11 EASY TO PREVENT MISTAKES MADE WHEN MINDMAPPING ON PAPER OR A COMPUTER. by Arjen ter Hoeve.

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1 11 EASY TO PREVENT MISTAKES MADE WHEN MINDMAPPING ON PAPER OR A COMPUTER by Arjen ter Hoeve

2 INTRODUCTION Hey there Arjen ter Hoeve. I want to thank you for downloading this report today... Ever since I started to train and coach people in creating visual overviews (or mindmaps) of their information, I saw that there are a lot of things which often go wrong. This applies to mind mapping on paper and on a computer as well. You see, many people look at a mindmap and think: Gee, I can do this and have instant overview in what I think and do! Unfortunately for them, it doesn t work that way (at all). Mind mapping, or in general visual mapping, offers a very efficient and powerful system for creating clarity. That is... if you don t fall into any of the BIG Mistakes people make. Fortunately, you decided that you want to save yourself a lot of time and skip all these pitfalls. You and I will work together so that you are light years ahead of all those people who just assume it can be done on their own. One small thing before we start... I don t want to be too formal when talking with you. After all, we work together. That s why things will be written and said in an informal manner. Hope you don t mind that. Apply every piece of the important information you are about to learn wisely! It will save you a lot of time, money and effort. Arjen ter Hoeve Mindmap coach Author of a number of books on visual thinking (and mind mapping) Creator of a powerful visual thinking technique called Summapping. P.S.: I have a very interesting idea to share with you near the end of this report. Take your time to read all the other important advice I have for you. You don t want to make the same mistakes the other people make who start or already are mind mapping. by Arjen ter Hoeve 2

3 MISTAKE #1: They Create Mindmap Because Of The Nice Picture You Get This is something people often do. And you know what? Even people who create mindmaps for years often fall prey to this kind of mind mapping. They create mindmaps to create nice looking pictures. If you just learn one thing from our conversation, it should be that a mindmap created for the sake of a nice picture is time wasted! Don t create just nice maps. Your maps should do something for you. The only thing mind mapping does for you is transform one piece of content into something your brain can understand easier. Just look at the example below: Mind mapping is a very easy to use and powerful system which allows people to gain overview in many sources of information. You can use it to create overviews from notes, conversations, presentations and TRANSFORM Which one is easier to remember and use? 99% of all people who were asked this very same question told me that they liked the visual overview (or mindmap if you want to use that word. Knowing this, you should use it wisely. Don t take part in a training because of the training. Take the training and use the newfound knowledge to gain from it. That s right. Do the same with my training material. Use it and blatantly earn more money, understand information better or live a better life. The mindmap is a tool. It is not and end goal. It is a means to something you want to accomplish. USE IT IN THAT WAY!!! SOLUTION #1: First Think About The Goal You Are Working On, Then Create A Map. This Will Make Your Actions Much More Focussed. by Arjen ter Hoeve 3

4 MISTAKE #2: THEY Don t Understand The Basics Of Mind Mapping It all starts with the basics. Whether you are talking about riding a bike, running, writing or mind mapping you have to understand what you are doing and why you are doing it that way. The mindmap looks for most people as a simple image which everybody can make. Yes, that s true. So is riding a bike. It looks simple, until you do it yourself for the first time. You know, the rules (and I use that word loosely) for mind mapping are easy. You can learn about that on a million websites. You understand them in less than 5 minutes. But it is not about the WHAT in mind mapping. It is ALL ABOUT THE HOW and WHY combined with the WHAT. If you don t understand the HOW and WHY, you will not be able to create powerful and effective mindmaps. So, if you want to learn the basics, you need to understand three things: 1. WHAT is the mindmap and WHAT are the ground rules 2. HOW* do I create a Powerful Mindmap 3. WHY* do I add, remove or change a map in certain ways to get a better overview The first item in the list is something you can learn for FREE everywhere online. The other two are often not shared. Even in training courses I took they don t explain that! Learn the above mentioned three building block of mind mapping and you will be well on your way to understand and apply mind mapping in no time to create results which mean something! *: My training does talk about the HOW and WHY in great detail. More information on that later. SOLUTION #2: Mind Mapping Is More Than Creating A Mindmap. Learn HOW You Create Better Maps And Understand WHY You Do That by Arjen ter Hoeve 4

