Hey, just a real quick tip here on something that is helping me immensely in planning my business . Recently, I joined Leta Russell’s Mind Mapping webinar series. It is appropriately titled, ““Mind Map Your Way From Passion To Prosperity”. This is really powerful information! Leta isn’t just teaching the mechanics of mind mapping, she’s teaching it in respect to launching your business or taking it to the next level. In fact, the subtitle is, “Mind Mapping for Business – Shift from Confusion to Clarity”. Her point (and she’s right on!) is that many people have great ideas and a passion, but they don’t know how to put them down in a fashion that helps them move into action and stay focused. If this is you, read on!
Below is an image of my first mind map that is helping me to clarify my mission and vision. It was created with Thinking Space Pro on my Android phone (available in the app market). It works well and I love being able to add and modify as thoughts come to me, no matter where I am. It starts in the upper right corner with my past and moves clockwise down to my present and then over to the action words that seemed to fit the purpose for my new business. It then moves up the left side to who I feel most compelled to serve and ends in the upper left corner with how I intend to deliver my service to them.
The Difference Between Process Mapping and Mind Mapping
While I teach traditional linear process mapping and value stream mapping as part of my day job, I’ve have a hard time applying it to my business. There’s a reason… all I had was a hammer, so everything looked like a nail. The problem is that there is a major difference between mapping existing linear processes and brainstorming the elements necessary to turn a passion into a business. The latter requires more right brain free thinking, whereas the former is simply documenting each step in a process as it occurs.
Based on Leta’s instruction in the second and third webinars, here is my second mind map where I focused on my three strategies (action words) of one particular aspect of my business and began to branch out into tactics. This came to me early this morning and I “drew” it out in less than an hour. It sure was nice to do a brain dump, so I could leave for work without worrying about the possibility of forgetting a thought or two. I know it will require some rework, but at least I have a start now.
If this topic appeals to you at all, I encourage you to sign up for the remaining sessions now and join the Facebook group, “Mind Map and Share It”. Leta has several special guests lined up over the coming weeks. Even though you’ve missed the first three, Leta does live mind mapping with participants during each session, so you’ll get enough of it to know if mind mapping or Leta’s coaching would help you. There is also discussion of different mind mapping tools and approaches to mind mapping. Leta will be packaging this content for sale after the initial series ends, so sign up now at her blog http://letarussell.com/events/! The content is so good, though, that it will be well worth whatever her asking price is later.
