Derek Franklin's Blog: August 2011

I'd like to ask you to take a moment and think of the following few items that can be found in nature - see them in your mind:

A flower
A tree
Your body's circulatory system

Now, while you're thinking about these things, can you figure out what common trait they all share?
It's actually a trait that's shared by many things in nature, and even in some of man's best ideas and inventions.

What is it?

Well, you'll notice that:

A flower has pedals radiating from its center
A tree has branches that extend off its trunk
Veins and arteries extend from the heart

In other words, each thing has a central point, as well as items extending out from that central point.

There's an efficiency that comes with this sort of design. As a matter of fact, it's so efficient, that the most amazing mechanism in the Universe, your brain, is made of cells that use this same structure.

If you look at brain cell, it has a obvious center, or nucleus, and extending from that center are numerous branches, known as dendrites, which look a lot like the branches on a tree:

So what does this have to do destroying fear and powering excellence?

Well, doesn't it make sense that if this model of a central object with branches extending out from it is used throughout nature, and it works so well, that it would be good model to follow when it came to learning, thinking, and organizing your thoughts - all crucial elements of success?

This is exactly the basis for a information-capturing and organization method known as mind mapping, something I've been using consistently for nearly 15 years.

Why am I such a big fan?

Because it works!

The clarity mind mapping gives you when organizing your thoughts and ideas is unsurpassed by any other method I know of, and it completely obliterates the results you get when capturing thoughts linearly - you know...write something on a line, move down to the next line, write something on it, move down to the next line, write something on it, and so on.

When I began mind mapping all those years ago, I have to admit, it was kind of difficult to do at first. After all, I had been doing it the old (linear) way for 30 years. But despite my initial struggles, I stuck with it because I really believed in the concept, especially because its potential effectiveness was explained to me in much the same way as I explained it above.

I'm so very, very glad I did!

Within a short time, I began to 'find my grove' when it came to creating and using mind maps, which eventually lead to a level of clarity in my thinking that I had never consistently experienced before.

What I soon realized is that clarity was a foundational element to excellence and success in anything. In other words, your ability to be successful in any area of life is largely dependent on how well all the pieces of the puzzle fit together in the ol' noggin'.

Without clarity, it's almost impossible to accomplish anything of significance. Try cooking something as simple as an omelette - blindfolded, and you'll see what I mean!

I was so excited about the impact that mind mapping was having in my life, that I began using it everywhere - to do lists, project planning, and of course, collecting and organizing ideas and strategies I was learning.

Over the years, the 'clarity factor' that mind mapping makes possible has enabled me to eliminate a lot of the fear of the unknown that comes with learning and trying new things, whether it was putting up my first Web site, writing my first book, or developing software like The Action Machine.

Think about what holds you back many times from pursuing things that you know will make your life better, but seem to be out of your reach at the moment. Isn't it that you just aren't sure about what to do next, or at some level of your being, you just don't understand it? You're suffering the consequences that come from a lack of clarity, which is a breeding ground for fear, and you know what fear does to your ability to act - it can totally immobilize you.

I'm telling you right now...if you get into the habit of using mind maps for organizing your thoughts, ideas, and knowledge, then your thinking and confidence will grow leaps and bounds over what it is right now, because clarity has a way of destroying fear, including any fear that may have its grips on you right now!

A side benefit of experiencing the clarity that mind mapping brings is that you begin to make discoveries about how life works on your own. In other words, instead of mainly living the role of a student of others - relying on them to explain to you how and why things in life and business work the way they do, you become a teacher, innovator, and expert in your own right - others look to you for understanding. And THAT's when the real fun begins!

Making this discovery about the power of mind mapping was just one of the 'defining moments' in my journey to transforming my life and business. I share a lot more of these defining moments in this excellent audio interview I did with Seth Larrabee:

http://www.derekfranklin.com/definingmoments.htm

I'm sure that some of the things I discovered on my journey to where I am now can help you on your journey to where you want to be, so please be sure to check it out.

If you'd like to learn more about mind mapping, some of the digital tools available, as well as some examples, just do any of the following searches on Google:

mind mapping
what is mind mapping
mind mapping tips
mind mapping software (I use MindManager by Mindjet.com)
mind map examples (do an Image search)

In closing, I'd like to say that, even though this post was delayed a bit, I hope that you've found the series of posts I've done recently, helpful. As always, I appreciate your comments and feedback below.

I've got more stuff in the 'pipeline', so look for it soon, and have a fantastic day!

What happened?!?

After my previous post, I was expecting to deliver to you another post about mind mapping in a few days, but things didn't turn out as planned, and I apologize. :(

You see, I was so busy planning something else big, that several things got away from me, including the next post to my blog.

The lesson I learned: Don't expect to write a series of blog posts on an as-needed basis - complete them all at once and set them to auto-publish. :)

So, you may be wondering...what got in the way?

Europe!

Me and my wife, Kathy, took a trip to Europe to not only do some sightseeing, but to attend my sister's wedding (she lives in Germany). While there, I got VERY little work done, after all, isn't that what a vacation is all about?

Here are some of the hightlights of our trip:

Zurich, Switzerland