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If you're doing business on the Web, sooner or lateryou'll probably begin to feel like a juggler trying tokeep ten balls flying through the air at the sametime. There are just too many elements in yourbusiness plan to keep them all going at once.
The solution?
For many people the solution would be to make a listof all the key elements in their business plan. Butlists are linear and the Mind doesn't think in alinear fashion. The Mind thinks in terms ofassociations, hierarchy, image, color, form, andpattern. So to organize your ideas and generate newideas, a Map is much more effective than a list. Infact, at the back of your Mind, you probably alreadyhave a vaguely-defined map of your online business. AMind Map is simply a way of putting that structuredown on paper.
Mind Mapping, also known as 'Radiant Thinking', is atechnique that was developed in the 1970's by TonyBuzan. A Mind Map consists of a central word orconcept, with 5 to 10 main ideas radiating out fromthat central concept.
Here's an example of a Mind Map for an InternetBusiness.
At the center of a blank page are the words 'MyInternet Business Plan', circled. Radiating out fromthose central words are seven key ideas, or BasicOrganizing Ideas (BOIs): Search Engine Listings, EzineAds, Newsletter, Link Exchange, Writing EzineArticles, Website, Affiliate Programs. Each of theseBOIs is connected to the central circle byoutward-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 ofideas, also connected by outward-pointing arrows, liketwigs at the end of a branch. For example, the BasicOrganizing Idea 'Ezine Ads' gives rise to four moreideas: 'Paid Ads, 'Ad Swaps', 'Free Ads', and 'AdTracking'. 'Ad Swaps' in turn gives rise to two moreideas, 'Newsletter' and 'Website' and so on. EachBasic Organizing Idea can become the center of anotherMind Map.
In one sense, a Mind Map is simply a map of what youknow about a given topic, in this case your onlinebusiness. And so it's a very effective way of takingan 'inventory' of what you know about a particularsubject at a given moment in time.
But a Mind Map also causes your brain to makeassociations. Because each Basic Ordering Idea canbecome the center of another Mind Map, a Mind Map iscapable of producing endless associations. In fact, ifyou use a Mind Map, whether you're writing an EzineArticle, writing an eBook, designing an entirewebsite, or writing a sales letter, it's virtuallyimpossible to get 'Writer's Block'; the very structureof a Mind Map keeps giving rise to new associations.
Another key benefit of a Mind Map is that it helps youorganize information hierarchically, in a way that isnot possible with lists. The tree-like structure of aMind Map is a hierarchy and in the process ofarranging your information along the 'branches' and'twigs' of a Mind Map, you'll get a much better graspof the information you're dealing with.
So, to sum up, here are the basic techniques fordrawing a Mind Map:
- 1. Place a central idea or concept in the middle of ablank page, and circle it.
- 2. Jot down 5 to 10 Basic Ordering Ideas, radiating outfrom the central concept.
- 3. Connect each Basic Ordering Idea to the centralconcept with outward-pointing arrows.
- 4. As an aid to creating your Basic Ordering Ideas, askyourself: "If the central concept of my Mind Map were abook, what would be the chapter headings?"
- 5. Each Basic Ordering Idea can become the center ofanother Mind Map.
You can find more information about Mind Maps at thefollowing websites:
http://www.peterussell.com/mindmap1.htmlhttp://www.ozemail.com.au/~caveman/Creative/Mindmap/Radiant.htmlhttp://www.shared-visions.com/explore/literature/mindmap.htmhttp://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://EzineWriter.com/
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Article source: http://www.topiccenter.com/Business/