh-qualityimages.(SeeChapter6,page198,formoreinformation.)

IfyoueverencounteraobstaclewhenyouareMindMapping,rememberthatthisisnotdesignedtobealinearprocess.Youdonotneedtokeepbangingyourheadagainstaproblem.Simplysidestepitelegantlyandexploreanotherroute!

GetBackontheHorseThatBuckedYouPerhapstheveryideaofcreatingaMindMaphasbeguntoseemlikeadauntingprospect:youareanxiousaboutnotgettingit“right”;youthinkyoudon’thaveenoughgoodideas;youdon’tlikethewayyoudraw;youaredisappointedbytheendresults.Here’swhatIwouldsuggest:

MindMapyourworriesaway!

MindMapscanbeanexcellentresourceforself-analysisandfortacklingpersonalproblemssuchasanxiety,shyness,excessiveperfectionism,feelingdown,anddisappointment.Ifyoufindthatyouaren’thappywithyourMindMappingresults,makeaMindMapaboutyourexperience.

Youcould,forexample,startwithacentralimageshowingyourselflookingdownhearted.Nowdoaquick-fireMindMap,expressingopenlyandhonestlywhatevermixedthoughtsandfeelingsyouhavehadabouttheMindMappingprocess.

YournextstepistoworkupthisdraftintoamorebalancedandanalyticalMindMap,withBasicOrderingIdeas(BOIs)thatexploreyouremotionsinmoredepth.Consider,forexample:

•Theactualnatureofyourfeelings–whetherthereareanylayerstothem

•Thephysicalsensationofthem•Howtheyinfluenceyourbehaviour•Howtheyimpactonyourlife•Othersituationsinwhichyoufindyouexperiencesimilarfeelings

•Pasteventsinwhichthesefeelingscouldhavetheirorigins•Anyoutsidehelpyouneedinordertotacklethesefeelings

Examineeachaspectofyouremotionsandtheexperiencesthatcauseorrelatetothem.Onceyouhavedonethisandhaveaclearerunderstandingofwhatishappeningtoyou,youwillfindyouarewellonyourwaytoexorcizinganyemotionalbugbearsthataresouringyourenjoymentofMindMapping.Oftenthesimpleactofwritingdownaproblemcandiffuseitandhelpgetitintoperspective.

SolveAnyProblemwithMindMappingHaveyoueverlainawakeinthemiddleofthenight,unabletosleep,torturedbyaproblem?Thelongeryouliethereworryingaboutit,theworseyourproblemseemstobecome.Everytimeyouthinkaboutit,anothercomplicationcomestotheforeuntilthewholeconundrumseemslikeanelaborateCelticknotwithnobeginningorend.

Whenyourisethenextmorning,theproblemcanoftentakeondifferentproportionsintheclearlightofday.Perhapsitnolongerseemssodauntingorimpossibletosolve.Oftenamomentofcalmreflectionisallthatisneeded.Indeed,maybeallyouneedtodoiswriteitdowntogettogripswithit…Tocreateamomentofcalmandgetthisprobleminperspective,makeaMindMapofit.

Startbydrawingacentralimagethateitherrelatestotheissuespecificallyormoregenerallydealswiththeideaof“problem-solving”.Throughyourbranchesyoumightwanttostartbydefiningtheproblemanditscauses,andthengotoexploretheeffects,negativeandpositive.Onebranchcoulddealwithhowtofindhelpinhandlingtheproblem;rememberthatyourownresponsetoa

findhelpinhandlingtheproblem;rememberthatyourownresponsetoadifficultsituationistheonlyonethatyoucanfullycontrolandself-helpcanbejustasimportantasassistancefromothers.ThenyourMindMapcanmoveontotheplanningand,finally,theactingstagesofsolvingaproblem.

BesuretokeepthewordsandimagesonyourMindMappositiveandinspiring,sothatyourthinkingisRadiantratherthanreductive.Avoidusingtoomanynegativewords,asthesecanbediminishingandunproductive.Theimagescanactasarealinspirationaswellasareminderofwhatyouneedtodo–intheexampleopposite,amemorableglowingheartsymbolizes“bravery”whileanopendoorstandsfor“openness”.Keepyoursymbolsinmindand,usingtheoverviewprovidedbyaMindMap,youwillbegintoseeyourwaytowardaworkablesolution.

AsaMindMapmimicsthebrain’sownwayofworkingandstimulatesitintoaction,theactofmakingthisMindMapwillengageyourthinkingprocesses:insteadofremainingfrozenwithanxietyorfallingintoflightmode,theprocessofMindMappingwillgiveyoutheenergyandclaritytofightandresolveyourdilemma.Byanalysingyourfeelingsinthisway,youmaywellfindthatyouhavenowidentifiedandcantackleemotionaltendenciesthathavebeendetractingfromyourenjoymentoflifegenerally.

Ratherthanclosingdownwithlinearnotes,letaMindMapopenyouuptotheworld!

MINDMAPFORSOLVINGAPROBLEM

TheMagicofThinkingBig

MindMapsareexcellentpathfinders.

ArifAnisisaleadinginternationalcoachandbestsellingauthorwhohastheprivilegeofcoachingtopcorporateleaders,headsofstates,moviestarsandCEOs;yetitwasn’talwaysthisway.HeislivingproofofMindMaps’powertosolveproblems.Oncedowncastandconfused,MindMapshelpedhimsolvetheproblemofwherehewasheadinginlife,andhehasbeenusingthemeversince.Todayheisasuccessfulbusinessmanandauthor,apowerhouseofideasandaninspirationtoallwhomeethim.Hereishisstory:

Astheysay,ifyouarealuckystudentandyouwantitenough,youdon’tfindyourteacherbutyourteacherfindsyou–soImetMindMapsatacriticaljunctureinmylife.

Ileftuniversitywithaheavyheartaftergainingapostgraduateinpsychology.Iwaspuzzled,confusedandscared.Lifeoutsidethecampusseemedreallydaunting.Whattochoose?Whichwaytogo?Whatwasmycareergoingtobefortherestofmylife?AndwhatifImadeawrongchoice?Iwasparalysedbyfearoftheunknown.

Toomanyoptionswereavailabletomeanditwashardtoseparatethemfromeachother.Iseemedtohavebecomelostintheabyssoflife–andthenIfoundTonyBuzan’sbestsellingMindMappingbooksinmylocalbookshopandlifewasneverthesameagain.

IstarteddrawingMindMaps.Lousyonesinthebeginning.Buttherewassomethinginthosecoloursandimages…Slowly,theroadstartedemerginganditbecameclearerwitheverypassingstep.AtlastIcouldseethehighway–andwhereitwastakingme.Myconfidencestartedseepingback.Iwasnowamanwithamissionwhoclearlyknewwhathewantedinhislifeandhowtogetthere.Igotthebigpicturewithallofitssharpnessandhues.Itchangedeverythingfromthenonward.

WhenIlookbackatmylifeandthemajormilestones,theyhaveonethingincommon:IfindMindMapsallaroundthem.Beitmyfirstjobasatraineepsychologist;mypreparationforthemostcompetitiveexaminationinPakistan,whichattractedthebestofthebestforcovetedpositionsinthecivilianbureaucracy;myweddingplans;orwritingmybestsellingbooks.MindMapsbroughtsynergyandclaritytomydecisionsandproducedresults.

Muchtomyownsurprise,Iwasabletopassthetoughestexaminthecountryafteronly40days’study.AndIknewIcouldachievemuchmoreinlesstime.Myproductivityquadrupled,asdidmyoptionsandchoicesinlife.Iwasnotpushedorcajoledbylifeanymore.IknewwhatIwantedandhowtogetthere.

Today,IhavetheprivilegeofteachingMindMapstothousandsofpeopleinPakistan.Theyincludestudents,trainees,interns,officers,marketers,salespeople,doctorsandmanymore.Thepracticehasgoneontoreachscoresofcolleges,universities,

practicehasgoneontoreachscoresofcolleges,universities,corporateorganizationsandtraininginstitutions,andinspiredthousandsofMindMapperstotakeontheworldintheirrelevantdisciplines.

MindMapsalsoinspiremynextgeneration.MysonsSaroshandFariqleewereintroducedtoMindMapsattheageoffourandtheyinstantlyfellinlovewiththeprocess.AtfirsttheyusedMindMapstoexpressthemselvesandplanfamilyvacations.Graduallytheybecamehookedonthem,andmywifeUzmaandIwouldfindMindMapseverywhere–onthewalls,intheclosetandonthesofas.Today,theyconstituteoneofthemostessentialtoolsintheirstudyskillskit.Morethanthis,MindMappingtrainedthemtoexercisetheirthinkingmuscleswhiletuningintotheircreativeinstincts.

Iamproudtosaywearea“MindMapper”family!

5TheInfiniteApplicationsofMind

Maps

Youhaveinyourhandsanincrediblypowerfulthinkingtool,andnowyouarereadytotakeittoahigherlevel.WhatwillyoudowithMindMappingnext,andhowwillyouuseittoenhanceyourownlifeaswellasthelivesofothers?Thischaptersuggestsahugerangeofdifferentapplications,andincludesguidanceonhowtouseadvancedMindMappingtechniquesinthekeyareasofyourlifeexploredinChapter2:home,work,education,creativity,wellbeingandmemory.

ToolsforanIntuitiveandLogicalApproach

TheMindMapworkswithourinnateHumanLanguage.WesawinChapter2howwearebornfluentinthislanguage(seepage34):evenasbabieswelearnwithaformofMindMapsinourheads.AstheMindMapisbasedonthewayweinstinctivelyviewtheworld,itnaturallyhasinfiniteapplications,eachoneasindividualasweare.

Throughitsinfiniteapplications,theMindMaphasevolvedintoametalanguage:thelanguageoflanguageitself.

Thismetalanguagespeakstoboththelogicalandintuitivesidesofthebrain.TheemphasisinMindMappingonthetwinforcesofassociationandimaginationmeanssomepeoplebelieveMindMappingmustbeunsuitedtotechnical

meanssomepeoplebelieveMindMappingmustbeunsuitedtotechnicalsubjectsorrationalprocessessuchasmathematics.Thisissimplyuntrue.

