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Further
Reading ...
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10 Tips for Writing Web Copy - Joe McHenry
One of the most important aspects of a website today is the webcopy - sometimes called the sales letter. In days gone bye, banners and graphics were all important but now it's the words that do the selling. This short article will give you...
Data Loss… Can Your Company Survive. (Most Do Not) - Harald Anderson
Data. Most people think it is a term relegated to the kingdom of geeks. However, in todays world your data is your life. Chances are every piece of data you might ever rely upon to make an important decision has been reduced to a digital...
Payday Loan - Tony
Does "I just need enough cash to tide me over until payday." sound familiar to you? I'm betting it does. We constantly find ads to this effect on the radio, television, the Internet, and even in the mail. The type of loan being referred...
10 Time-Saving Calendar and Scheduling Tips - Eve Abbott
By Eve Abbott, Excerpted from her new book, "How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain” TM Nowhere is the line drawn more clearly between 'Industrial brains' and 'Electronic brains' than when it comes to the way people prefer to keep and use...
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Becoming Radiant: Mind Mapping For Creativity
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Written By:
Maya Talisman Frost
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I don't take notes anymore. Instead, I create one wildly colorful, creative and inspiring page whenever I need to make a decision, prepare a presentation, or plan an event. That whole two-column plus and minus approach? Gone.
Bring on the Mind Maps!
I read Tony Buzan's first book on Mind Mapping back in the early eighties, but I was too caught up in the old-school world to see how it could be of use to me. I recently rediscovered Mind Mapping and it has become an integral part of the work I do with clients.
Tony Buzan created the Mind Map concept in the early seventies. Based on his brilliant observation that our brains do not process information in a linear way, Mind Mapping allows us to use words, images, and color in an effort to engage the right side of our brains in what is normally considered a left-brain task: organizing information.
We've already learned that one of the keys to maximizing our potential as humans is to forget that whole right-brain/left-brain divide. Instead of seeing ourselves as a logical person OR a creative person, we're both. We've simply chosen to put more energy into developing skills associated with the analytical left or the daydreaming right. We must recognize that there's a fine line separating analysis from daydreams and that in order to have a fully integrated brain, we need to do both.
We speak in a linear pattern. We can say only one word at a time, and we can hear only one word at a time. Similarly, we read in a linear pattern-words flow in lines across the page.
So when it came time to organize notes and teach the proper form for creating outlines, it's easy to see why we turned to the tried and true linear approach. You know the format: Roman numeral one (I) followed by A, B and C, followed by 1, 2 and 3. We look for things to slot into each line in order to make it fit properly.
In school, we spent hours preparing these outlines for book reports, speeches, and term papers. In our work as adults, we do the same thing with agendas, meeting minutes, and project plans. Orderly lines of information. Black ink on white pages. Empty spaces.
Boring, boring, boring--and not the best way to use our brains.
Along comes Buzan, who says that we would be much better off if we allowed our right brains to get in on the game. So, instead of creating - continued below ...
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typical linear outlines, Buzan insisted on becoming radiant. He developed the concept of putting your central idea right in the center of the page. Your main points then radiate outward from the center. Each one of these points sprouts its own branches and twigs. He referred to this star-like pattern of ideas as Radiant Thinking.
The beauty of this is that you can see everything on one page. No time wasted sorting through pages. No need to flip through your notes to see your next point or find your conclusion--it's all right there in front of you. No need for extra notes. No energy spent on rewrites.
He didn't stop there. Buzan understood that color is a strong factor in helping us remember, so he encourages us to use different colors for each of the radiant thoughts and sub-thoughts. Instead of using only words, incorporate little line drawings and images to make connections between thoughts.
This is the way our brains work naturally. We don't picture the word B-O-X when we picture a box. Instead, our brains conjure the image. We don't always go from thought A to thought B to thought C. We're just as likely to start with A, then head over to E, skip back to A and then saunter over to R. Our neural pathways look like webs, not straight lines. In fact, the more criss- crossed our connections, the more we're able to synthesize complex ideas and come up with new ways to use old information.
Mind Maps give us an excuse to play. They give us a reason to keep a whole set of colored pens right on our desk for everyone to see. Mind maps allow our thuggish left brains to make friends with our timid rights. For once, there's harmony on the playground!
Use a Mind Map for your next planning session, and watch the reaction. Raised eyebrows give way to smirks, which dissolve into delighted grins. Linear notes become circular masterpieces. Black and white becomes a rainbow. Words become pictures. Workers become creative. Work becomes the joyful collaborative experience it is meant to be.
Grab your markers and become radiant. Your brain is waiting to play!
About the Author
Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse. Her work has inspired thinkers in over 90 countries. To subscribe to her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, visit http://www.massageyourmind.com
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How To Organize And Save Your Marketing Data Accurately... - Detlev Reimer
If you are little bit like me when I started with Internet marketing, you'll often find yourself searching for your special bookmarks or free e-books/articles and software you downloaded. Being subscribed to more than 20 ezines in the area of...
How To Realistically Set Your Fees - Part 5 - Sue and Chuck DeFiore
How To Raise Your Fees There comes a time when it is inevitable that you must raise your fees in order to maintain both your profit margin and income level. You will find that the greatest resistance to this comes from your oldest clients. ...
10 Benefits of Submitting Articles To E-zines - Dean Shainin
1. You'll brand your web site, business and yourself by submitting articles to e-zines. You could include your name, business name, your credentials, web site address and e-mail address in your resource box. 2. You will become known as an expert...
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