5 MISTAKE #3: THEY Have The Wrong Tool To Mindmap As you probably know you can create mindmaps on paper but also on a computer. I don t know the exact number but to me it looks like there are HUNDREDS of (online) mind mapping solutions available. What do most people do? They visit Google, type mindmap software and go to the first page and download a tool. Do you think it is strange that these people don t find the tool they need? After all they take the first tool they encounter and some even buy that tool immediately (BYE BYE $100 to $350 ) Everybody can find the wrong tool this way. The difficult thing is that there are so many tools and each one is assisting a particular group of people to solve a specific information management problem. What you need to do is use just 2 simple steps: 1. Ask yourself WHAT DO I WANT TO USE MIND MAPPING FOR and in WHICH SETTING? 2. Contact me and tell me about your answer to the questions above and tell me which budget you have for this. If you want to find the right spouse for you, the perfect job and the best mindmap tool, you THINK and then ACT. Make sure you understand your purpose and together we will find the right tool for you. Mail me at: info@mindmap-shop.com Together we will find you the tool you WANT and NEED. I guarantee you that you get the RIGHT TOOL to mindmap and get results from. SOLUTION #3: Invest Some Time To Find The Right Mindmap Tool For The Job Then Start Using it! by Arjen ter Hoeve 5

6 MISTAKE #4: THEY Don t Use The Right System Why do you think Coca Cola is such a huge success for nearly 100 years? Why do people tune in to Oprah (don t even need to mention her surname!)? It is because they and nearly every other successful business use systems and/or processes to get the same result over and over. They tweaked and adjusted their approach and came up with a successful formula which turns something difficult or uninteresting into a success. New, that s what you can do if you use mindmaps as well. Unfortunately most people create mindmaps by using their own (often not working) methods together with mind mapping theory. And that just doesn t do the job! The mind mapping success system is created in such a manner and tweaked so often that you now have access to a success formula for visualizing information. No need to adjust that yourself! I assume you want to create impressive, powerful but most of all useful visual overviews of all the distorted information you now have, right? Then start to use the mindmap system today. Don t try to figure things out for yourself. Use a PROVEN SYSTEM to get the best results. If this needs some investment in time, money of effort right now, just do that. I want to assist you in that. We can do this together! Invest and you will double or quadruple your returns in weeks, perhaps days! Learn the secret recipe for creating useful mindmap SOLUTION #4: Using A System To Create Mindmaps Makes The Map You Create Much More Effective. It Allows You To Be More Creative As Well And you know what? Near the end of this report, you can learn mind mapping with no risk at all! Now isn t that nice But more on that later. by Arjen ter Hoeve 6

7 MISTAKE #5: THEY Keep Their Mindmaps Separated From The Rest You may want to lose some weight or work on your health. What if I told you that there is something called sneakers. You can use these daily and exercise and improve your fitness. You become stronger and have in general a better health. Would you like to buy that? And what happens if you buy it and only use them to go to work or shopping? You wear the perfect shoes and do the same old things you did before I think you would be wasting money that way (or they would have to be really, really nice and get you a lot a respect from your friends). Well most people who use mindmaps know of it, even create some, but keep it separated from everything else they do. They create a planning in their agenda. They write letters in for example Microsoft Word. They outline their thoughts on a whiteboard in a linear format. And at the end of the day, they create a shopping list in a mindmap This is the same as using $400 sneakers and use them to go shopping You are not taking full advantage of the tool you received. Yes, mind mapping is just a tool. A very powerful tool which could and should (IMO) be integrated into your everyday life. Create a project outline in a mindmap (software tool). Add thoughts and notes together with links to other documents. Use that to gain overview. Export to MS Word to perhaps share with colleagues who are not that strong visual thinkers. Add more thoughts to your ever growing mindmap network of knowledge and relationships and understand what you are doing. You will benefit from this! SOLUTION #5: Your Mindmaps Should Not Be Created As The End Goal. Make Maps Which Support You In Reaching Your Goals. They Are A Tool! by Arjen ter Hoeve 7

