March 2010

Today’s post is a guest post by Paul Foreman of MindMapInspiration.com.

When I first read books by Tony Buzan, the inventor of mind maps, I was fascinated; I even dabbled with the technique, yet big blunder of blunders, I took it no further. A few years on, paper met pen again and I am totally hooked.

Mind Maps Work

The reason I’m hooked is because mind maps work. Whether you are planning, problem solving, clarifying your thinking, or exploring your creativity to name just a few uses, mind maps ignite your brainpower and unlock infinite ideas.

You can use mindmapping software or create hand-drawn mind maps or both.

Create Your First Mind Map

If you have never created a mind map before, grab some coloured pens and a blank sheet of paper, preferably A3 (A4 will do) and I’ll show you how to mind map a subject you know intimately.

With your paper in landscape format, add a picture of yourself in the centre and your name. Create between 4 and 11 main branches; example main topics might include: likes, dislikes, experiences, plans, values, qualities.

Use different colours for each main branch, thick main branches and thin sub-branches and use one word per branch. Add images to help stimulate your mind as pictures aid recall and retention.

Develop each main branch by adding single words to new sub-branches as each word sparks a new thought. For example, on the “likes” branch you might add films, books, foods, drinks, colours, clothes; the additions are infinite.

You can quickly see how using links and associations your ideas grow organically with greater freedom and potential than using standard written or list formats.

Map the Possibilities

Mind maps have endless potential uses both in business and personally. They allow you to tap your inner resources and capture and harness your unique creativity.

Please learn from my blunder and persevere; after you have created a dozen mind maps you will begin to wonder how you ever coped without them.

Are you ready to ignite your brainpower with mind maps? Here are some resources to keep your fire burning:

Mind Map Resources

List of online Mind Map Libraries

List of free Mind Map Software

WikIT – the mindmapping Wiki

Tony Buzan iMindMap ® Software

Mind Map Art

Meet Paul

Paul Foreman creates and shares mind maps for inspiration and motivation. Further examples can be seen at his Blog and Website.

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If you’ve been reading this blog and my newsletter, then you know I believe in the power of small things. I think little ideas, tiny gestures, and miniscule improvements can have a huge impact on people’s lives.

But it’s just as mindless to establish a rule that smaller is always better as it is to etch its opposite in stone.

The Size that Binds

If bigger is always better, than we should all be painting murals on high cliff walls. If smaller rules the day, then all our canvases should be the size of postage stamps.

Whenever we follow such arbitrary rules, whether we’ve inherited or created them, we eliminate ourselves from the equation. We stop paying attention to our own needs, moods, and interests in the moment.

The worth of an endeavor is not measured by the size of the tools being used, the space being utilized, or the mass of the outcome. Instead, it’s the degree to which we are fully engaged in whatever it is we’re doing.

Change Things Up (or Down)

Today, we may feel like doing something more intimate and detailed. Tomorrow, we may be compelled to work on a larger surface, tackle bigger ideas, make wider movements, or use brighter colors.

At the very least, we should be consulting what’s going on inside of us.

Also, our small attempts may be attempts to exercise more control, be more predictable, and attract less attention. If so, we may need to let go and go bigger.

And our larger gestures may be tricks we use to mask our discomfort with details or our fear of going unnoticed. In this case, it could be helpful to work smaller so that we face such matters in a more focused way.

The Variable Nature of Art

Artists are like scientists; they conduct experiments. If you and I are going to be artists, then we have to be willing to manipulate the variables, including size, and see what happens.

Get engaged. Be curious. Be playful.

If you always paint on a large canvas, try a small one.

If you always write with a fine point pen, go bolder.

If you can’t think of anything to put on the page, grab a bigger piece of paper. You could be stuck because you’re trying to find the perfect thing to put on a 8-by-11 sheet of paper. Try writing on a giant sketch pad and throw everything you have at it.

If the page seems too big and scary, draw grid lines and fill one box at a time, or grab some index cards and write on them.

If your idea seems too big, break it down into smaller ones.

If you always deal with small details, spend some time playing with big ideas and far reaching visions.

Notice the Difference

Throughout all of this, pay attention. Note how the change in scale makes you feel and impacts your work.

Are you less afraid or more open or bolder? Or does it have the opposite effect?

Are the end results more pleasing, more whimsical, less chaotic?

Whatever the impact, it’s neither good nor bad. It’s merely different, and that’s what makes it so interesting.

Are you getting all the Quiet Inspiration you need? Subscribe to Quiet Inspiration, the Mildly Creative Newsletter. You can also subscribe to these blog posts via RSS feed or by Email.

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