Idea 57: Ten things a creative person ought to be

You can learn to be more creative. Here are some suggestions:

1. Think beyond the invisible frameworks that surround problems and situations.
2. Recognize when assumptions are being made and challenge them.
3. Spot blinkered thinking and widen the field of vision (to draw on the experiences of other individuals or businesses).
4. Develop and adapt ideas from more than one source.
5. Practice serendipity (finding valuable and agreeable things when not particularly seeking them) – having a wide attention span and range of interests is important.
6. ‘Transfer technology’ from one field to another.
7. Be open and prepared to use chance or unpredictable things or events to your advantage.
8. Explore thought processes and the key elements of your mind at work in analyzing, valuing and synthesizing.
9. Use your ‘depth’ mind (the unconscious mind), for example by sleeping on a problem to generate creative solutions to problems.
10. Note down thoughts and ideas that apparently drop into your mind unsolicited so that they are not forgotten.