8 MISTAKE #6: THEY Didn t Think It Through Do you know that there are people who do things without even thinking about the consequences??? Fortunately we are not part of that group of people ;) The process of creating a mindmap (yes, it is a process you can use) takes some mental effort. Still, if you apply it and you create a habit of this, you will be able to do it in a short period of time without thinking. Do you remember the 4 steps in acquiring a new habit/skill? 1. Unconsciously Incompetent you don t even know about mind mapping and what it can do for you 2. Consciously Incompetent You know that you need some additional skills because things are not going the way they should go. You are probably here right now and think (or already know) mind mapping can and will assist you! 3. Consciously Competent You consciously use mind mapping (the right way). You have to think about applying the right techniques but you create powerful mindmaps and achieve good results using them 4. Unconsciously Competent No need to think about mind mapping. You moved it to auto-pilot. The system is fully integrated in your way of thinking! Learn how to use mind mapping and move yourself from stage 2 to stage 3 and 4. In stages 2 and 3 you have to stop and think once in a while and adjust what you are doing. You do this so later on you don t have to think about mind mapping at all (you just do it). SOLUTION #6: Practise Using Mindmaps Every Day. This Will Make Usage Of The System Easier. Before You Know It, You Are An Expert As Well by Arjen ter Hoeve 8

9 MISTAKE #7: THEY Think In Terms Of All Or Nothing The world is getting more and more shades of grey. Still, there are a lot of people thinking in black or white, with us or against us, mindmap or no mindmap. We, as a group of visual thinkers, have the ability to use our thinking skills to look at all three sides of the coin (yes there are three sides. Top, bottom, and side) There is often more than one solution to a simple or even complicated problem. The people who make mistake 7 look at mind mapping and want to get the Holy Grail of visual thinking presented to them. A mindmap should be the (quick) fix to all problems. Unfortunately, this is of course not the case. A mindmap is not the solution to world hunger, everlasting peace, or credit crunches! Still (and this is important, maybe the most important thing about mind mapping you will ever learn): A mindmap does give you the ability to look beyond individual issues and scattered information and give you overview which in turn helps you to find a solution or at least new insights. That s right: The mindmap is not the end goal but a (often) very powerful means to and end. And you know what? I frequently don t mindmap issues. I just write them in a normal linear format or create a small picture of something. Mindmaps are just a good addition to the current ways of thinking and working we have. Nothing more, nothing less. How will you use the mindmap way of looking at the world? SOLUTION #7: You Should Know When A Mindmap Is A Good Addition To Your Current Processes And Systems by Arjen ter Hoeve 9

10 MISTAKE #8: THEY Use It For 5 Minutes And Assume It Is not For Them Did you learn how to walk in 5 minutes or less? Did you speak your native language in a day? You probably took a lot of time to learn all these very important things most people take for granted everyday. It is only when you for instance break a leg or you lose your voice you think about it. My point is: Take more than just a few minutes to learn something new. I know I told you that you can learn the WHAT of mind mapping in just a few minutes. That is true. But really mastering mind mapping takes more than just 5 minutes. Most people nowadays take notes and organize thoughts and ideas in a very linear format. That s of course not strange since we are taught or perhaps indoctrinated to this by the educational systems around the world. It takes time to get adjusted to a different way of thinking. I am sure you will take the time to learn about mind mapping and how you can apply this in your own life. You are not that impatient. You know that you will receive results which are worth tenfold the investment. So, my advice for you is: take down your defenses. Take comfort in the fact that all these millions of people who mindmap daily already do this because it works! They invested and everyday they reap the fruits of their labor. Don t worry, mind mapping is easy and it won t take too long to learn how to apply it and get results. I will guide you if you want to. Just me at info@mindmap-shop.com or continue reading. SOLUTION #8: Take Some Time To Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone. Adjusting Takes Time. You Can Do This And Benefit Soon! by Arjen ter Hoeve 10

