To create your first Mind Map, we are going to take as a topic – your next holiday! You are going to use your powers of imagination and association to make a Mind Map about where you want to go.
LEVEL ONE
First take a sheet of plain paper and some coloured pens. Turn the piece of paper on its side, so that it is wider than it is long (landscape rather than portrait). In the centre of the page draw an image that sums up holidays for you. Use the coloured pens and be as creative as you like.
Now label this image. This could be the name of your destination or simply along the lines of ‘My Holiday.’
Central idea of your first Mind Map
LEVEL TWO
Next, draw some thick branches radiating out from the central holiday image. Use a different colour for each. These branches will represent your main thoughts on what this is going to be. You can add any number of branches when you make a Mind Map, but, for the purposes of this exercise, limit the number of branches to five or six.
On each branch, print clearly and in large capital letters the first five single key words that leap to mind when you think about your next holiday.
If you need to help your imagination choose these key words, ask yourself a few questions, such as ‘Where will I be going?’ (your key word could be ‘DESTINATION’), ‘What kind of holiday do I want to take?’ (your key word could be ‘TYPE’), ‘What do I need to take with me?’ (your key word could be ‘LUGGAGE’), and so on. In this example the key words are ‘TYPE,’ ‘EQUIPMENT,’ ‘CLOTHES,’ ‘SHUTDOWN,’ ‘BUDGET,’ and ‘BOOKING.’
As you can see, at the moment, your Mind Map is primarily composed of colours, lines, and words. So how can we improve it?
We can make it better by adding to it the important brain ingredients of pictures and images from your imagination. ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ and therefore saves you a lot of time and wasted energy writing down those thousand words in your notes. And it is easier to remember.
As you continue developing your Mind Map, add little pictures to represent your ideas and reinforce it. Use your coloured pens and a little imagination. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece – a Mind Map is not a test of your artistic ability. Make sure that you place your images on the branches of your Mind Map.
Central image with branches to represent your main thoughts about the holiday
LEVEL THREE
Now let’s use association to expand this Mind Map to its next stage. Returning to your Mind Map, take a look at the key words you have written down on each of the main branches. Do these key words spark off further ideas? For example, if, say, one of your main ideas is ‘Booking’ think about the different ways you might book it or when you might book it. Would it be through an agent, the Internet, the library or simply a recommendation from a friend?
Draw further branches radiating from each of your key words in order to accommodate the associations you make. Again, the number of sub-branches you have is totally dependent on the number of ideas you come up with – which may be endless. However, for this exercise, limit yourself to three or four sub-branch levels.
On these sub-branches do exactly the same as you did in the first stage of this game: print, clearly, single key words on these waiting-to-be-filled branches. Use the main word on the branch to trigger your three or four new key words on the next-level branches.
Again, remember to use colour and images on these sub-branches.
Congratulations! You’ve just completed your first Mind Map. You will notice that even at this early stage your Mind Map is brimming with symbols, codes, lines, words, colours and images, and is already demonstrating all the basic guidelines you need in order to apply your brain most effectively and enjoyably. Even better, when it comes to organizing your next holiday, you’ll have everything, on a single sheet of paper, you need to consider.
In the next chapter, you’re going to learn a lot more about your amazing brain and its phenomenal potential. The more you understand about your brain, the better you will be able to use it.
Mind Maps in Action
Millions of people around the world use Mind Maps every day to help them. Some people use them simply to become better planners or more confident public speakers, while others use them to solve problems on a much grander scale.
STAND UP AND SPEAK
Mark had always been nervous about addressing large numbers of people in public, but when he was asked to stand up and give a speech at his best friend’s wedding he was torn between his anxiety and the pleasure of the invitation.
Normally, he found it difficult to strike a balance between planning and spontaneity: either he lost his train of thought and stumbled over words or he tended to read verbatim from his notes and deliver a monotonous speech.
Mark decided to Mind Map his speech. He brainstormed his ideas with a Mind Map and then structured how he would deliver it on a second Mind Map, exploring the introduction, main themes, and conclusion.
Mark rehearsed it several times using the key words on his second Mind Map. When it came to the big day, he stood up with confidence and delivered the best speech of his life. At least half of the guests approached him afterwards to tell him it was the best speech at a wedding they’d ever heard, too!
A CITY IN CRISIS
After the terrible events of 9/11 and the collapse of the World Trade Center, the vital utilities to large areas of New York City were thrown into chaos. Communication lines, electricity, water, gas and sewerage networks were in disarray, and residents and businesses were faced with further trauma and hardship.
It was Con Edison, the suppliers of gas and electricity to New York, that had to face the massive challenge of restoring power to the residents of Manhattan. Fortunately, Con Edison had a vital tool to help them: Mind Maps.
Con Edison hosted teams from public utilities in all regions to develop a complex action plan to route their way through the crisis. Together they drew up a mega Mind Map, brainstorming on it all the problems and necessary solutions they faced.
Each step was prioritized and sequenced, and the impact of the failure of one utility on another examined, and this formed the basis of an operations guide. For example, in some cases they would have to re-establish electricity supplies before they could monitor and recommence the movement of water, gas, and sewerage.
Con Edison linked up their Mind Map with a large-screen monitor to provide live-time data displays. The Mind Map included web-links to all key documents. In this way, they could easily disseminate the information to all the different teams involved in the recovery plan. Con Edison resumed their normal utilities service efficiently and, by identifying and documenting the risks faced and the dangers involved, safely.
This meeting of the resources, ideas, and know-how of the various utilities through the medium of Mind Maps minimized the distress experienced by an already traumatized community.
chapter 2
Know Your Brain, Unlock Your