1. Have a dream. Succeeding requires a strong intention to succeed. "How to" is secondary. Get inspired first. Have a dream. If you really want something you’ll invent amazing ways to achieve it. Create and cherish an inspiring vision. It will motivate you and  help you focus on those things you could do now to bring that future state about. Your dream must be big enough to keep you excited. "Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blue prints of your ultimate achievements," advised Napoleon Hill. Having created an inspiring vision, visualize your dream and use positive affirmations to engage your → subconscious mind. It's very important to engage your subconscious mind because it works 200 million (!!!) times faster than conscious one. In one second, ssubconscious mind processes about 400 billion bits of information, while conscious mind processes only about 2 thousands bits. NLP technology of achievement can also help you make the unconscious conscious and thus give you the power of managing your personal development in a way that enables you to realize your true potential.  >>>

2. Fall in love with what you are doing.  Love is the greatest source of inspiration. "At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet," said Plato. When you enjoy what you do, you like to think about it all the time. You feel inspired by the problems you face and gladly spend your time coming up with great ideas to make things differently or better. According to Carl Gustav Jung, “The creative mind plays with the object it loves.”  >>>

→ The Power of Passion

3. Build your cross-functional expertise. Broader knowledge, better ideas. Cross-functional excellence is a tremendous source of inspiration and a booster for entrepreneurial creativity. It helps you look wider, change hats, combine the unusual, and create synergies. What's more, if you develop a broad cross-functional expertise, no new idea is wasted. It will immediately connect with the existing knowledge and inspire  you. As Peter Drucker put it, "You can't do carpentry, you know, if you only have a saw, or only a hammer, or you never heard of a pair of pliers. It's when you put all those tools into one kit that you invent."

4. Learn various creative thinking techniques. You can learn and develop creativity through practice. By sharpening your natural creative thinking skills, you can find inspiration just everywhere because your trained subconscious mind will be playing with the objects it finds interesting. Use self-talk, "I am creative", and you'll be creative.  >>>

5. Make outside-the-box thinking a habit. You are creative! Just stretch your imagination. Challenge assumptions. Go wild.  Look outside your industry. Make new synergistic connections. Take a difference view. To find a better creative solutions to the current practice, force yourself to reframe the problem, to break down its components and assemble them in a different way. Expect the unexpected. Practice creativity and stretch your creative muscles every day to make outside the box thinking a habit.  >>>

→ Creative Dissatisfaction

6. Play with different ideas.  Record or write your ideas down. Review your list of ideas periodically when you are not disturbed.

7. Learn something absolutely new. Read inspirational books, at least one page every day. Watch inspirational movies and videos. Feel more relaxed and pay better attention to what is going on around you. Get and read an interesting book unrelated to your field or expertise. Expose yourself to a different environment.  Go to a place that you haven’t been before.

8. Quiet your mind. Great ideas come when there are fewer distractions, your mind is fresh and open, and you are not stressed. → Take a bird's eye view of the things. Reduce the intensity of your internal self talk. Spend more time in the jacuzzi or in the shower. Go to bed a half an hour early to have time for quiet reflection. Meditate – by integrating your dream with meditation, you will see results a lot faster.

9. Cross-pollinate ideas with others. Creative thinking is an intense social activity. New ideas arise often from cross-pollination. Many winning innovative solutions were inspired and developed in the process of cross-pollination of ideas, rather than narrowly focused search. Cross-pollinate with people both within and outside your organization or area of expertise. Encourage comments and ideas. Inspire advocates. Meet new creative, inspiring and energized people. Exchange of ideas will also help you learn about best practices in related areas that are outside your core competence.

10. Harness the power of diversity. Collaborate with other people who have complementary skills. People with different → cultural , educational, scientific, and business backgrounds will bring different frames of reference to a problem and can spark an exciting and dynamic cross-pollination of ideas.

11. Experiment. Experimentation is the father of discovery. Immerse in your subject. Learn from feedback and discover new routes.

12. Be self-confident. Most people simply do not get what they want to achieve because they don't believe that it will happen. The functionality of belief is the most powerful instrument of your mind. Don't let the negative ones get in your way. Create → positive beliefs instead. Believe that you are capable, and you will.  Identify your successes and  take pride in them. Discover the things at which you excel, and focus on your talents. Hard work nurtures self-confidence. Victories, even small ones, boost self-confidence and make hard work more enjoyable. Think positively. Treat failures as stepping stones to success. Keep smiling.