As a child, you were taught about great inventors. There was probably even a list of them you memorized, attributing one specific individual who came up with each great idea. But while these individuals might have played an integral role in the creation of this invention, they usually did so as part of a team effort.

So, while giving Thomas Edison credit for numerous inventions might seem right at first glance, you’re ignoring a huge team of 250 individuals known as ‘muckers’ who really did the body of the work on his inventions and ideas. These individuals worked 6 days a week to make things happen.

How does this apply to you? Simple! The next time you feel stuck trying to find a creative solution, grab some creative minds to lend you a hand. You’d be amazed at how much more successful you tap into creativity when it’s a team effort, and not just one individual going it alone.

Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘being too close to the problem’?

Too often, when someone is confronted with a challenge, the initial urge is to ask an expert. After all, who better to figure things out than someone with a wealth of knowledge and expertise at their fingertips?

Remember, while the experts are great at telling you what the expected solution is, they aren’t always the best at digging out the most creative solution. Sometimes they get rather caught up in the trees themselves and are no longer seeing the forest.

The most creative approach usually comes from the person who’s able to step back and view the situation as an outsider. This dispassionate view allows room for ideas to grow and creativity to blossom. To get this view? Ask yourself what a stranger would see if they walked into this situation.

What qualifies as a creative idea?

If you think the only creative ideas worth having are the ones which are completely and uniquely yours, you’re mistaken. In fact, the best ideas tend to be made up of a conglomeration of other ideas. Think about how cars came about, as a combination of carriage with steam technology.

How can you apply this to your own life?

If you’re creatively challenged by a problem, start thinking about ideas that might solve the current problem at hand, but fall short. Ask yourself what you would have to add to make this particular solution work. You might be surprised at what you come up with.

Here’s a dirty little secret you might now know: Brainstorming doesn’t always yield results. In fact, despite how often a good brainstorming session is presented as the ideal solution to a creative block, very few good ideas come out of them.

The problem? Not much thought is put into the ideas getting thrown around. So all those crazy creative ideas don’t hold a lot of value. Sure, you might get some off the wall stuff, but how usable is it?

The better solution? Have a discussion session where everyone takes the details of the problem and sits down to present their best creative ideas. The true value lies in a frank discussion where ideas can be dissected, then put together again in brand new ways, leading to well thought out solutions.

Can you bribe creativity into making an appearance? The quick answer to this question is always ‘no.’

If creativity were only a matter of incentive and motivation, people would never have a problem coming up with creative ideas at all. There’d simply be one for the cost of a candy bar or a trip to the spa.

Creativity is more complicated. In fact, trying to use incentives to create creative ideas is more likely to turn off the creative juices than on.

Rather than worrying about what you’ll get out of being creative, start looking at the creative act itself as being the reward. When the solution becomes the thing to celebrate, you’ll find it easier to flex those creative muscles and get to where it is you want to go.

Are we born great? In the creative sense, many think so. We brush off our lapses as being ‘not in our genes’ by making statements along the lines of, “Well, I’m just not creative” as though the ability to think outside the box is as predetermined as the fact that you have blue eyes or curly hair. But is this really the case?

Believe it or not, creativity can be learned. It’s born in the confidence you grow when you remind yourself about times you were creative in the past. It’s there when you dig in and really apply yourself to what you’re doing. You find creativity when you look for it, but never when you don’t. This is why your mindset is so incredibly important. If you’re already decided you’re not creative, you’re defeated from the start.

How to get past creative blocks? Close your eyes and visualize yourself being creative. What does this look like to you?

You’ve done it! You’ve found the best, most creative solution to the problem, and you’re done. Right?

Nope. Not even close. Once you have the idea, you still need to implement it. This might involve everything from creating a plan and putting it into action, all the way down to marketing it or advertising it somehow. After all, how’s the world supposed to know about your great idea if you don’t tell them?

How do you know where to go next?

Start with deciding what your end goal looks like. Is this idea something you want people to know about or to eventually buy? You’re going to need a marketing plan. Is this idea a way to improve an existing operation? You’re going to need a strategy to replace the old process. Your pathway will be determined by your destination.

Once you have your goal in mind, it’s time to move. After all, a great idea is only an idea, until you put some hard work into it to make it real.

The last thing a creative mind needs is unlimited resources with which to get things done.

The problem with too much stuff? You find yourself with too many options, too many paths to take. You start wandering in all directions, trying to figure out where the best ideas are, without making a lot of progress toward the solution.

On the other hand, problems with limited solutions often inspire the most creative ideas. When you can only go so far, with so much, you have to make the best of your resources…and you frequently do just that.

So if you’re stuck, try taking out some of the variables. What would you do if you had only so much time or resources?

The hapless hero is completely at a loss. With no idea where to turn, he finally turns away from the problem to do something mindless. Then BANG! There it is! The answer comes to him in a flash.

We credit the phrase “Eureka” meaning “I have found it!” to Archimedes, an ancient Greek scientist, and mathematician who supposedly came up with his brilliant Principle (named after himself) in the bath.

In truth, those lightning bolt inspirations are more the result of a lot of hard work already put into the problem. The ‘A-ha!’ tends to come more out of making the connections through subconscious thought processes.

So, the next time you need an Archimedes moment, first start with a lot of research. Then let the information gel for a while. It’s when your mind relaxes into the data and starts processing it that ideas start springing forth.

The quick answer? No.

The idea that everyone has to be best friends with every co-worker actually can hurt creativity. If we’re all equal with ideas of equal value, the push to come up with newer and better ideas will fade. In the end, too much camaraderie might make for a calm and serene workplace, but will you ever accomplish anything new?

On the flip side, work environments where there’s a friendly feeling of competition and even a little rivalry pushes creativity to new heights. Why? Because people are naturally competitive. They thrive when they have someone to compete with. With this thought in mind, it’s time to choose the opposition and get creative!