An Ex-Google Career Coach offers a remarkably simple way to discover your true calling.
If you want to live an exciting, passionate, and successful life, you need to design it that way. The best way to do that is through a Mind Map, according to former Google career coach, Jenny Blake. She’s helped thousands of people at Google discover their true calling with the help of this tool. You can use it to improve your own success, too.
What’s a mind map?
Mind maps are so multi-functional that they’re sometimes called the brain’s Swiss army knife. Chances are you’ve used this visual processing technique to study in school or to bust through writer’s block. It can also help you pursue your passion projects and discover your true calling.
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To make one, Blake suggests centering your map around the current year and using branching spokes labeled with important areas of your life that you want to improve–such as learning a new skill, creating an impact at work, or changing your career.
Specificity matters.
The next step is to draw tertiary spokes from each main theme and write exactly what you want to achieve from these areas. For instance, if one of your goals is “Write a book,” under that you could list “Write 1,000 words per day” and “Join a writing
How does a mind map work?
Mind-mapping mimics the non-linear way your brain thinks.
Much like mind maps, the thoughts in our brains sprawl. A mind map makes these ideas organized and concrete. This format allows you to associate broad categories together. Consequently, you can dig deeper to find more reflective meanings in them. As Blake tells CNBC, “The goal is to break out of linear thinking. Go broad. Go big. Go sideways, and then experiment to see which of your ideas is most likely to lead to a resonant next step.”
Mind mapping: get ready to reap the benefits.
Blake, who wrote her book Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One after going through several career transitions, advocates mind mapping for many reasons. Not only can this tool offer us clarity about what we want to pursue now and in the future, it’s also a great self-preservation technique. Additionally, the more we improve and learn about ourselves, the more ready we’ll be if a job falls through or if we feel stuck in our careers and need to branch out.
Mind mapping isn’t just about diagramming ideas onto paper, it’s about personal experimentation that can help you live a fulfilled life in an ever-changing world.