WehaveseenhowMindMapsarehighlylogical,inthattheyarerootedinthelogicofassociation(seeChapter3,page130).TheyareextremelystructuredandsubjecttotheLawsofMindMapping,whichiffollowedwillalwaysensuretheirclarityandusefulness.TheseLawsencouragepeopletotakeanorderedapproachwhenstructuringaMindMap.Moreover,iftheywish,thosewhoaredrawntowardlogicalwaysofthinkingcanworkthroughtheassociationsonebranchatatimebeforemovingontothenextmainbranchintheirMindMaps.

ThestructureofMindMapsmakesthemagoodfitforsubjectsthatlendthemselvestocategorizationandtoaconsiderationofprocesses,suchasphysics,chemistryandmathematics,asDrDilipAbayasekaradescribedinChapter2(page96),whendiscussinghowheusedMindMapsinhislabwork.Theyareusefultoolsforbreakingdownscientifictopicsintotheircomponentpartsandprovidinganoverview.

MindMapsasaCalltoAction

DominicO’Brien,whokindlysuppliedtheForewordforthisbook,haswonWorldMemoryChampionshipsmanytimesandisthebestsellingauthorofbooksaboutmemorizationtechniques.HeisalsoamajoradvocateofthemanybenefitsandapplicationsofMindMapping:

Forme,MindMapsareagreatwayofovercomingprocrastination.Sometimesthethoughtofembarkingonanewbookorpreparingamemorycoursecanbedaunting:withsomanytopicstocover,it’seasytofallinthe“WheretheheckdoIstart?”trap.

BygrabbingablankA4sheetofpaperandplacingithorizontally,Icandivestraightintoaprojectandchuckdownmyimmediateideas.Moreoftenthannot,thefirstthoughtsthatfalloutofmymindarethetopicsImostneedtocover.HencetheMindMapallowsmetoprioritizewhatisessentialtotheproject.

Thefine-tuningofthepreciseorderoftopicsismucheasierifI

Thefine-tuningofthepreciseorderoftopicsismucheasierifIliterallyhaveapictureofthem,rightthere,infrontofme.TypicallyIgothroughthisfirst-stepprocesswhen:

•Writinganewbookorarticleonmemory•Organizingaseminarorspeakingengagement•Preparingforanimportantmeeting•Assemblingthebackgrounddetailsofanewclient•Understandingacomplexsubject,whetherpoliticsorascientificbreakthrough

•Movinghouseorpreparingatravelschedule•Prioritizingthe“to-dos”

Probablythelastone–‘prioritizing’–isthemostbeneficialandimportantuseofaMindMapforme.SometimesitistooeasytogetcaughtinthepresentandIcanfindmyselfhoninginonthechallengesofwhatturnsouttobetrivia.Theto-doMindMapallowsmetostepbackandberemindedofthegrandoverviewofwhatIwanttoachieveinlife.

It’sbeensaidmanytimesthatMindMappingisthe“Swissarmyknife”forthebrain.Well,inmyexperiencethat’sthebestdescriptionforit!

MindMaponMindMapping’sbenefitsformemorybyDominicO’Brien

AMindMapcanalsoactasadirectstimulus,spurringusintoactivity.Here’safavouritequoteofminefromtheScottishmountaineerandwriterW.H.Murray,whichpinpointshoweverythingseemstofallintoplaceoncewemakeacommitmenttodosomething.AndcreatingaMindMapistheidealwayofmakingthatcommitment:

Concerningallactsofinitiative(andcreation),thereisoneelementarytruththatignoranceofwhichkillscountlessideasandsplendidplans:thatthemomentonedefinitelycommitsoneself,thenProvidencemovestoo.W.H.Murray,TheScottishHimalayaExpedition

The99Applications

AlongsidethemanystoriesIreceiveofpeoplewhoseliveshavebeentotallytransformedbyMindMapping,theevidencetodayofmillionsofMindMapsandproto-MindMapsontheInternethasmadeitincreasinglyobviousthatthenumberofapplicationsforaMindMapisinfinite!

Overleafisatasterofasampleofthese:99areasofenquirythataMindMapcanhelpexploreforthebenefitofusall.UsethislistasaninspirationandastartingpointforyourMindMappingadventures.Iwouldbethrilledtohearhowyougeton.

TOP99MINDMAPAPPLICATIONS

Home:

ArrangingTravel FamilyConnections PlanningfortheFuture

CharitableActivities FlourishingFriendships Relationships

ChoosingaBaby’sName MaritalHarmony Shopping

ChoosingaPet MovingHouse ThrowingaDinnerParty

DiaryKeeping PackingforJourneys WeighingProsandCons

Work:

BusinessGrowth GoalSetting OrganizingIdeas

CreatingaCV MakingDecisions PlanningMeetings

DevisingStrategies Management Presenting

EventPlanning ManagingBusinessContacts ReachingTargets

FindingEmployment ManagingFinances SalesStrategies

FutureProjections MinutingMeetings SummarizingInformation

GettingPromoted Organization TeamAnalysis

Education:

Archaeology ChoosingaUniversity ExplainingaSupernova

Astronomy ComingUpwithDefinitions ExplainingaTree’sStructure

Biology Economics Geography

Botany Engineering Grammar

Chemistry ExplainingaNeuron History

IT Maths Revision

Languages Medicine Sciences

Law Physics SchoolProjects

Literature Maths StudySkills

MappingtheCosmos Politics Zoology

Creativity:

Art DecoratingaRoom MusicAppreciation

ComposingMusic DesigningaBuilding Poetry

CreativeDoodling Drama UnderstandingConceptualArt

CreatingMindMapArt LandscapingaGarden UnderstandingtheHumanLanguage

CreativeThinking ManifestingThoughts WritingaBook

Wellbeing:

FindingHappiness MentalHealth SettlingonaTreatment

HolisticHealth PhysicalHealth Spirituality

LifePlanning Self-analysis UnderstandingFears

Memory:

BrainGymnastics ImprovingRadiantThinking RecallingLearning

CapturingKnowledge MappingtheInternalCitiesofThought

RecallingaStorylineorPlot

ImprovingMemory Note-taking UnderstandingaText

AMindMapWarm-upThisexerciseisdesignedtoingrainthefundamentalelementsofMindMappinginyourbrain-cellpatternssothatMindMapmasterystartstobecomelikesecondnaturetoyou.

Takeninfourstages,theinitial“blitz”MindMapreleasesthebrainfromtheprisonofself-editing,allowingforarapidlyupwardlearningcurvetofollow.Then,asyouprogressfromspending5to10to20minutesonyourMindMaps,itwillbecomeapparentthatonceyourbrainreallyknowswhataMindMapis,itwillbereleasedtoexpressitsnaturalthoughts.Likearunnersettlingintotheirstride,thebraincanthen“breathe”muchmorefreelyand,inthelongerexercises,inhaleandexhalewithincreasedpleasureandproductivity.

Let’sgetstarted:

ReadthroughtheTop99MindMapapplications(seepage160).

NowpickatopicandmakeaMindMapforit.Giveyourselfonly5minutesinwhichtosketchoutthisMindMap.Theideaistofreeyourselfupinmuchthesamewaythatartistsoftendoanumberoflightning-quickwarm-upsketchesbeforesettlingdowntocompleteamasterpiece.

Afterashortbreak,pickanothertopicfromadifferentcategory(e.g.“Education”ratherthan“Home”).Next,makeaMindMapin10minutes.

Repeattheprocesswithathirdtopicfromanothercategory.CompleteyourMindMapin15minutes.

Chooseafourthtopicfromoneoftheremainingcategories.FinishthisMindMapin20minutes.

ComparetheamountofdetailandoriginalityofthefourMindMapsastheyprogressfromanearlierstagetoamoredevelopedstage.Thenimaginehowmuchmoreyouwouldbeabletogenerateifyouhadanhourtocompleteasolution-findingMindMap.

TakeanothercloselookattheMindMaps.Whichoneappealstoyouthemost?Why?

Now,orwhenyounexthavetheopportunity,workontheMindMapthatappealstoyoumostuntilitlookscompletelyfinishedtoyou,oruseitasthebasisforanotherMindMaponthesametopic.

ADVANCEDMINDMAPPINGATHOME

ThisrestofthischapterexploressomeexamplesofhowyoucantakeyourMindMappingpracticeastepfurther,usingMindMapstohandlecomplexandchallengingsituationsaswellasconsiderthebiggerpictureofwhatyouwantfromallareasofyourlife.

MindMappingPlanners

YoucandomorewithMindMapsthanscopeoutthecomingweek.Theyalsomakegreatday-by-dayplanners;equally,theycanbeusedtooutlineyourscheduleforawholemonthorevenayear.AMindMapplannercanbeusedbothtoplanyourlifeandtoreviewit;itcanhelpyouhighlightyourprioritiesandmakesureyouareinchargeofyourowntime,achievingahealthybalancebetweenworkandleisureactivities.Ratherthanbecomingaslavetoaschedulethat’snotofyourownmakingorinyourbestinterests,aMindMapplannerisa

that’snotofyourownmakingorinyourbestinterests,aMindMapplannerisapowerfulwaytomakesureyourdaysareliterallyfullofcolour!

MypersonalMindMapdayplannerisfullofimages,codes,colours,keywordsandkeysymbols.Themostimportanttopicofthedayalwaysinspiresthecentralimage.Iusuallyusefivemainbranches:“morning”,“lunch”,“afternoon”,“evening”and“miscellaneous”,althoughsometimesthesemainbranchesoreventsrelatingtothemcangeneratefiveseparateminiMindMaps,circlingthecentralMindMaplikesatellitesroundaplanet.

ThecentralMindMapconnectswithasketchofaclockinthetopleftofthepage(asdescribedintheexerciseonpage166).Images,symbolsandcodesareplacedinthetimeslotsoftheclock,givingmeaninstantoverviewofwhatIwouldliketoaccomplishinthehoursahead.Unlikeaconventional,linearplanner,whichmightonlyliststhehoursinadayfrom8a.m.until6p.m.,theclocksinmyMindMapdiaryaredividedinto24hours.Ichoosetostartmydaysatmidnightbecause,likemanyothercreativethinkers,Ihavefoundthebraincanbeveryproductiveinthesmallhours.Icould,forinstance,decidetospendthehoursbetweenmidnightand3a.m.concentratingonanewproject,writing,MindMappingorsolvingproblems.

