In “Use Your Head,” Tony Buzan teaches the reader strategies to utilize the infinite powers of your mind.
“I call it the ‘operations manual’ for your brain. It is designed to help you nurture your ‘super-biocomputer’ and unleash the natural and extraordinary range of mental skills that you possess.pg xii

I’ve read a lot of non-fiction books about what the potentials of the mind and positive thinking are. This book gives more than just information about what could be, it shares tools for expanding your creative skills and organizing what goes in and comes out of our mind.
“No man yet exists or has existed who has even approached using his full brain. We accept no limitations on the power of the brain — it is limitless.” pg 24
Buzan shares the keys for maximizing your memory — imagination and association. By combining images with simple rhymes, he’s created a surprisingly easy way to remember lists and, potentially, large sections of information.

I was intrigued by his method of organizing information and study materials with the use of “mind maps.” Basically, you start with a topic and draw branches coming out from this main theme, that relate to the information in some way. Continue to branch out, using colors and shapes to stimulate your brain while drawing conscious connections between the ideas on the paper.
It’s a fun little creative exercise, but also it helps you see associations you may not have considered before.
Personally, I do mounds of research on an almost daily basis and it helps to have a tool to organize the facts I come across. The mind map may be the most helpful tool in this book.
There’s a lot of self help advice in these pages too. It’s mainly common sense, but I found almost all of it useful as reminders of what is possible. For example, Buzan suggests considering your perspective before starting any program of study or problem solving.

“On average, people assume that there are theoretically infinite insoluble problems and only a relatively minor number of solutions. The fact is, every problem has a solution and there are no insoluble problems for a human brain that is properly trained, activated and aware of its creative functions.” pg 82
After a bit of research on the author, it seems Buzan is quite popular in Great Britain and has been for some time. Perhaps it’s time for the U.S. to jump on this train too.
Thanks for reading!
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