Chris is best-known as a social media and human business evangelist, and is co-author of the New York Times best-selling book, Trust Agents. He is also an avid mind mapper. Joe Sorge is a restaurateur who has experienced amazing success using social media to promote his eating establishments. He is Chris’ partner in Kitchen Table Companies. During our 10-minute talk, they asked me about how to get started with mind mapping software, where to use it in the typical business and the programs I recommend.

Click here to view the video on The Pulse Network website.

To find my interview segment, drag the video player slider to 17:00.

In Unstuck, Focused and Organized Using Mind Mapping, Mark offers a concise, no-nonsense guide to getting started with mind maps, and provides a simple and easy-to-follow roadmap that anyone can use to transform their “someday” projects into reality.

Topics covered in Unstuck, Focused & Organized Using Mind Mapping (UFO for short)  include:

• How to make a mind map
• Sticky note mind mapping
• Advantages of mind mapping for capturing ideas vs. writing yourself a note
• Two-minute mapping to clear your mind
• How mind maps adapt to your preferred learning style
• How whole brain thinking can lead to superior results

The book also lays out a list of next steps you can take to implement what you learned, and suggested resources where you can learn more (including this blog and my Power Tips e-book).

One of the core concepts of UFO that really resonated with me was the idea of “frictionless thought organization.” Mark defines friction as “anything that slows down your ability to work,” especially when you’re capturing ideas. Unlike manual note taking, which is limited by how fast you can write, mind mapping is nearly frictionless because it enables you to quickly capture key words, concepts and ideas almost as quickly as you think of them.

Another high point of this mind mapping primer is the fact that it contains several common scenarios that today’s knowledge workers face. He even builds personas around them, making them seem real and adding a highly personal dimension to his explanations of mind mapping uses. Mark explains why they’re stuck, work challenges they faced and how mind mapping helped each person to overcome them.

Another element that adds depth to UFO is a series of four audio interviews that Mark conducted with key people who use mind mapping to stay organized, focused and prodigiously productive, including:

• Social media and human business expert Chris Brogan
• Michael Martine, the Remarkablogger, who teaches ordinary people how to develop extraordinary blogs
• Dave Navarro, a well-known and respected product launch coach and
• Chuck Frey (me!)

The interviews are very informative, and by themselves are worth the cost of this e-book package. Here are just a few nuggets to whet your appetite:

Chris Brogan talks about thinking in “dimensions” – the ability to explore all of the potential elements and relationships of whatever he is working on, and increasing his odds of success when developing a project by identifying potential “blind spots” in his thinking.

Michael Martine offers some fascinating insights into how he uses mind mapping to drive his development process for creating information products (e-books, online courses, etc.). I especially liked his explanation of how he utilizes mind maps to view the lifetime value of a customer – something I have never considered doing in visual form (but now I will!).

Dave Navarro has an interesting technique for capturing ideas and then moving them into project mind maps that I found to be particularly valuable. It’s a perfect, simple synergy of capturing notes in writing, and then moving them in bite-sized chunks into a software mind map.

Great job on the interviews, Mark!

The price of Unstuck, Focused & Organized Using Mind Mapping is $37; I’m confident that you’ll get many times that investment back in improved organization, productivity and creativity. If you’re chronically disorganized, aren’t sure what to do with your life or are simply overwhelmed by all you must do, why not invest in this book today?

About a month ago, Mark Dykeman, author of the Broadcasting Brain and  ThoughtWrestling Blog did an audio interview with me as part of an information product he is working on. Earlier this week, he gave me access to the audio file and permission to post it to my blog. In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss topics that include:

• The roots of visual mapping
• How did I get started with mind mapping software
• Is the market moving beyond Tony Buzan’s original mind mapping concepts?
• The challenges of sharing mind maps with colleagues who may not be familiar with it
• Complex mind maps I have created
• How bloggers can use mind maps to manage their businesses
• The growth of mind mapping software as a business planning tool

This interview is accessible only to members of the Mind Mapping Insider membership program.

Click here to learn more about the exclusive resources that you can leverage to become more efficient and creative in your work and life via this affordable membership program.

In writing this 3rd edition, I looked at the existing content with a critical eye, updating those tips that needed it, eliminating topics that aren’t as relevant today and – most importantly – populated it with a wealth of new, practical and actionable information that is designed with today’s programs, applications and resources in mind.

To learn more, please visit the Power Tips website.

For those of you who have already invested in the first or second edition, you will receive a link to download version 3 in the next week or so – free of charge. My goal is to provide you with an up-to-date collection of best practices for mind mapping software, not to extract more money from you. I prefer to be generous, because I’m firmly committed to helping expand the awareness and use of mind mapping software as today’s most valuable business tool.

A number of readers also participated in a pre-launch sale of Power Tips & Strategies for Mind Mapping Software 3rd Edition. During the next week, I will send out an e-mail with the download links to this new edition and its bonus reports. In appreciation for investing in this new e-book ahead of time, I’m even giving this group access to an addition special report. If you’re one of those early birds, please watch your e-mail in the next week for more details.

Thanks for your patience! I had hoped to publish this e-book several months ago, but real life intervened (trying to live a balanced life between my full-time work, my avocation – this blog and InnovationTools.com – and my family).

• How I got started in the world of mind mapping software
• Five features a mind mapping software program must have to be a credible tool for personal productivity
• What buyers should expect from mind mapping software in the free, low-mid price and high-end price ranges.
• 5 key business productivity applications that mind mapping software can be used for

You can download and listen to this interview here (18.3 MB MP3, approximately 40 minutes; to save to your computer, right click the link and select “save as”).

I hope you enjoy it. Michael audio taped this interview for his new mind mapping software e-course, The Business Profit Productivity Blueprint.