TheimageryinmyMindMapdiarylinksinturntomymonthlyschedule,sothetwoofthem–diaryandschedule–workintandemlikethecogsinamachine.Mymonthlyscheduleshowskeyimagesandwordsrelatingtothemostimportanteventsinthemonth,aswellastheon-goingactivitiesIenjoy,suchasarunning,rowingandlecturing

Mydiaryentriesandmonthlyschedulesworksymbiotically:theoverviewofthemonthtriggersmymemoryofthedays,andthedaystriggermemoriesofthemonth.WheneverIflickthroughmydiary,it’slikewatchingstillsfromthemovieofmylife.

BeforeIinventedMindMappinganddevelopedthiswayofkeepingacombineddiaryandmonthlyschedule,Iusedtoforgetwholechunksofmylife.Now,though,MindMappingkeepsmymemoryfreshandIintendtocarryonusingituntilthedayIdrop!AndIhope,onceyouhavetakenthemanybenefitsandpleasuresofMindMapstoheart,thesamewillgoforyoutoo!

Besidesmappingoutyourmonthlyschedule,youcanuseaMindMaptocreate

Besidesmappingoutyourmonthlyschedule,youcanuseaMindMaptocreateayearlyplanner.AyearlyplannerMindMapcouldhaveabranchforeachmonthoftheyear,whilethesub-brancheswillrelatetothatmonth’smostpressingconcernsandconsiderations.It’sagreatwaytoplanforimportanteventssuchasweddings,travel,tripsandparties.Ialsouseyearlyplannerstomakesuremyyearaheadcontainsahealthybalanceofwork,travel,writingandleisure.

HourbyHourTrymakingaMindMapplannerentryfortoday.

Beginbydrawingaclockinthetopleft-handcornerofyourpage.Dividethisinto24segments.

Fillthesegmentsoftheclockwithappropriatewords,imagesandcodes,blockingoutyouruseoftime.

Whatisthemostimportantthingyouneedtoconsiderorachievetoday?UsethistoinspirethecentralimageofyourMindMap.Inthespacebelowtheclock,drawyourcentralimage,leavingplentyofroomaroundit.

Nowcreatebranchesfromthecentralimage,relatingtothemainareasorthemesofyourday.Colourthesemainbranchesindifferentcolours.Createsub-branchesfromthemainbranches.

Linkthemainbranchesandsub-branchestotheclockwithconnectingarrowswhererelevant,sothatthetwoareworkinginharmony–likeclockwork!

Arethereanyevents,experiencesorconsiderationsthatdeservetobemadeintominiMindMapsoftheirown,circlingthecentralMindMap?

Whenyouhavefinished,considerwhatperspectivestheMindMapoffersonthewayyouuseyourtime?

ADVANCEDMINDMAPPINGATWORK

ThebusinesscommunityhasadoptedMindMappingwithincredibleenthusiasmovertheyears.Sometimesthishasproducedmixedresults:aswesawinChapter3,manyofthediagramsthatpurporttobeMindMapsarenottrueMindMapsatall.However,whentheLawsarefollowedproperly,MindMapscanachievespectacularresultsintheworkplace,wheretheyhaveaninfiniterangeofapplications,includingresearchingprojects,creatingpresentations,writingannualreports,managingtime,brainstorming,negotiatingandthinkingstrategically.

Scalingtheirapplicationsupanotch,MindMapscanbeusedtoplanthevisionforacompanyonagrandscale,andhaveothersophisticateduses,suchasresolvingcompanydisputes(seepage169).Onanindividualbasistheycanhelpyoudecidewhichcareerpathtopursueaswellasplanhowtoclimbthepromotionladder.

DecisionMaking

WesawinChapter4howtotackleindecisionwhenconsideringtheoutcomeofaMindMap.HerewearegoingtolookathowMindMapscanbeveryhelpfulindecisionmakingitself,enablingyoutoseetheprosandconsofanygivensituationataglance.Ofcoursethisisaskillthatisusefulinanyarenaoflife,butitisperhapsmostvaluableofallintheworkplace.

Decisionsthatleadtosimpleyes/noresponsesaretypicallyknownasdyadicdecisions(fromtheLatindyas,meaning“two”).TouseaMindMaptohelpyoumakeadyadicdecision,createitasyouwouldanyotherMindMap,startingwithastrongcentralimageandusingyourimagination,associationandintuitiontocreatemainbranchesfromitthatrelatetothemostimportantconsiderationsyouwishtoaddress.

WhenyouaremakingaMindMaptohelpyoumakeadecision,beawarethatthecoloursandpicturesyouallocatetothedifferentbrancheswillgiveyouaninsightintothesubtleworkingsofyoursubconscious,perhapsrevealinghiddenpreferencesthroughtheuseoffavouritecoloursforlikes,orlessfavouredcoloursandimagesfordislikes.

WhenyouhavecompletedtheMindMapaboutyourdilemma,takeamomenttoconsiderandtrythefollowing:

•WhatfeelingsdidcreatingtheMindMapgiveyou?Didyouhaveanyparticularlystrongemotionswhenworkingonanyofthebranches?Ordidanyofthemleaveyoufeelingcompletelyindifferent?

•Didyouhavean“aha”momentatanystageduringtheprocess?CouldyousenseawayforwardbeforeevencompletingtheMindMap?

•RankeachofthekeywordsoneithersideoftheMindMapwithanumberbetween1and100accordingtohowimportantthatwordis.Tallyupthescoreforthe“yes”sideandforthe“no”side.Whichtotalishighest?Thehighesttotalwins–buthowdoyoufeelaboutthatoutcome?

•Ifyouarestillunclearaboutthewayforward,oryourreactiontotheplanofactionsuggestedbytheMindMap,takesometimeout.Goawayandincubateyourresponse.

•Iftheabovedoesnotleadtoadecision,recalltheprocessdescribedinChapter4(seepage144),relatedtoindecision.

Whetheryouaredecidingifyoushouldredecorateyourbedroomormovehouse,pursueacourseoftreatmentproposedbyyourhealthcareprovider,oracceptanewjob,MindMapscanactasaloyalcompanionalongtheway,helpingyoufacelife’sbig(andsmall)decisionswithequanimity.

MindMapsandtheArtofConflictResolutionMindMapsareusuallycreatedbyindividualsashighlypersonalizedthinkingtools,yettheycanalsobeaveryproductivejointenterprise.Atthismoreadvancedlevel,theycanbeanextremelyusefulandrewardingwaytoexploreanotherperson’spointofviewinconjunctionwithyourown,andforfindingcommongroundandresolvingdisputes.

BeforeattemptingtocreateajointMindMaptoresolveadisagreementorupset,youneedtogainenoughexperienceinMindMappingtomaketheLawsfeelasiftheyare

partoftheveryfibreofyourbeing!

Thatway,youwillbeabsolutelycertainoftheprocessbeforeattemptingtoguideanybodyelsethroughit.

TherearetwopossibleapproachestousingMindMappinginconflictresolution.ThefirstinvolvestwoormorepeopleworkingtogetheronasingleMindMap,takingturnstoaddbranches,toexploreassociationsandtodiscusstheapproach.Inthesecondmethod,thepartiesconcernedworkonseparateMindMaps,whicharethenshared,comparedanddiscussed.

Ihavefoundthatthebestwaytoproceedistopresenttheproblemsfirstandthentofollowthesebythepositives,beforesettlingonsolutions.Thisway,thediscussionismorelikelytoremainupbeatandreachapositiveconclusioninsteadofdeterioratinginaspiralofnegativity.

Whicheverapproachyoutake,it’simportanttoalloweveryonetohavetheirsay;tospeakhonestlyandopenly;andtorespecteverybody’sopinionswhetheryouagreewiththemornot.Iftheexchangebecomesheated,taketimeouttocooldown.ThenresumethediscussionbykeepingthefocuspurelyontheinformationintheMindMap(s),ratherthanbeingtemptedtoresorttopersonalattacksorcriticism.

Asshownintheexampleopposite,aMindMapforresolvingconflictcouldstartbydefiningtheissueathand,perhapswitheachparticipantcontributingkeywordsthatsummarizethesituationforthem.Thenextbranchcouldexploretheeffectsofthesituation,coveringpositives(ifany)aswellasnegatives,lookingatareassuchastheimpactontheteamandonpersonalfeelings.Youcouldthengoontoaddresswhatyoubelieveisneededtoresolvethesituation,aswellaswhatyouwant(needsandwantsarenotnecessarilythesamething).Finally,theMindMapcouldexploresolutionsthatbuildontheinsightsuncoveredduringtheprocess.

Oncetheexchangeiscomplete,apositivestepforwardcouldbetocreateajointMindMapbasedonthesolutionsyouhavereached.Apossibleapproachisillustratedopposite,withthetwoparticipantseachusinganidentifyingcolour(blueandred)tohighlighttheirfeelingsandideas,ratherthaneachbranchbeinggivenitsowncolour,asismoreusualinMindMapping.Wherefeelingsare

mutual,bothcoloursareused,andathirdcolour(purple)isusedforthebranchidentifyingthejointlyreachedsolution.

WORKTOLIVE,LIVETOWORKIthinkImustbeastrongcontenderforthepersonwiththebestjobintheworld:Igettomeetfascinatingpeople,traveltheglobeandsharemypassionforMindMaps,witnessingfirst-handhowtheyradicallytransformthelivesofothers.It’sprettyamazing,really!Asadults,manyofusspendmostofourwakinghoursatwork.Inlightofthis,Ibelieveit’simportanttofindworkthatgivesusasenseofachievementinsomeway,orfeedsoursenseofpurpose.Hereagain,MindMapscanhelp,asthefollowingstorybyManeeshDuttshows.

MINDMAPFORRESOLVINGCONFLICT

TheCouragetoStartOutonMyOwn

ManeeshDuttisasuccessfulauthor,speakerandtrainer.Hewas

workingasachemicalengineerinDelhiwhenherealizedheneededtomakesomechangesifhewantedtopursueacareerhetrulyloved.Thisishisstory:

Thereisa“quiet”majorityofcompanyemployeeswhoharbouranentrepreneurialambitionbutwhofailtogarnersufficientenergytopushthemselvesinthedirectionoftheirpassions.Iwasnodifferent,onceuponatime.HavingbeingbittenbytheMindMappingbug,Iwascontemplatingquittingmyjobtopursuethispassion24/7.However,withtwodecadesofonlyregularjobexperiencebehindmeandnoentrepreneurialexperience,thiswasbynomeansaneasydecisiontomakeandIhadmysetofdoubtsandfears.

