Lost for inspiration or just want to improve your own creative thinking skills? Here are just a few ways to help you uncover the host of ideas that are just waiting to be discovered.
Substitute something
By considering what he could substitute for the shopping baskets commonly in use at the time to enable his customers to buy more products, after a number of failed attempts an American supermarket owner conceived the shopping trolley. Today in the USA there are more shopping trolleys than cars.
Adapt something
In 1956 two brothers named Jacuzzi who sold agricultural water pumps designed a whirlpool bath as treatment for their cousin’s arthritis, adapting the products they sold for this new purpose. They later further adapted this idea into the luxury bath market and up market bathrooms are rarely seen without a Jacuzzi today.
Magnify something
Before it’s inventors applied this technique accepted wisdom was that children would not buy a doll that need it’s own wardrobe. In the years since it’s launch Barbie has defied that wisdom as children have bought and dressed over 500 million Barbie dolls worldwide.
Add something
When vodka first arrived in America in the 1930’s it was an unmitigated flop. However an enterprising man bought the rights and quickly determined that the clear nature of the alcohol was making the drink unpopular. By adding other colours and flavours he invented the Bloody Mary, the Screwdriver and other drinks, which have helped vodka sales grow from 6,000 cases to 30 million by the 1990’s.
Eliminate something
When a fussy customer kept returning his fried potatoes to the kitchen complaining that they were too thick, the indignant chef sliced some potatoes wafer thin before deep-frying them. The restaurant customer, far from being annoyed, loved them and so the potato crisp was born and the rest is history.
‘Swim till almost die!’
Dr. Yoshiro Nakamats is Japan's greatest inventor, in fact he's the world's most prolific inventor with over 3000 patents to his name. He's the guy that invented things like the floppy disk, the hard disk, and the digital watch. Why is this living genius able to come up with so many brilliant ideas?
Well, one of his best secrets for generating creative ideas he describes as: "swim till almost die!" Dr. Nakamats technique consists of swimming underwater and holding your breath as long as possible. Although he actually ties himself to the bottom of the pool and stays under until almost passing out, for safety's sake you don't need to push yourself to the point of almost dying (sorry Dr. Nakamats!).
So what happens when you are holding your breath under the water? Well, you are shutting off the supply of fresh oxygen and the carbon dioxide content of the blood starts to increase. The body's automatic response is to expand the carotid arteries that feed your brain. They open wide to allow more oxygen rich blood to flow to the brain.
By practicing this technique consistently for as little as 3 weeks, you can permanently expand the carotid arteries, so that more oxygen rich blood is flowing to your brain all the time. This activates areas of your brain that suffer from lack of sufficient blood supply and also slows the decay of brain cells. Now where did I put those Speedos?