11 MISTAKE #9: THEY Use (Many) Words And No Images In all my years as a trainer and coach to people who want to learn how to apply mind mapping, this is one of the biggest pitfalls people step into. You see, as I told you before, we are taught to be linear thinkers. We use words to build sentences. These are giving us all the information we need. Still, if you have a close look at all sentences you write and read, they use too many words. The moment people have information management issues (which is just a fancy way of saying that they don t understand information anymore and they don t see where they are heading. They start to use mindmaps. And this is where things go from bad to worse They use sentences in mindmaps. The result: Mindmaps Which Are No Good The mindmap approach clearly doesn t work. Well, the system does work. They just don t apply it the right way. When you follow the procedure, you start to use KEYWORDS and translate ideas, concepts and thoughts into IMAGES. Especially this information transformed into images is important!!! The moment you do this, your mindmaps are much more powerful. Your mindmaps offer clarity and can/will give you powerful insights. Would you like to have better information management skills as well (in other words you know how to structure information)? Use solution #9 then in all your activities (not only in mind mapping) SOLUTION #9: Create Real Visual Overviews. Do Not Use Too Many Words. By Visualising Information You Will Get More Clarity And Knowledge. by Arjen ter Hoeve 11

12 MISTAKE #10: THEY Use Many Images And Few Words Usually in the beginning, when people learn how to create a mindmap, they are pointed at the fact that they should use images. This is usually very hard to do (I can t draw, I am not creative enough, etc.). After they went through this phase people use images. Now most people won t make mistake #10. Some will. These are often the more creative people. The worst thing you can have when creating a mindmap with many images is that you won t be able to decipher the content (or crack the code). Your perception changed and you are no longer able to understand your own work. That s why it is best to balance the use of words and images. Images are added to support the whole image idea that your brain likes. Words are there to make sure you also understand what it meant. SOLUTION #9: Create Practical Visual Overviews. Use Words For Clarity And Image To Support Your Ideas by Arjen ter Hoeve 12

13 MISTAKE #11: THEY Don t Know They Can Signup RISK FREE For My 5 Week Online Mindmap Training Which not Only Teaches Them Everything About Mind Mapping But Shows Them Exactly What Mind Mapping Can Do For Them In Any Given Situation Sorry for this long sum up in mistake #11 This may sound strange: According to my own research 95% of all the people who USE mind mapping didn t learn to do this by any formal training or coaching. Still, these people do very well. My first response would be: DO I NEED TRAINING IN MIND MAPPING TO USE IT? There are two answers to this question. NO, in order to just create a mindmap, you don t need any formal training. Just visit a website with some free tips and tricks. You will be fine that way. The only thing is: you probably won t YES: If you want to: Improve your information management issues (you know: the problems) Skip the start up phase where you have to figure things out on your own Use mind mapping as a means to instead of an end goal Want to connect with likeminded people in our group who experience the same things you do Learn more than just creating mindmaps by Arjen ter Hoeve 13

14 Taking this training will enable you to jump start your mind mapping experience and achieve results fast! Please know that you can anticipate on mistake #11 by taking the training. Sign up right now and your mindmap training starts today! Take part in the training and experience for yourself the power of using mindmaps in achieving your goals. You need to know that this training is offered completely RISK FREE. Here s why: This training was already taken by many, many people all over the world. They liked it and learned a lot. I am more than confident that you will learn to USE mindmaps as well by taking this training. And one very important thing: I only want to have happy clients and satisfied students. Here is what you will learn by taking this training: Week 1: The Beginning WHAT is mind mapping WHY does your brain like this so much WHAT is the procedure for creating a mindmap Questions Answered Week 2: Let s Get Personal HOW to use mindmaps in a personal environment HOW to use in goal setting Questions Answered Week 4: Everything Together HOW to take full advantage of mind mapping in all 3 areas (personal, business, academic) Questions Answered Week 5: Let s Get EXTRA Practical WHAT do you need to do to get even more overview from mindmaps WHY do certain maps express information much better Questions Answered Week 3: Academic & Business HOW to use mindmaps to share information (Academic) HOW you use mindmaps with other (Business) HOW to use in brainstorming Questions Answered Week 6: Round Up WHAT to do next with mind mapping after this training HOW to apply the techniques (you receive templates here) Questions Answered by Arjen ter Hoeve 14

15 SOLUTION #11: Signup NOW And Enjoy 15 Days Of Risk Free Mindmap Training CLICK BELOW TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN START THIS ONLINE TRAINING TODAY (again, this is a risk free offer I am giving you. NO CATCH) by Arjen ter Hoeve 15

16 Also have a look at: A very practical and effective tool for creating balance in your mind and life The best mindmap software, books and training in one place by Arjen ter Hoeve 16