ButitallchangedonaquietweekendwhenIdecidedtoMindMapmychallenge.ImadeasimpleMindMapwithfourbranches,asshowninthepictureopposite.

Inthefirsttwobranches(ontheright),IanalysedthepainIwastryingtoavoidbynotchanging,andthepleasureIwasgettingbycontinuinginthejob.Inthethirdbranch,IidentifiedthepainthatIwouldexperienceifIcontinuedinmycurrentjobforlong.Finally,thelastbranchcapturedthepleasurethatIwouldachieveifIbecameafreelancetrainer/consultantforMindMaps.

MindMapbyManeeshDuttonhiscareerchallenge

ThisMindMap–andespeciallythefinalbranch,whichcapturedallmyjoyousemotions–gavemethemuch-neededcouragetotaketheplungeandstartoutonmyownwithoutanyfurtherdelay.SothefollowingMondayIsubmittedmyresignationandbeganmyjourneyasafreelancetrainer.Iamhappytoconfirmthattherehasbeennoturningback:IamreallyexperiencingallIhadmapped,wereItomakethechange.IwouldstronglyencourageothersinasimilardilemmatogivethissortofMindMapatry.

ManeeshDuttisnowahighlysuccessfulglobalMindMapinstructorandtheauthorofbooksincludingMindMapsforEffectiveProjectManagement,whichcanbefoundontheshelvesoftheprestigiousHarvardBusinessSchoollibrary.

DevisingaCompanyVision

In2015,ArabscientistandmathematicianDrManahelThabetachievedaGuinnessWorldRecordwhenshetaught1,350studentshowtoMindMapinjust30minutes.SheisalsothecreatorofaSuperMindMapthatblewmeawaywhenIvisitedDubaitoseeit.ManaheltoldmethatafterbeingawardedtheWorldRecord,shewasapproachedbyAbdulhamidJuma,ChairmanoftheDubaiInternationalFilmFestival(DIFF).HechallengedhertocreateaMindMapabouttheDubaiFilmFestival’soperations,reachandglobalpositioning.Inadditiontothis,AbdulhamidaskedManaheltoinvitemetosigntheMindMapwhenitwascompleted.

Forthreedays,ManaheltrainedateamofmanagersfromDIFFinMindMappingandworkedwiththemoncollectingandcollatingtheirdata.Noorganizationhadeverattemptedaprojectlikethisbefore,andatfirstsometeammemberswereunderstandablyscepticalabouttheprocess–tothemitjustlookedlikeaconfusedmassofcoloursandsquiggles.Initiallytheydidn’tbelievethatMindMappingcouldhelpimprovetheircreativity,memoryandintelligence.Yet,bytheendofthethreedays,theycompletelyagreed.ManahelandherteamthenspentawholedayhanddrawingtheMindMap.Theresultoftheircollaborationwasaremarkableachievement.TheDIFFMindMapwascomplex,comprehensive,practicalandfollowed

TheDIFFMindMapwascomplex,comprehensive,practicalandfollowedtheLawsofMindMappingtothelastdetail.Itprovidedacomprehensiveoverviewofthecompanyatthatpointintime,whilealsohighlightingareasforpotentialdevelopmentandexpansion,makingittheperfecttoolforguidingthecompanysuccessfullyintothefuture.

DrThabetconsideringadraftoftheDIFFMindMap

ItwasapleasureandaprivilegetoaddmysignaturetotheDIFFMindMap.

Manahelrecallshow,whileworkingonit,hershouldersachedsomuchthatshefeltlikeMichelangelopaintingthedomeoftheSistineChapel!ItoldherthatitwasanhonourtosigntheDIFFMindMap.ThemoreIlookedatit,themoremagnificentitbecame.Tothebestofmyknowledge,thiswasthefirstMindMaptolookatasubjectinmicrocosmicandmacrocosmicdetail,mappingitspastaswellhighlightingitspossiblefutures.

ADVANCEDMINDMAPPINGFOREDUCATION

InChapter2IexplainedhowMindMapsarelikesoldiersinthebattleagainstignorance,empoweringyourbrainwiththeirartillery.Whetheryouareplanningaspeech,preparingapresentationorwritinganessay,MindMappingisanexcellentwaytoordeandarticulateyourthoughts.Theycanbeusedforlearninglanguages,advancednote-takingandprécisingcompleteworks,aswellasforessaywritingandresearchingprojects.Ifyouhaveaneducationalgoal,MindMapscanhelpyouachieveit.

RaymondKeene,OBE,isaBritishchessgrandmaster,thechesscorrespondentforTheTimesandSpectator,andthemostprolificauthoronchessandthinkinginthehistoryofthegame.HecreatedtheMindMaponpage178,whichexplainsthehistoryofthemoderngameofchess.

LearnLikeaNative

Throughtheuseofcolourandimagery,MindMappingliftslanguageoffthepageandreleasesthebrain,likeabirdfromacage,toflyfreeintherealmofideasandassociation.ThisisonereasonwhyaMindMapisanexcellentmeanstolearnasecondlanguage.Whenyouwereatschool,didyouhavetomemorizetedious,monochromaticlistsofvocabulary?Nowondermanyofusfoundlanguagestrickytolearn.Unlikelinearteachingmethodsandmind-numbingcolumnsofwords,aMindMapisanexcellentwaytolearnnewvocabulary.

TheMindMaphasanadvantageoverotherteachingmethodsinthatitisaproductoftheHumanLanguageitself(seeChapter1,page34):aMindMapthereforeinstinctivelytranscendsdivisionsinordertocreatelinksandconnectionsbetweenseparatecategories.ChunkingcanalsobeusedveryeffectivelyinMindMapsforlanguagelearningtogrouprelatedinformationintomemorableclusters,mirroringthewaythebrainprocessesinformation.

VocabTest

BelowisaselectionofSwedishwordsandtheirEnglishequivalents,presentedinthelistformsobelovedofteacherseverywhere.Yourmission–shouldyouwishtoacceptit–istocreateaMindMapbasedonthisvocabulary.Besuretoincludecolour,plentyofsymbolsandchunkingwhereappropriate.

människa humanbeing valp puppyman man katt catkvinna woman kattunge kittenbarn child fågel birdhund dog fisk fish

OnceyouhavecreatedyourMindMap,spendabout20minutesconsideringitandmemorizingit.

Whenyouareready,coverupyourMindMapandthevocablist(nocheating!).Next,answerthefollowingfivequestions:

WhatistheSwedishwordfor“humanbeing”?

Kattungeistokattas[-------------]istohund.

WhatistheEnglishwordforkvinna

Wherewouldyouexpecttofindafågel–intheskyorinthesea?

WhatistheSwedishwordfor“child”?

AThinkingToolforAchievement

TakeacloselookattheMindMapbelow.Whatdoesittellyou?

Init,chessgrandmasterRaymondKeenechartsthehistoryofthechessgame.HebeginswithgamesinthelostcityofUr,considersthe

Arabiccultivationofthegameshatranj(aprecursorofchess),chartstheRenaissancechangestochessandconcludeswithSpanishinfluences,whichresultedinthemoderngame.

ThearticleonwhichtheMindMapisbasedisover1,000wordslong,andtracks5,000yearsofhistory,yetRaymond’sMindMapmakesallthatinformationavailableataglance.Inhisownwords:

MindMaponthetransitiontomodernchessbyRaymondKeene

ThevirtueofaMindMapwhenpreparingaspeechorwritinganarticleistwofold:thewriterisconstantlystimulatedbythebranchingtreesofideastonewandmoredaringthoughts;whileatthesametimethekeywordsandcentralimagesensurethatintheverbiageofspeakingandwriting,nomajorpointisoverlooked.

TheMindMapisparticularlyusefulinthiscontext.Withoutturningorshufflinganypages,itispossibletoinformtheaudienceinadvanceaboutthestructureandkeypoints.Becauseyouarealwaysoperatingfromonesheet,youcantellyouraudiencewhatyouplantosay,youcansayitwithconfidence,andthenyoucanrecaptodemonstrateyouhaveprovedyour

andthenyoucanrecaptodemonstrateyouhaveprovedyourpoint.Withlinearnotes,thedangerisendingsimplywherethenotesstop,inessencearandommoment,oftendeterminedbychronologyratherthanmeaning.

Assumingthatthelecturerhascompletecommandoftheirsubject,thekeywordsactasacatalystforenthusiasmandextemporeideasinsteadofadryrecitationoffactsoftendeterminedbydatesratherthansignificantcontent(i.e.thelecturestartsatthebeginningofthesubject’slifeandfinishesattheend).Ifthelecturerdoesnothaveperfectgraspofthesubject,linearnotessimplymakeitworse.Whetherwritinganarticleorgivingaverballecture,theMindMapactslikeaship’shelmtonavigatethroughthemainoceansofthepresentation.

ADVANCEDMINDMAPPINGFORCREATIVITY

IfyouhavebeencreatingMindMapsfortheexercisesinthisbook,Ihopeitwillbecleartoyoubynowthatyouarenaturallycreative:youhavebeenengagingyourfacultiesofassociationandimaginationtocreatehighlyindividualanduniqueMindMapsthatexpresstheworkingsofyourbrain.

IhaveseenmanyMindMapsthatarewonderfulworksofartintheirownright,withdazzlingcoloursandinventiveimagery.RegardlessofwhetheraMindMapsfallsintothiscategory,itcaninspiremasterpieces.Itcan,forexample,beusedtoshapeasculptureormapoutthemovementsinapieceofmusic,aswellprovideinspirationforworksofpoetryandprose.

WRITELIKEAPOET

Youmaythinkthatpoetryissomethingonly“poets”canattempt,butwiththehelpofaMindMapyoutoocanfindyourmuse.Poetryhasbeenoneofthedrivingforcesofmyownlife.InChapter2,IencouragedyoutolearnalimerickbyEdwardLear.Oppositeisanexercisethatinvitesyoutowriteapieceofyourown.First,though,IwouldliketoshareasimplepieceofmineinwhichtheimageryflowslikeabranchinaMindMap:

HappysparrowDoingsomersaults;AutumnleafTumblinginSpringtimeWinds.

Asyoucansee,itisaveryshortpoemthatisratherlikeaJapanesehaikuinitssimplicityandfocus,althoughitisfreefromahaiku’sformalthree-linestructure.I’vesharedittomakethepointthatyoudon’thavetochooseagrandsubjectoranelaboraterhymeschemetowriteapoemthatmeanssomethingtoyou.Followtheinstructionsonpage181toMindMapasimpletopicandpreparetomeetyourinnerpoet!

