Acknowledgments

In my line of work, there is a great emphasis on the magnificence of the brain and its unlimited capabilities. It’s my belief that our brains are a marvelous creation, and many times, what’s been created often becomes the object of our wonder. Little credit, awe, or admiration finds its way to the Creator. So first and foremost I want to acknowledge God as Creator of the brain. He has given me all gifts, talents, and opportunities to teach and to share this book with you. My job is to be a good steward of this task and all His blessings.

The creation of this book is nothing short of a miracle. Both the proposal and the manuscript were written during the busiest season of work I have ever had. I needed to provide video footage of myself teaching a class to accompany the original book proposal. While under an extremely tight deadline, I left one of two videotapes I still needed to edit in a video camera in Vancouver, British Columbia. During the eventual editing of that video, our new 32-inch television fell off of the table where I had it hooked up to the video camera. It put a hole in our hardwood floor, broke the table, and scarred the television. While teaching in Palm Beach, Florida, during hurricane Wilma, I lost all of my publishing documents when the windows in my hotel room shattered and the wind sucked out everything that wasn’t tied down. I was supposed to do some writing during those 2 weeks, but had no documents and no power. My season of writing continued like this clear through to the end, so my gratitude for its completion and everyone’s support is beyond my grasp.

There are so many people to thank. It all started with Randy Raines who introduced me to a tool called mind mapping (which became the foundation of idea mapping) in 1991 and then instructed my first Mind Matters workshop in February of 1992. Vanda North, the founder and director of The Learning Consortium and previously the founder and global director of The Buzan Centres, certified me as a licensed instructor and has mentored and coached me since 1992. She also made some great suggestions for this book. I treasure her friendship and support. Tracey Berry and Suzanne Brown manage the office of The Learning Consortium in England, and they are my lifeline when it comes to organizing public workshops. The more than 14,900 individuals who have attended my workshops have shaped the experiences that I now share with you. I’ve also had the privilege of certifying a global network of instructors. They are like family to me.

A big “thank you” goes to Heather O’Connor for calling me and asking me to write this book. Scott Hagwood introduced me to Jodie Rhodes who is an extraordinary literary agent. Angelo Lam and Catherine Ho provided the infamous video footage that finally made its way from Vancouver; and Patty Sophiea edited the final video that went into the proposal package for Wiley. And of course there is the team at Wiley—especially Matt Holt, Shannon Vargo, Kate Lindsay, Christine Kim, and Deborah Schindlar. Thank you for your patience as we worked together through this project.

This book would not be possible without all of those who contributed their idea maps and stories. I am so grateful for their willingness to help you learn from their examples. You will enjoy getting to know them through these pages. Michael and Bettina Jetter, Lisa Goldstein, Hobie Swan, and the entire Mindjet team—I can’t thank you enough for your support and generosity. Your software is a great gift to the world.

I’d like to thank my parents Jim and Sheila Hall. They shaped my life, encouraged learning, and themselves are models of creativity. I’m grateful to my mom (who edited the manuscript before it went to the publisher), whose mastery of the English language is second to none. Finally, I’d like to thank my husband Kevin Nast. He has been there from the day I learned to create idea maps, through starting our own business in 1997, and now writing this book. I don’t have the words to express my gratitude for his love, support, patience, and encouragement. He is the best!