He states that if business leaders had graduated with Master of Business Intelligence degrees as opposed to MBAs, the world may not be in the pickle it is at the moment.

Tony Buzan, the inventor of Mind Mapping, recently toured South Africa and, at 67, he still has a hectic schedule. He claims that his brain is sharper now at 67 than it was at 40.

Intellectual Bankruptcy

He also states that it is obvious from reading business papers and magazines such as the Wall Street Journal that it was a lack of intellect that caused the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Business leaders are taught at business schools about making short-term profits and satisfying the needs of shareholders.

Very little thinking goes into strategic planning, long-term visioning, ethics, social intelligence, creativity and innovation.

He agrees with the Wall Street Journal that the recession and bankruptcies were caused by the bankruptcy of applied intelligence. But, it can be taught.

Intelligence ‘Muscles’

We can develop the muscles of intelligence, our brains, in the same way that we develop the muscles of our bodies.

The Mind Map can unlock the brain’s potential by providing radiant thinking, the ability to reach out in all directions. It is the whole brain alternative to linear thinking and can catch thoughts from any angle.

The boundaries of our brains must be pushed, as in reality there are no boundaries. By using Mind Maps we naturally push the boundaries of our brains.

Bill Gates is reported to have said that ‘intelligence agents and Mind Mappers are taking our information democracy to the next stage.’

Geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill and Thomas Edison all use the major elements of Mind Mapping.

Tony Buzan also displays dismay at our lack of brain usage and lists the multiple intelligences we can develop.

Verbal Intelligence

There is a strong link between the word power of an individual and success. If you can express yourself well, you’ll get ahead and achieve what you want to a great deal faster.

Numerical Intelligence

Our ability to use numbers is much greater than we believe it to be. Those who can think without computers and calculators will have an immediate advantage over those that can’t.

Social Intelligence

The more skilled we are at getting along with others, the more successful we will be in every social situation

Personal Intelligence

You need to be your own best friend and colleague. You are often alone in business and you need to like yourself, if you don’t want to be in deep trouble.

Physical Intelligence

Physical Intelligence is having strength, flexibility, overall health and, above all, stamina. This requires a good cardiovascular system. Politicians of the last 20 years have realised that being fit and strong makes them more powerful leaders.

Sensory Intelligence

Sensory, ethical and spiritual intelligence measures compassion, concern and social responsibility. This will grow your love for your team and people generally.

Modern leaders and multiple intelligences

Barack Obama is a good example of someone who has developed his multiple intelligences. According to his friends, he is witty, speaks well, is fit and is verbally and mathematically intelligent.

Tony Buzan practices what he preaches. He rows 10km every day, does martial arts, swims long distance and goes to gym regularly.

His diet consists of vegetables as its base, lots of fruit and nuts, and fresh fish and fresh meat. He consumes very little gluten and dairy, and writes poetry.

Utopia for him would be for all the intelligences to be raised in everyone, everywhere, with a resultant intelligent use of resources and a more artistic, musical, healthy, sensual and energetic world.

In Tony Buzan’s recent visit to South Africa, he stated the we are at the end of the Informaiton Age. Information overload is the ‘death knell’ for the Information Age.

Even billionaire investor Warren Buffett says “in future you’ll be able to recognise billionaires because they will be the only ones without a mobile”, alluding to the fact that we are surrounded by technology that constantly disrupts thinking.

Develop your Multiple Intelligences

Now have a look at the Mind Map below of your different intelligences and start putting a plan in place to grow each one of them.

Whatever conclusion you come to, I recommend that you put down your dreams and desires onto a Mind Map.

If anything else, it will get you to document your dreams and get you to focus on them, increasing your chances of achieving them.

A few years ago, I visuallised having a forum where I can promote and teach Mind Maps. Today my website www.mindmaptutor.com reaches thousands of people all over the world and continues to grow from strength to strength.

The concept of a Vision Board

Recently, ‘The Secret’, a movie promising you health, wealth, success and happines promoted the use of a ‘Vision Board’.

In a nutshell, a Vision Board is a large board with pictures depicting what you would like to achieve in life.

When you surround yourself with images of who you want to become, what you want to have, where you want to live or vacation, your life changes to match those images and those desires.

This is called the ‘Law of Attraction’ by the popular psychologists. You attract to you what you think about most.