MeetYourMuseHereisanexercisetogetyoustartedonapoemofyourown.Startbychoosingoneofthefollowingrandomlyselectedwords:

rose winter waterbridge cloud fallsleep puzzle touchleaf glass knifesand rope touchmouse sandwich lovefur sandwich dream

Onceyouhavechosenyourword,makeaMindMapaboutit.Pushthebranches,sub-branchesandsub-sub-branchesinthisMindMapasfarasyoucan,righttotheedgesofthepaper,usingcolours,images,codesandconnectingarrows.

Whichbranchesstandoutthemost?

Whichimagescatchyoureyeandigniteyourimagination?

Whatconnectionsintrigueyouthemost?

Usethesestimuliasthebasisofashortpoem.

GetPublished!Asyoumayhavenoticed,manyofmyfellowMindMappershavegoneontobecomepublishedauthors.Ifyouarethinkingaboutwritingabookofyourown,useaMindMaptoplanyourapproach.Thesedays,ifyouwantyourbooktobeasuccess,youneedtothinkaboutmorethanthesubjectmatter.Useyourbranchesandsub-branchestoconsidertopicssuchas:

•Theconceptofthebook:theinitialsparkofyouridea,yourapproachandyourambitionsforit.Doyouwantittoinform,surpriseand/orentertain?

•Researchyouneedtodobeforeyoustartwriting:thiscouldbeintoyourchosengenre,themarket(what’sthecompetition?),yourreadership(ageandgender,forexample)aswellasbackgroundinformationneededforthetextitself.

•Yourplanfortheelementsofyourbook,suchas(ifyouarewritingfiction)plot,charactersandthemes,aswellasyourwritingscheduleandtargetwordcount.

•Thewritingprocessitself,includingascheduleforthedraftsaswellaswhereyouwillfindencouragementandfeedback.

•Howyouwillpromotethebookandyourselfasanauthor.Thisincludeswaysofconnectingwithyouraudienceandbuildingaplatformtopromoteyourworkthrough,forexample,socialmedia,andapersonalblogandwebsite.

•Finally,youmightwanttolookatwhetheryouwanttogothetraditionalpublishingrouteortryself-publishing,weighingfactorssuchascost,profit,speed,supportandartisticfreedomagainstoneanother.

MINDMAPFORGETTINGPUBLISHED

ApplyDesignThinkingPrinciplesDesignthinkingisamethodologythathascometotheforeinrecentyearsasapractical,creativeandsolution-basedwayofreasoning.Thestagesusuallyincludeavariationon:

Empathise–learnfrompeopleDefine–findpatternsIdeate–designprinciplesPrototype–maketangibleTest–iterate

Itcanbeappliedtosystems,procedures,protocolsandcustomerexperiences.Ratherthanconcentratingonfixingproblems,itisanaction-orientedprocessthatfocusesonfindingdesirableoutcomes,andwhichtakesintoconsiderationempathyandemotions.Italsocallsuponlogic,imaginationandintuition.(Remindyouofanythingyet?)

(Remindyouofanythingyet?)

Thedesignmindsetisaboutbuildingupideasuntilan“aha”momentisreached,whenthepathforwardbecomesclear.Asdesignthinkinginvolvesmakingthingsvisibleandtangible,drawingisoneofitsmaintoolsforworkingthroughideas,sharing,dialogueandcommunication.OppositeisaMindMapexploringtheapplicationofbasicdesignthinkingprinciples.

Itcancomeasnosurprise,then,thatMindMapsplayanintegralroleinthedesignthinkingmethod.Afterall,aMindMapisallaboutimaginationandbuildingupideasthroughmakingthemvisibleonthepage.Moreover,aMindMapisitselfadesign:itisthinkingmadevisible!MindMapsandminiMindMapscanbeappliedateverystageofthedesignprocess–fromtheinceptionofadesigntoitspracticalrealization–andcanbeusedtodesignanythingfromtheplantingschemeofagardentoaplanforexpandingabusinesstotheoutlineofyourideallife.

MINDMAPFORAPPLYINGDESIGNTHINKINGPRINCIPLES

ADVANCEDMINDMAPPINGFORWELLBEING

WehaveseenhowMindMapscanactlikeyourveryownpersonaltrainer(seeChapter2,page114)byhelpingyoutoplanafitnessregimeorenjoyahealthydiet.

Besidestheiruseinpromotinggeneralwellbeing,MindMapshavebeenshowntobeeffectiveinengagingwithanumberofconditions,suchasautismanddyslexia.Peopleontheautisticspectrumoftenhavestrongvisualskills,whichmeansthatautisticchildrentendtolearnbetterthroughvisualmethods.MindMapsare,ofcourse,highlyvisualandencouragealearning-by-doingapproach.Theyofferanoverviewofasubject,aswellasemphasizingtherelationshipsbetweendifferentaspectsofit,makinginformationappearorderlyandhelpingautisticstudentstoimprovetheirrecallofthatinformation.Forthosewithdyslexia,short-termmemory,concentrationandsequencinginformationcanallbechallengingaspectsofdailylife,soMindMapsofferthemahelpfulwaytoorganizeandassimilateinformation.

Forthosesufferingfromdepressionandstatesofdemotivation,aMindMapcanhighlightsymptoms,outlinecopingtechniquesandstrategies,andincludehelpfulmedicalinformationonthebiologicalcauses.Itbecomesanactionplanaswellasadiagnostictool.Whereverstresscanleadtoforgetfulness,rigidityandadownwardspiraloffear,MindMapscanactasstressrelievers,massagingthatstressaway.Whenthebrainislessstressed,thebodybecomeslessstressed,leadingtoimprovedperformanceandmentalandphysicalwellbeing.

MindMapscanbeusedgenerallytoimproveyourunderstandingofaconditionandthendeviseahelpfultreatmentplan.If,forexample,youarecreatingaMindMaptomanageanxiety,youcouldstartwithacentralimagethatrelatestoyourfeelings,thencreatemainbranchesandsub-branchesrelatingto:

KateSwaffer’sStory

WhenKateSwafferwasdiagnosedwithdementiaattheageof49,shewasadvisedbyprofessionalstoleaveherjob,getheraffairsinorderandto

makethemostofwhatevertimeshehadleft.Justunderadecadelater,shehadcompletedtwoundergraduatedegrees,anMScandwasstudyingforaPhD.

Today,Kateisapublishedpoet,authorandinternationallyacclaimedspokespersonforthemillionsofpeoplearoundtheworldwholivewithdementia.In2017,shewasawardedtheaccoladenofAustralianoftheYearforSouthAustraliaandherphenomenalcampaigningworkcontinuestotakeherallovertheworld.

Kateisanadvocateofnon-pharmacologicalinterventionsandMindMapsformanimportantpartofherarmoury.ShewasintroducedtoMindMappingin2007byherdisabilityadvisorattheUniversityofSouthAustraliaandhasdescribedonherbloghowshecouldnotfunctionaswellasshedoeswithoutMindMaps:“…astheymapthingsoutvisually,offeringanotherwaytofindmyway”.HerstoryisahumblingexampleofthewayinwhichMindMapscanhelpacourageousindividuallikeKateliveafulfillinglifeinthefaceofadiagnosissuchasdementia.

•thingsthattriggeryouranxiety•howanxietyaffectsyourlife•thingsthatarecounterproductiveorexacerbateyouranxiety•activitiesthathelpyoumanageit•supportfromfamily,friendsandprofessionals

MindMapscanbeusefulforcarerstoo.Theycan,forexample,beusedtorecordnotesaboutimportantaspectsofaperson’slife,suchastheirpreferredlifestyleandthesignificantindividualsoreventsintheirlives.Besidestheirsocialfunction,MindMapscanbeusedmedicallyasameansofarrangingandagreeingthedetailsofcareandtreatmentplans.

THEFIGHTAGAINSTDEMENTIA

Asstorehousesorevengiantwarehousesofinformation,MindMapscanhelpholdthefortinthebattleagainstsuchdevastatingconditionsasdementia.Theycanbeusedbythosewhohavebeengivenadiagnosisofdementiaaswellasthosewhocareforthem.

thosewhocareforthem.

In2010,AmericanresearchpsychologistDrGeorgeHubawasdiagnosedwithanuntreatable,early-onsetneurodegenerativediseaseanddementia.Hewastoldthathehadlittletimeleft.Ayearlater,heretiredfromhisjobasanevaluatorofhealthandsocialcareprogrammes.However,hehadnointentionofresigninghimselftohiscondition.Instead,hedrewonhisprofessionalexperiencetoresearchvisualthinkingmethodsforthosewithcognitivedeclinewhowishtominimizeitsimpactontheirfuture.

DrHubasoonfoundthatMindMappingprovidedanespeciallyeffectiveandinexpensivewayoforderinghisdailylifeandmemories,makingdecisionsandplanningforthefuture.Bygettingridofcomplexsentencestructuresandtheneedtolearnbyrote,MindMapsappealtothemindinthepresentmoment.Today,GeorgeHubawritesanengagingblogabout“MyLifeasanOngoingCognitiveandMedicalExperiment”,enjoysalargefollowingonTwitterandhaspublishedashortbookcalledMindMapping,CognitiveImpairment,andDementia(Huba’sBolero).HeisapioneerintheuseofMindMapsasatooltotackletheeffectsofcognitivedecline.

Forthosewhohavedementia,MindMapsofferavisualthinkingtoolwithwhichtorecordmemories,organizedailyroutinesandplanahead.Theycanbeused,forinstance,forchoosingmealsandclothing,forrememberingmedications,andasMindMapdiariesandscheduleplanners.TheycanhelpMindMapperswithdementiaremembermedicalappointmentsandvisitors.Somepeoplewithdementiamaybeabletoexpressthemselvesmoreeasilythroughpictures,sketchesandscribblesthaninwords,inwhichinstancetheMindMapcanactasausefulcommunicationdevicetohelpthemrelatetothepeopletheyloveandthepeoplewhocareforthem.

MindMapshelpdementiasufferersandthosewhosupportthemmakethemostofthepresentmoment.

