'The Secret to Creativity'

The secret to creative thinking is to start with good problems. Then you need to turn those problems into thought provoking challenges. After that, great ideas will almost invent themselves.
Almost every creative idea is a potential solution to a problem. Einstein's theory of relativity was about solving a discrepancy between electromagnetism and physics. Post-its were about finding a use for not very sticky glue. Picasso's cubist paintings were about solving the problem of representing three dimensional space on two dimensional canvases. And so on and so on.
Before you even think about generating ideas, you need to turn your problem into a challenge. Because if you start generating ideas to solve the wrong problem, you may have great ideas - but they will probably be lousy solutions.
Here is a very nice example:

A self-employed woman is window shopping and sees a beautiful dress. She thinks that it would be perfect for an upcoming reception where she hopes to impress prospective clients. Sadly, the dress costs €3000 and her bank account is nearly empty. She thinks to herself: "how could I earn €3000 in order to buy that dress?" She might come up with some great ideas.
But the truth is, her problem has nothing to do with the dress. Her problem is that she needs to develop new business. One way to do that is to acquire new clients. Wearing a stunning dress to a reception might be one method of solving that problem. But there are many more solutions - and a lot of them are probably more cost effective than a €3000 dress, particularly if she hasn't much money.
Instead, she should be asking herself: "How might I acquire new clients for my business?" or better still, "In what ways might I develop more business?"
The latter question or challenge might lead to ideas like offering existing clients new products or services; increasing her prices; asking for referrals and other activities that have very little to do with new dresses and a great deal to do with building her business.

Most people are like the woman in the story above, but creative people know better!!

Read more at: http://www.jpb.com/creative/secrets.php

Mind Maps

During my school and university years, I always found simple note - taking as a boring way to keep information provided in class...let alone that most of the times, my notes were not clear enough to understand or remeber what was taught, when I was returning back to them to study! I had then found a way of keeping notes and elaborating on them, by writing the main subject in the center of a paper, circling it and then, when major subdivisions or subheadings of the topic were discussed, I used to draw lines out from this circle.
I was actually creating something like a Mind Map, in each of my courses!
The term Mind Map was coined by Tony Buzan, who popularized it. According to Buzan, a good Mind Map 'shows the 'shape' of the subject, the relative importance of individual points, and the way in which facts relate to one another. Remembering the shape and structure of a Mind Map can give you the cues you need to remember the information within it'.

Mind Mapping is a useful technique that improves the way you take notes, and supports and enhances your creative problem solving. By using Mind Maps, you can quickly identify and understand the structure of a subject, and the way that pieces of information fit together, as well as recording the raw facts contained in normal notes.
More than this, Mind Maps encourage creative problem solving, and they hold information in a format that your mind finds easy to remember and quick to review.

Keep reading on Mind Maps and how to Draw them at: ttp://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_01.htm