When you think about it, most people never pause long enough to ask themselves what they want. They just let life happen to them.

While the ‘Law of Attraction’ is a contentious subject, having a vision of where you want to be is definitely the common element among all motivational tools and motivational gurus.

Steven R. Covey, the author of the ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’, states that everything is created twice; first in the mind of the creator and then in reality.

John Kehoe, in his book ‘Mind Power for children’, quotes a famous and well documented experiment conducted by psychologist Alan Richardson. A group of basketball players were divided into three groups and tested for their ability to score baskets.

• The first group went to the gym everyday to practice shooting
• The second group skipped practice altogether
• The third group also skipped the gym, but just practiced in their imagination

After a month, the three groups were tested again. The first group improved by 24 percent, the second group showed no improvement and the third group improved equally as much as the first group that had practiced for real!

He also quotes Arnold Schwarzenegger in his book ‘Mind Power into the 21st century’. Arnold is a successful real estate tycoon, movie star, five times winner of the Mr. Universe title and a successful politician. This is what Arnold has to say: ‘When I was very young, I visualised myself being and having what it is I wanted. Mentally I never had any doubts about it. Before I won my first Mr Universe, I walked around like I already owned it. The title was already mine. I had won it so many times in my head…’

John Assaraf, in ‘The Secret’ and in his book ‘The Answer’, states how he unpacked his vision board after being in storage for more than five years, only to find himself in the actual house that he had pasted on his vision board.

Christine Kane on her website quotes a similar example. She also has a free Ebook called ‘The complete guide to visionboards’.

For the cynic

I know that many of you are quite cynical reading this and probably rolling your eyes as you read. I am therefore proposing it as a vision board for those who ‘believe’ and as a focus tool for those who don’t.

Whether you believe in the ‘Law of attraction’ or not Mind Map ‘Vision Boards’, can help you stay focused on what you want to achieve and help you define your future.

As Winston Churchill said, ‘History will be kind to me, as I intend to write it’.

Why a Mind Map Vision Board

A Mind Map fully utilises the whole brain in its creation and use. It allows the imagination a free reign and allows the logical mind to organise and structure the imaginative process.

Without a Mind Map, the imaginative and creative person can be ‘out of control’ and not come up with something at all and the logical person will simply not be creative enough to explore possibilities.

A Mind Map is therefore the solution for both individuals.

How to create a vision board

A vision board is usually created by looking through magazines, newspapers, etc. and cutting or tearing out pictures and quotes that represent what you would like to achieve. It is the typical ‘picture says a thousand words’ story. You could also do this digitally in today’s world. Simply go to Google Images and search for the pictures you want.

I suggest that you create your Mind Map first, before you go to Google.

You could do your Mind Map electronically, or by hand. If you are going to do it by hand, I suggest you take a firm board that is larger than normal writing or typing paper and create a poster that could be hung on a wall or door.

‘Be’, ‘Do’, ‘Have’ – preparing to create your Vision Board

These three words are the keys to creating your vision board. Assume that money is no object and do a little dreaming.

Create a Mind Map with those three words as main branches. If you don’t know how to create a Mind Map, or don’t know what a Mind Map is, then read through some of the other articles on this site, www.mindmaptutor.com or do our free course at classes.mindmaptutor.com.

• On the ‘Be’ branch write down everything that you want to be in life
• On the ‘Do’ branch write down everything that you would like to do, or experience
• On the ‘Have’ branch, write down everything that you would like to have

I’ve added another branch to my Mind Map with my heroes and people I would like to meet.

Once you have done this, you can go about drawing your actual Mind Map Vision board.

Creating your Mind Map Vision Board

• Using the outcomes from your ‘Be’, ‘Do’, ‘Have’ exercise above to categorise your aspirations.
• From each category, write down the Key Words that describe those categories
• Make each branch a different colour
• Get pictures that support those Key Words and insert them on the branches

You now have a colourful, whole brain vision of what you would like to achieve in life.

Review regularly

It is recommended that you review your Mind Map vision board at least daily. It is actually better if you review it three times a day; in the morning when you get up, in the evening on going to bed and midday. In doing this, both your conscious and subconscious mind will be constantly focused on what you what to achieve.

Don’t worry about how you are going to achieve it. The ‘how’ will follow…

I’ll end with a quote by Napoleon Hill, the author of ‘Think and Grow Rich’: ‘Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve’.