ADVANCEDMINDMAPPINGFORMEMORY

In1991,RayKeeneandIco-foundedtheWorldMemoryChampionships,aneventthatisseparatefromtheWorldMindMappingChampionshipsbutalso

eventthatisseparatefromtheWorldMindMappingChampionshipsbutalsofallsinthefieldofMindSports,andformspartofmylife’sworkinpromotingandimprovingglobalmentalliteracy.Today,competitorsfromallovertheworldtakepartintheChampionships;it’satrulymulticulturalevent.TheChampionshipsconsistoftendifferentdisciplinesinwhichtheparticipantsmemorizeasmuchinformationaspossiblewithinagivenperiodoftime,suchastheorderofapackofcardsoralongsequenceofbinarynumbers.

WorldchampionmnemonistDominicO’BrienfeaturedintheGuinnessBookofRecordsforhisachievementon1May2002,whenhecommittedtomemoryarandomsequenceof2,808playingcardsafterlookingateachcardonlyonce.Asheexplainedearlierinthischapter(seepage157),MindMapsareanessentialpartofhistoolkit.

WehaveseenhowMindMapscanbeusedtomemorizeinformation.Theycanalsobeusedasproductiveexercisesintheirownrightwithwhichtoimproveyourmemorybygivingyourbrainahealthyworkout.

AMindMapofMindMappingThiswonderfulMindMaprelatestotheprocessesofMindMappingitself.ItwascreatedbyChineseMindMapperLiuYan,andhelpedherwinawell-deservedgoldmedalinthe2016WorldMindMappingChampionships.LiuYanhasplacedaportraitofmeasthecentralimage,andhascreatedbranchesrelatingtokeyaspectsofMindMappingsuchasitsmethodology,itsapplications,andthemeansbywhichitiscreatedthroughdrawing,theuseof3DandtheLawsofMindMapping(seeChapter2,page60).TheresultingMindMapisimaginative,witty,colourfulandadelighttobehold.Itisfullofhumoroustouchesthatmakememorizingiteasyandfun.

TalktheTalk

ThisnextexercisewillenableyoutoexperiencethewaysinwhichMindMappingcanhelpyoutoreadfaster,improveyourunderstanding,takeusefulnotesandofferanoverviewofthematerialyouarereading–aswellasmemorizethatinformation.

•Pickabookfromyourshelvesandopenitatrandom.•Flickthroughituntilyougettothenextnewchapterormainsectionoftext.Skimthroughthistogetanoverviewofitscontents.

•NowsketchoutadraftMindMap.•Ifyouneedto,refertothesevenstepsofMindMappinginChapter1,page28,andtheLawsofMindMappinginChapter2,page60.

•ReviewthetextformoregoldandrefineyourMindMap.Keeplookingatthetextasyoudothistobesureyou’veincludedeverythingyouneed.

•Closethebook.•UsingonlyyourMindMap,recallthesubjectofthetextinasmuchdetailasyoucan.

Mostpeoplefeelnote-takingslowsyoudownwhenyouread.TheMindMapdoesexactlytheoppositeforyou:whenyourMindMapisfine-tunedtothekeywordsinatext,youreye–brainsystemwillsearchout,likeadetective,thekeyelementsofthecontent–immediatelyforminganetworkofassociationsthatwillgiveyouthe‘aha!’experienceofunderstanding.AsyourefineyourMindMap,youwillrefineyourunderstanding.

CreatingMagic

WhenLiuYanwonthe2016WorldMindMappingChampionships,Iwasinaweofherwork.ShehadmanagedtocreatewhatcouldonlybedescribedasaMindMappingmasterpieceinahighlypressurizedenvironment,withverylimitedtime.Iremembertellingtheaudience:“Whetheryou’refromChinaoranothercountry,pleaselearnMindMappingfromMissLiu,becausesheissurelyoneoftheleadingfiguresintheMindMapfield!”Here’sLiu’sstoryinherownwords…

MynameisLiuYan,andIcomefromBeijing.Ihavebeen

teachingMindMappinginChinasince2009.IbecameinterestedinMindMapsthefirsttimeIcameacrosstheminabookbyTonyBuzan.Attheageof23,ItooktheleadindrawingagiantMindMap(600m2),whichwasspreadoutonBaiyunMountaininGuangzhouduringthe19thWorldMemoryChampionshipin2009.

ImetMrBuzanforthefirsttimein2011,whenhewasgivingaspeech.AsIwasintheaudience,Iwasnotallowedtocomeintocontactwithhim.However,whenhisspeechended,ImanagedtoreachthestagewithmyMindMapinmyhands,despitethestaffattemptingtopreventme.AndMrBuzanexhibitedhisgenerosityinpatientlygivingmeinstructions.ItwasfromthatmomentonthatIdecidedtodevotemyprofessionalcareer–infactmywholelife–tospreadingandpassingonthismagicaltool.

MindMapontheprocessesofMindMappingbyLiuYan

SoIcameallthewaytoEnglandtostudyMindMappingwithMrBuzaninAugust2014,andIbecamethefirstqualifiedfemaleMindMapsupervisorontheChinesemainland.Todate,Ihavetaughtover60,000students!TheyoungeststudentIhaveever

taughtover60,000students!TheyoungeststudentIhaveevertaughtwasonlysixyearsold.Aftermyinstruction,shewasabletoMindMapawonderfulspeechandthendeliveritonstage.BystudyingMindMaps,manyofmystudentsareabletoimprovetheirperformanceandbecomemoreefficientintheirwork.

In2015,Iorganized81studentsinplanninganddrawinganothergiantMindMapwhich,at120m2,wasthebiggestMindMapinChinaatthetime.IcouldnotwaittosendthepictureofthemaptoMrBuzantheminuteitwasdone.Onseeingthemap,MrBuzangaveitthehighestpraise,saying,“Unprecedented!”

Ayearlater,inAugust2016,Ibeatthisrecordbyleading189studentsincompletinganothergiantMindMap,216m2,intwohoursand20minutes.ThethemeofthisMindMapwasChineseExcellentTraditionalCulture,anditwasreportedbythePeople’sDailywebsite.

IhavegoneontocreateothergiantMindMapswithnmystudents,includingin2017aMindMapofChinaitself,withthe34provincesdefinedasunits.ItscreationsymbolizesanattempttouniteWesternandEasterncultures.InChinatoday,MindMappinghasbecomealearningtoolthatmanyprimaryandmiddle-choolstudentshavetomaster,anditisalsoanecessaryskillfortheemployeesofmanylargeenterprises.IwanttoplaymyownpartinhandingdownMindMappingtothecominggenerationsinChina,andIhavenowwrittentwobooksonthesubjectofMindMapping,oneofwhichisanintroductiontoMindMappingandanotherwhichrelatesMindMapstotheancientprinciplesoftheTao-te-Ching.

On12December,2016,IparticipatedintheWorldMindMappingChampionshipsinSingapore.Afterfiercecompetition,playingthreegamesaday,Ibroketherecordwiththescoreof92.5inaneventforspeed-readingmagazinearticlesandpresentingtheirinformationintheformofMindMaps.Ialsosetnewrecordsfortheothertwoevents,spendinganaverageofhalfanhouroneachone.ThemomentwhenMrTonyBuzansaid,“Thewinnerofthisyear’sWorldMindMappingChampionshipsgoldmedalisLiuYan,”Iburstintotears.Thisprizeisthebest

goldmedalisLiuYan,”Iburstintotears.ThisprizeisthebestrecognitionthatIcouldeverhavehopedtoachieve,bothformyselfandformydearstudents.

Lookingforward,Idreamofhelpingmoreandmorepeoplebenefitfromthismagicaltool.IintendtodevotemyselftotheMindMapandthefuturelooksbright!

IhopebynowyouwillbeexcitedandintriguedbythepossibilitiesthatMindMapscanofferyouineveryaspectoflife.FromhumblebeginningssketchedonanA4sheetofpaperrightuptoMindMapssohugetheycovermountainsides,thereisliterallynolimittowhereMindMapscantakeyou,ortheapplicationsforthem.

6TheFutureofMindMapping

WhatdoesthefutureholdfortheMindMap?ThischapterconsiderstheMindMapinadigitalageanditspotentialrelationshipwithdevelopingArtificialIntelligence.ItlooksatthefutureofMindMappingandhowitcanhelpsmooththepathofyourownlife.

What’sNext?

TheMindMapisevolving.Thisshouldcomeasnosurprise,asaMindMapmirrorsthethinkingprocessesofthehumanbrainandthehumanbrainis,ofcourse,inevitablysubjecttotheprinciplesofevolution.

WesawinChapter1howtheMindMapfitsintothetrajectoryofhistory,takingitsplaceinachainofeventstriggeredbythegroundbreakingmarksmadebyStoneAgeartistsmillenniaago.WecannowexternalizebyhandtheMindMapsthatexistbiologicallywithinus,intheveryfabricofourbeing,intheconnectionsofourbraincells.Throughdrawing,writingandmakingmarks,theMindMaphasemergedfromthebrainandontothepage.

Yet,inournewera,thebalanceappearstoallintentsandpurposestobeshiftingfromthehandmadetothecomputergenerated,andresearchersarenowstudyingthewaysinwhichourmindsandthinkingprocessescouldbeaffectedbydevelopmentsinmoderntechnology.

Iamintriguedtoseewherethefuturewilltakeus–andtodiscoverwhatrolesMindMappingwillplayinaworldwhereHumanIntelligence(HI)getstogripswiththeimplicationsofArtificialIntelligence(AI).

GoingDigital

It’shardtobelievethatit’snowoveradecadesinceIteamedupwithChrisGriffithstocreatethefirsteffectivedigitalMindMappingsoftware:iMindMap.Aleadingentrepreneurwhosoldhisfirstcompanyatthetenderageof26,ChrisisthefounderofOpenGenius,thecompanybehindtheiMindMap,whichisnowusedbyoveronemillionpeoplearoundtheworld.Together,wecameupwithsoftwarethatreflectsthebrain’sorganicnatureandthewaysinwhichourthoughtprocessesinteract–whileobeyingtheLawsofMindMapping.

Unfortunately,manyoftheotherappsandsoftwarepackagesthatclaimtobeMindMappingtoolsbreakmostoftheLaws.Intheseinstances,thesoftwareoftengeneratesconceptmapsinwhich,forexample,theuseofcolourisoptionalandtherearemany“central”ideas;oranumberofwordsorphrasesareerroneouslycrammedintoboxesandplacedalongthebranches.Inthissortof

erroneouslycrammedintoboxesandplacedalongthebranches.Inthissortofdiagram,branchesarenotalwaysconnected,differentiatedororderedhierarchically.

