Why is a Mind-Map the Key to Success?
What if I told you that a simple Mind-Map could be the secret to unlocking hidden potential in your business, help you become more effective, and even planning out your next big product or course launch?! That's right, a good, ol-fashioned brain dump may be just the thing you need to jump start your creativity, clear out mental road blocks, and free up mental space to make room for the things that really matter!
A mind-map can be the key to your success because it serves as a wonderful tool to get your genius out of your head and into a usable format.
As a busy entrepreneur you most likely have hundreds of "brilliant" ideas, a constant list of "to-do" tasks, budgets, customer service matters, and marketing inspiration flowing around in your head at all times. If you're not careful, all of that mental clutter can sap your energy, limit your effectiveness, and cause you to miss out on the really "golden ticket" ideas because they get lost in the shuffle. That's where a mind-map comes in to play!
What is a Mind-Map?
A mind-map in its simplest form is releasing all of your thoughts about a particular subject out of your head and onto paper. There are multiple techniques you can follow to create a mind-map, so to give you some inspiration, I'm going to share two of my favorite techniques with you.
- Mind-Mapping Technique #1:
My favorite way to mind-map is to start with a large sheet of paper or a dry-erase board. In the middle draw a circle and write the main idea or topic that you are going to focus on for this map. Off of that map you will draw smaller circles filled with the main ideas or subjects that branch off of that main topic.
For example, if the main idea I want to focus on is attaining new clients for my business, then that would be the topic I would put inside of my main circle. Off of that circle I would draw lines to smaller circles with 1 new idea per circle for attaining new clients such as; running facebook ads, booking talks/presentations, running a press release in the paper, get interviewed on a podcast, request a review on a relevant blog, etc.
Once you have your main thoughts captured, you will start breaking down each of those thoughts/ideas.. Off of those smaller circles you will start to branch off with all of the ideas and topics that come from each of the separate, individual circles.
In the example above, I would take each idea and break it down further. For my Facebook ads circle I could add circles off of it for items or services I may want to feature in my ad. I could also include thoughts on my target audience, images I wanted to use, when I wanted to run them, whatever comes to mind would be placed in a circle.
This process can continue on as long as you like, however, I recommend setting a timer for 25-30 minutes per mind-mapping session so you stary on-track and focused.
This technique is very helpful for resulting in a visual diagram that you can revisit often and fill in as new ideas pop up, or until you run out of room on your paper!
- Mind-Mapping Technique #2:
The second technique that works very well is similar to the process above, however you write each thought down on a post-it note and make seperate piles for the notes.
This technique is very effective for times when you may not have enough structure in place to layout a more formal outline like above. With this technique you can literally "dump" out your thoughts and ideas in random order and then go back and organize your post-it notes into similar categories once you are finished.
If your mind is so full of thoughts that you can't make head or tails of a situation, the post-it mote technique is an extremely effective process for clearing your mind!
How do I turn my Mind-Map into a useful tool for my business?
A mind-map is useful in and of itself becuse it serves as a mental release of ideas and thoughts, but when used effectively it can be transformed into an invaluable tool in your business!
The key to transforming the mindmap into a useful tool is transforming the raw data into a functional and useable resource that you will turn to time and time again. Depending on the type of mind-map you created, you can use the information collected in many ways.
I will share with you a few examples of different mind-maps and how to utilize their information effectively below, but the important thing to take away from these examples is how important it is to extract the useable information and use it as a framework for business growth.
- Example #1: Mind-Map turned into a Book Outline-
Have you heard that a book is the new business card? In this example you have brainstormed and mind-mapped out an entire map of a topic in which you are very familiar and you can turn that exact topic into a book to help you attain clients and establish authority in your field! In order to do this you will simply take the subject that you brainstormed on and use the map you created to organize out chapters, sub-topics to cover in each chapter, and then compile all of that into a book format.
For a real-life example, I followed this exact process when writing my first book. I started with a topic I was very familiar with; Christmas tree decorating. From there I filled up a mind-map full of topics such as selecting a tree, lighting, hanging ornaments, deciding on a topper, etc. Each category was numbered in order of the chapter it would fall into and then using my mind-map as my guide, I started writing.
Following this exact process helped me write, and self-publish my first book in less than 30 days! Mind-mapping made all of the difference and served as the guide to finishing a book that helped propel my business forward to big growth!
- Example #2: Mind-Map used to create an Online Course-
If you have ever considered turning your expertise into an evergreen source of revenue through an online course, then mind-mapping is a great place to start!
Once you have brain dumped and mind-mapped out all of your thoughts on a particular subject, you can divide each category out into a different module and turn the sub-categories into teaching points. In less than an afternoon you can have a rough draft for a program that can make you money while you sleep!
- Example #3: Mind-Map used to launch a successful Store Event-
Let's say you are gearing up to host a big Holiday Open House or Grand Store Opening event for your new business and you have so many things to take care of that you feel overwhelmed and are afraid you'll forget an important step. What should you do? Mind-map of course!
Taking all of the thoughts, to-do tasks, menus, flyers, advertising details, budgeting concerns, decoration ideas, and invitaions lists and putting them into one place frees up brain-space and gives you an opportunity to create a detailed event punchlist where you can organize all of your thoughts and tasks that need to be completed. This "Master Event Punchlist" can then be shared with your entire team so everyone is clear on their roles and responsibilites and your event can go off wihout a hitc!
The common theme in each of the above examples is how a simple mind-mapping exercise can be used to create massive results and breakthroughs in your business. NO matter what you are working on in your business right now, take the time to mind-map out your thoughts and see what happens!