Want to boost your creativity? It can enhance your career and your life. The Forbes

website offers these techniques for jumpstarting your brain:

• Say ‘Yes’: Don’t shut down ideas too quickly. Even if they seem unrealistic or impractical, take a positive approach by saying, “Yes, and  __.” Ask follow-up questions to spur a deeper exploration of the issues. You may discover a way to bring a seemingly impossible idea to life.
• Brainstorm: It’s easy to limit your thinking, especially when resources are scarce. Don’t fall into that trap. Expand on your idea without worrying about how much it will cost or how much work it will take. It’s always possible to scale it down later, but in the long run you’ll generate more impressive plans and strategies.
• Look for pain points: Find out what’s bothering your partners or customers. Chances are you can come up with interesting ideas for solving their most pressing problems. To cite one well-known example, an entrepreneur created Netflix, which initially shipped DVDs to homes for as long as customers wanted to keep them, because he realized people didn’t like late fees. Removing that one pain point led to a mammoth business.
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