ItisalwaysworthcheckingandcomparingthematrixoftheMindMappingLawswiththeminimatrixofsoftwareprogramsthatpurporttobeaboutMindMapping.Ifthetwodonotcorrelate,theprogramwillnotcreateatrueMindMap.Aswehaveseen,theLawsofMindMappingarebasedonsoundpsychologicalprinciples,whichmeansthatthefurtherapersondeviatesfromthem,thelesseffectivetheresultingdiagramwillbe.

THEBENEFITSOFDIGITALMINDMAPPINGByfollowingtheLawsofMindMapping,iMindMapsoftwaregeneratestrueMindMaps–creatingthenecessaryconditionsforgoodthinking,creativityandexcellentrecall.Theprogramhasprovedtobeaparticularlyeffectivetoolforuseinbrainstorming,negotiating,takingminutes,creatingpolishedpresentationsanddevelopingstrategy.

ThebenefitsofcomputerMindMapsinclude:•Theycanbeeditedwherenecessary•Theycanbebackedupdigitally•Theircleargraphicsmeantheyareeasytoread•Theycanbelinkedtoothermultimedia•Theyfacilitatepost-processanalysis(forexample,bygoingbackoverthestages)

•Theyaresimpletogenerateusingthesupplieddrawingtoolsandicons

OneoftheundeniablebonusesofdigitalMindMappingis,ofcourse,thespeedandeasewithwhichneatandusefuldocumentscanbesharedelectronicallywithcolleagues–andevenannotatedbythemwhereappropriate,encouragingcollaborationwithinteams.

WHERENEXT?Likeitshumancounterparts,iMindMapcontinuestoevolvewiththetimesandtheemergenceofnewtechnologies.Yetforallofitsadvancesinrecentyears,IbelievethatwearestillonlyattheverybeginningofMindMapping’sdigital

believethatwearestillonlyattheverybeginningofMindMapping’sdigitaladventure.

ROBOTLAWSVSTHELAWSOFMINDMAPPINGIn1950,AmericansciencefictionwriterIsaacAsmiovpublishedaprescientcollectionofshortstoriescalledI,Robot.Inthe1942story“RunAround”heintroducedthe“ThreeLawsofRobotics”:1.Arobotmaynotinjureahumanbeingor,throughinaction,allowahumanbeingtocometoharm;2.ArobotmustobeytheordersgivenitbyhumanbeingsexceptwheresuchorderswouldconflictwiththeFirstLaw;3.ArobotmustprotectitsownexistenceaslongassuchprotectiondoesnotconflictwiththeFirstorSecondLaws.

Therearesomepeopletodaywhowouldarguethatwehavereachedapointwhereweneedtostartactivelyputtingsomeformofroboticlawsinplace–devisingasortofTenCommandmentsforAI,ifyouwill.Onfirstconsideration,theirfearscouldseemjustified:inJune2017,AhmedElgammal,BingchenLiu,MohamedElhoseinyandMarianMazzone–researchersatRutgersUniversity’sArtandArtificialIntelligence(AI)Laboratory–publishedapaperinwhichtheysharedthought-provokingfindings.Theteamhadconductedanexperimentinwhichanewcomputationalsystemgeneratedentirelynewartworks.ThesepieceswerethenexhibitedatArtBasel2016–andwerepreferredbymanypeoplewhoviewedthemtothehuman-madeartondisplay!

Whilethatmaybeso,IbelievethatwehavealongwaytogobeforemuchofthehypesurroundingAIisactualized,andIammoreinclinedtoagreewiththeobservationsofProfessorGaryMarcus,anAmericanresearchpsychologistwhoseworkfocusesonlanguage,biologyandthemind.InanarticlefortheNewYorkTimescalled“ArtificialIntelligenceIsStuck.Here’sHowtoMoveItForward”(29July,2017),henotesthatAIsystemsstruggleintherealworld,andarguesthatweneedtodevelopanewAIparadigminwhich“topdown”and“bottomup”knowledgeareplacedonanequalfooting.Hedefinesbottom-upknowledgeasthesortofrawinformationwegetdirectlyfromoursenses,whereastop-downknowledgecomprisescognitivemodelsofhowtheworldworks.AIpresentlyworksprimarilywithtop-downknowledge,ratherthansensorystimulus.HisargumentisthatbothformsofknowledgeneedtobeintegratedifAIsystemsaretobecomeanythingmorethanpassivereceptaclesforinformation.Computerstodayarenotawareofwhattheyaredoing;theylacktrueconsciousness,soareultimatelyonlyascapableastheirprogrammersareskilled.Atthetimeofwriting,theylackcognitiveawareness.

ImentionedearlierthatIamintriguedtoseewhatthefutureholdsfortheMindMap.WhilemanybelievethattheworldwillinevitablybeheldhostagebytheinexorableriseofAI(thinkofallthoseTerminatormovies),Ihaveyettobeconvincedthatrobotscanapproachthebeautifulorganiccomplexityofthehumanbrain.WehavealreadydevelopedskilfulMindMapsoftwarethatcanbeusedforstunningpresentations,butwehaveyettodevelopAIthatcanitselfMindMapbyusingassociationandimaginationinmeaningfulways–letalonedosowhilebeingconsciousofthefactthatthisiswhatitisdoing.Today,evensupposedly“superrobots”lacktheabilitytodiscriminateorarepronetofallingflatontheirfaceswhentheycan’tseeastep!

Ratherthancreatenewroboticlaws,IwouldliketoseethedevelopmentofAIthatiscapableofconsciouslymasteringtheLawsofMindMapping,asIbelievethisissomethingthatwouldrepresentatruechallengeand,ifachieved,anincredibleaccomplishment.Aswehaveseen,throughtheuseofimagination,logic,associationandindividualinterpretationoftheworld,theLawsofMindMappingareinextricablyintertwinedwiththefundamentalprinciplesofgoodthinking.WhilewehavemadesignificantadvanceswithiMindMapanditwillcontinuetogofromstrengthtostrength,IhaveyettomeetarobotthatcancreateaMindMapindependentlyfromhumaninput.

IsincerelybelievethattheabilitytomakeaMindMapwouldactastheultimateproofofintelligenceinaroboticbeing.

APROVOCATIVECONVERSATION

MyconversationswithPolishMindMappingmasterMarekKasperskialwaysleavemefeelinginspiredandexcitedaboutthepossibilitiesforthisultimatethinkingtool.WerecentlyfoundourselvestalkingaboutdigitalMindMappingandAI,andMareksurprisedmewitharevelation.

“WhenIfirstlookedatiMindMap,Ilikeditverymuch,butIfounditwanting,tobehonest,”heconfessed.“TheprinciplesaregreatbuttheMindMapsoftwareonitsownistwo-dimensional–veryflat.Notmuchinourworldisveryflat;it’sallthree-dimensional.”

Icouldseehispoint.

Icouldseehispoint.

Marekcontinued:“Istartedthinkingaboutacentralthemebeinglikeholdingsomebody’sbrain.It’sathree-dimensionalthing:Icanspinitaroundandlookatitfromeverydifferentangle.ThenIimaginedthebranchesofthemajorthemescomingoutfromitliketendrils.Notinatwo-dimensionalway,liketheyareonaniMindMap,butthree-dimensional.SoIwouldlovetoseeacomputerprogramthatis3D,whereyoucanspintheMindMaparound.Itwouldbelikesolarflarescomingfromthesun.Theydon’tjustmoveinonedirection;theycometowardsyou;theycomeawayfromyou.Ifyoucouldturnthataroundyoucouldseethisbeautiful3DMindMap–likethethree-dimensional,tieredgameofchessthatSpockplaysinStarTrek.”

Hewentontosharewithmehisthoughtsonthebenefitsofdevelopingcompletely3DMindMapsoftwarethatcanbeusedonascreenoratablet,andspunwithyourfinger,helpingyoutounderstandthespatialpotentialofaMindMap,withallitsdifferentbranchesflowingoutina360-degreesphere.

Wearenowintheprocessofrefining3DiMindMapsoftware–andtheopportunitiesareboundless.

AIitselfisoftenapproachedasagameofnumbers;bignumbersadmittedly.Evensomethingasapparentlystraightforwardasagameofchesscaninvolve10tothepowerof70possiblemoves(whichgivesafigureof10with70noughtsafterit),whichiswhyittookdecadesandbillionsofdollarsforIBMtodevelopasupercomputercalledDeepBluethatwascapableofbeatingthenworldchesschampionGarryKasparovin1997.

AnotherfurtherchallengeforAIcameintheformoftheabstractstrategyboardgameGo.ManyintheroboticcommunitybelievedAIcouldn’tmasterGo,asthisgamehas10tothepowerof170possiblemoves.Thecomplexityisphenomenal.However,BritishAIresearcherDemisHassabiswasdeterminedtotackletheproblem.Besidesbeingaresearcher,neuroscientistandcomputergamedesigner,heisaMindMapperandtwotimewinneroftheDecamentathlon,amultidisciplinaryMindSportsevent.Heisalsotheco-founderofDeepMind,acompanydedicatedtopushingthefrontiersofAItechnologies.And,althoughittooktime,withthebackingofInternetgiantGoogle,DeepMindsucceededindevelopinganAIprogramcalledAlphaGothat,in2014,provedcapableofbeatingaworld-classGochampion.

AsAIhasbeatenthetoptwoathletesinthefieldofMindSports,therearethosewhobelieveitmustbeclosetoovertakingus.Butlet’sthinkbacktothosenumbersgamesforamoment.AMindMapradiatesbranches(BOIs)fromitscentre.Fromeachmainbranch,morebranchesgrow,andfromeachofthosebranchesyetmorebranchespotentiallyappear…Thequestionishowmanytheoretical,possiblebranchescouldspringfromanyonebranch–andtheanswer,ofcourse,stretchestowardinfinity.Evenintwodimensions,thepotentialreachofaMindMapisincalculable.

So,ratherthanconcentratingondevelopingMindMappingsoftware,wecouldflipthecoinonitshead.InsteadofusingdigitaltechnologiestopushtheparametersofMindMapping,MindMappingcouldproveawaytopushthepotentialofAIitself.

