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How To Mind Map Your Business by Michael Southon
How To Mind Map Your Business
by Michael Southon
If you're doing business on the Web, sooner or later
you'll probably begin to feel like a juggler trying to
keep ten balls flying through the air at the same
time. There are just too many elements in your
business plan to keep them all going at once.
The solution?
For many people the solution would be to make a list
of all the key elements in their business plan. But
lists are linear and the Mind doesn't think in a
linear fashion. The Mind thinks in terms of
associations, hierarchy, image, color, form, and
pattern. So to organize your ideas and generate new
ideas, a Map is much more effective than a list. In
fact, at the back of your Mind, you probably already
have a vaguely-defined map of your online business. A
Mind Map is simply a way of putting that structure
down on paper.
Mind Mapping, also known as 'Radiant Thinking', is a
technique that was developed in the 1970's by Tony
Buzan. A Mind Map consists of a central word or
concept, with 5 to 10 main ideas radiating out from
that central concept.
Here's an example of a Mind Map for an Internet
Business.
At the center of a blank page are the words 'My
Internet Business Plan', circled. Radiating out from
those central words are seven key ideas, or Basic
Organizing Ideas (BOIs): Search Engine Listings, Ezine
Ads, Newsletter, Link Exchange, Writing Ezine
Articles, Website, Affiliate Programs. Each of these
BOIs is connected to the central circle by
outward-pointing arrows, like the branches of a tree.
You can see an illustration of this Mind Map at:
http://www.freezineweb.com/mind-map.html
Each Basic Ordering Idea sprouts a further set of
ideas, also connected by outward-pointing arrows, like
twigs at the end of a branch. For example, the Basic
Organizing Idea 'Ezine Ads' gives rise to four more
ideas: 'Paid Ads, 'Ad Swaps', 'Free Ads', and 'Ad
Tracking'. 'Ad Swaps' in turn gives rise to two more
ideas, 'Newsletter' and 'Website' and so on. Each
Basic Organizing Idea can become the center of another
Mind Map.
In one sense, a Mind Map is simply a map of what you
know about a given topic, in this case your online
business. And so it's a very effective way of taking
an 'inventory' of what you know about a particular
subject at a given moment in time.
But a Mind Map also causes your brain to make
associations. Because each Basic Ordering Idea can
become the center of another Mind Map, a Mind Map is
capable of producing endless associations. In fact, if
you use a Mind Map, whether you're writing an Ezine
Article, writing an eBook, designing an entire
website, or writing a sales letter, it's virtually
impossible to get 'Writer's Block'; the very structure
of a Mind Map keeps giving rise to new associations.
Another key benefit of a Mind Map is that it helps you
organize information hierarchically, in a way that is
not possible with lists. The tree-like structure of a
Mind Map is a hierarchy and in the process of
arranging your information along the 'branches' and
'twigs' of a Mind Map, you'll get a much better grasp
of the information you're dealing with.
So, to sum up, here are the basic techniques for
drawing a Mind Map:
- 1. Place a central idea or concept in the middle of a
blank page, and circle it.
- 2. Jot down 5 to 10 Basic Ordering Ideas, radiating out
from the central concept.
- 3. Connect each Basic Ordering Idea to the central
concept with outward-pointing arrows.
- 4. As an aid to creating your Basic Ordering Ideas, ask
yourself: "If the central concept of my Mind Map were a
book, what would be the chapter headings?"
- 5. Each Basic Ordering Idea can become the center of
another Mind Map.
You can find more information about Mind Maps at the
following websites:
http://www.peterussell.com/mindmap1.html
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~caveman/Creative/Mindmap/Radiant.html
http://www.shared-visions.com/explore/literature/mindmap.htm
http://www.tsd.jcu.edu.au/netshare/learn/mindmap/howto.html
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Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over
3 years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use
this simple technique to build a successful online business.
Click here to find out more:
http://businessmarketingadvice.com/cgi-bin/vp/hop.cgi?i=mhsouthon
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