DuringmyconversationwithMarek,IconfessedmyvisionforthefutureofMindMapping,whichentailsestablishinganewAIsoftwaremultimilliondollarprizeinmuchthesamewaythattherehavebeenprizesforthedevelopmentofAIinthefieldsofMindSportssuchaschess.

SponsoredbyAIpioneersinthewaythatDeepBluewascreatedbyIBMandDeepMindwassupportedbyGoogle,thisprizewouldbeawardedtothefirstAIprogramorsupercomputerthatcouldfollowtheLawsofMindMappinginordertocreateitsownself-generatedMindMap.Inadditiontothis,theprogramwouldbeabletoreplicatethewayinwhichhumanscanmasterandapplyMindMappinginpracticalways.Thisgroundbreakingprogramwould:

•CreatehundredsofMindMapsindifferentformsusingdifferentimages

•UnderstandtheMindMapsthatitgenerates•Demonstratethatitcanthink•CommunicatetheideascapturedintheMindMap,expressingitindifferentlanguages,orusingotherwordsthatdirectthelisteningintelligencetothesamegoalinthewaythatahumanMindMappercancommunicateinformationcapturedinMindMapform

•ExpresstheideasintheMindMapbytranslatingthemintoart,sculptureormusicinthesamewaythatrealpeoplecanuseMindMapstoinspiretheircreativeaccomplishments

Hearingthis,MareksmiledandremindedmethatatthisstageinthehistoryofAI,evenanallegedlysophisticatedrobotisprimarilyadevicethatmimicsotherthingsinsuchawaythatitconvincesyouitisthinkingforitself,yetitisnot.Itismerelyaunitprocessingbinarynumbers:onesandzeros,“yes”and“no”,oneortheother.Butitisnotthinking:itisreactingandcalculating–butnotthinking.Norisitfeelingforthatmatter.

IagreedwithMarek’sobservations,andnotedthat,afterlosingtoDeepBlue,GarryKasparovobservedthat,ratherthanbeingdisappointedbytheoutcome,hewasmoresaddenedbythefactthatthepoormachinehadbeatentheworld’sgreatestchessplayer,yethadn’tthefaintestideaofwhatitwasdoinganddidn’tevenknowithadwon.

Norcoulditdowhathe,thenworldchesschampion,wouldbedoinglater:DeepBluewouldneverenjoyanicemeal,listentotheenvironmentaroundit,laugh,cryandreminisce,whileatthesametimerememberingallthemovesinthegame.Unlikehim,ithadn’tlivedeverymillisecondofthatgame.

Asthesituationstands,itseemsthatahumanelementwillremainanessentialcomponentinMindMappingfortheforeseeablefuture.ButifMindMappingcouldbeusedinthepracticaldevelopmentofAI–asameanstostretchit,challengeitandgrowit–imaginehowwonderfulthatwouldbe.AndifMindMappingcandothatforAI,justimagineinwhatamazingwaysitcouldhelpyouimproveyourownlife.Asahumanbeing,youareasuperbiocomputerandyourpotentialisincredible.

YourFuture

WhenmybookUseYourHeadwasfirstpublishedbytheBBC,Iwascalledintothepublishingoffices.Myeditorgreetedmewithanembarrassedsmile.“Ihaveaconfessiontomake:yourbookseemstodisappearfromtheshelvesheremorethananyothertitle.NotonlyisUseYourHeadsellinglikehotcakes,butcopiesvanishintothinairassoonastheyarrivefromthewarehouse!”

Ilaughed.Iwasdelightedbythethoughtthatmybookwas“disappearing”andthatcopieswerebeingtakenhomebystaffeagertolearnhowtousetheirheadsandimprovetheirbrainpower.

Overtheyears,however,othershavemisappropriatedMindMappinginwaysthathavenotalwaysbeensobenign.WitnessingthemisuseandmisinterpretationoftheMindMaphas,attimes,feltabitliketravellingonacoachthat’sbeenheldupbyahighwayman;thenwatchingaprecioustreasurebeingcarriedawayandburiedinthewoodswhereitcan’tbenefitanybody.

Myprimaryconcern–andoneofthemotivationsforwritingthisbook–istoensurethattheintegrityofthisamazingthinkingtoolisneitherlostnorcompromised,andthatitgoesontohelpmillionsmorepeoplearoundtheworldtodayandinthefuture.HavingdevotedmyadultlifetoteachingandsharingtheMindMap,mywishisthatMindMapMasterywillshoweverybodywhattheMindMaptrulyis,howitevolvedandhowitcanhelpusindividually;andthatitwillreinforcethefactthattheLawshaveapurposeandarethereforareason,becausetheyareintegraltogoodthinking.

Whateveryourcircumstances,thechallengesyouface,oryourhopesandambitions,youwillfindtechniquesandinsightsinthisbookthatwillenableyoutobecomeatrueMindMapmaster.Itismysincerebeliefthat,onceyouhaveworkedthroughtheexercisesinthisbookandgoneontomastertheartofMindMapping,youwillbewellonthewaytomasteringtheartoflifeitself.

EmbarkonthenextstageofyourMindMappingadventurerightnowbymakinga“ChangeYourLife”MindMap.InthisMindMap,drawuponalltheMindMappingskillsthatyouhaveacquiredsofartolookbeyondyourpresentcircumstances,articulateyourdreamsanddiscovernew,excitingwaysinwhichtorealizethem.Onceyoubegin,Iknowtherewillbenostoppingyou…

Allthatremainsformenowistowishyoueverysuccessandhappinesswiththemostpotentthinkingtoolintheworldtoempoweryou.

WelcometotheMindMappingglobalfamily!

ResourcesTonyBuzan–InventorofMindMapping

www.tonybuzan.com

WelcometoTonyBuzan’sworld.TonyBuzanistheInventorofMindMaps–themostpowerful“thinkingtool”ofourtimes.DiscovermoreaboutTonyhimself,andthetransformativepowersofMindMapping,memoryandspeed-reading,amongotherhelpfulresources.

iMindMap

www.imindmap.com

iMindMapisthefirstMindMapping,brainstormingandprojectplanningsoftware.ItenablesyoutoworkcreativelyusingfiveviewsincludingFastCaptureView,BrainstormView,MindMapViewandTimeMapViewthathelpcapture,organize,develop,actionandlaunchyourideas.Thesoftwareisusedbymanyoftheworld’sleadingorganizations,includingDisney,theBBC,Nasa,IntelandMicrosoft.

WorldMemoryChampionships

www.worldmemorychampionships.com

FoundedbyTonyBuzanandRaymondKeeneOBEin1991,whenthefirstWorldMemoryChampionshipswasstaged,thisisacommoncompetitionframeworkthathasenabledinternationalcompetitiontotakeplaceinthefieldofMemorySports.Itisbasedonthetenmemorydisciplines.

WorldMindMappingCouncil

www.worldmindmappingcouncil.com

FoundedbyPhilChambersandTonyBuzan,theWorldMindMappingCouncilisdedicatedtopromotingtheteachingofMindMappingworldwideandtoadvancingthecourseofgloballiteracy.

REFERENCES

Collins,AllanM.andM.RossQuillian“RetrievalTimeFromSemanticMemory”,inJournalofVerbalLearningandVerbalBehavior,Elsevier,volume8,1969.

Elgammal,Ahmed,BingchenLiu,MohamedElhoseiny,andMarianMazzone,“CAN:CreativeAdversarialNetworks,Generating“Art”byLearningAboutStylesandDeviatingfromStyleNorms”,(availableonline)June2017.

Farrand,Paul,FearzanaHussainandEnidHennessy,“TheEfficacyofthe“MindMap”StudyTechnique”,(availableonline)2002.

Haber,Ralph,“HowWeRememberWhatWeSee”,ScientificAmerican,May1970.

Huba,George,MindMapping,CognitiveImpairment,andDementia(Huba’sBolero),(availableonline)2015.

Marcus,Gary,“ArtificialIntelligenceisStuck.Here’sHowtoMoveItForward”,NewYorkTimes,July29,2017.

Restorff,Hedwigvon,“TheEffectsofFieldFormationintheTraceField”,1933.

Toi,H.,“ResearchonHowMindMapImprovesMemory”,paperpresentedattheInternationalConferenceonThinking,KualaLumpur,2009.

AcknowledgementsThePublisherwouldliketothankSueLascellesforherinvaluableassistanceincreatingthisbook.

ThePublisherwouldliketothankthefollowingMindMappersandphotographiclibrariesforpermissiontoreproducetheirmaterial.Everycarehasbeentakentotracecopyrightholders.However,ifwehaveomittedanyone,weapologizeandwill,ifinformed,makecorrectionstoanyfutureedition.AllMindMapsremainthecopyrightoftheircreatorsaslistedbelow:

Page26Shutterstock;page36Shutterstock;page37Shutterstock;page42Shutterstock;page43(above)Shutterstock;page43(below)Shutterstock;page44Shutterstock;page45(below)Alamy;page51Shutterstock;page126Shutterstock;page127Shutterstock;page128(above)Shutterstock;page128(below)Shutterstock;page129Shutterstock;page105MindMapbyMarekKasperski;page113MindMapbyPhilChambers;page132MindMapbyRichardLin;page158MindMapbyDominicO’Brien;page173MindMapbyManeeshDutt;page174ManahelThabet;page175ManahelThabet;page178MindMapbyRaymondKeene;page193MindMapbyLiuYan

ThestoryofWatkinsdatesbackto1893,whenthescholarofesotericismJohnWatkins foundedabookshop, inspiredby the lamentofhis friendand teacherMadame Blavatsky that there was nowhere in London to buy books onmysticism,occultismormetaphysics.ThatmomentmarkedthebirthofWatkins,soon to become the home ofmany of the leading lights of spiritual literature,includingCarlJung,RudolfSteiner,AliceBaileyandChögyamTrungpa.

Today, the passion at Watkins Publishing for vigorous questioning is stillresolute. Our wide-ranging and stimulating list reflects the development ofspiritual thinking and new science over the past 120 years.We remain at thecuttingedge,committedtopublishingbooksthatchangelives.

DISCOVERMOREAT:www.watkinspublishing.com

Readourblog Watchandlistentoourauthorsinaction

Signuptoourmailinglist

Wecelebratecelebrateconscious,passionate,wiseandhappyliving.Bepartofthecommunitybyvisiting

WatkinsPublishing @watkinswisdomwatkinsbooks watkinswisdom