12| Sci-Fi. Or other movies. Seriously. Good. Inspiration.
13| Books. Be a voracious reader. Ideas live in every genre.
14| Be present to life. Simply paying attention to your daily experience will show you opportunities.
15| Make art. Do improv, or learn a musical instrument. Opening your creative side will make you more aware and receptive to new things, including ideas.
16| Hang with smart people. Take them to lunch, go to a Science Pub Night or Poetry Slam or chat up a new FaceBook group.
17| Make some new friends. Ideally outside your industry. Cross-pollination, different perspectives and such.
18| Take a class. At your local community college, Udemy, etc. In your field -- or something wildly different.
19| Look at existing products with a fresh eye. The “patch” as a delivery system for drugs is a spiffed up Band-Aid. What can you transfer to your biz?
20| Get out of Dodge. Someplace foreign is best. Psychologists say multicultural experiences facilitate the complex cognitive processes behind innovative thinking. That’s a nice souvenir.
21| Give yourself a test. Being open to new ideas means your mind has to be plastic. Pop quiz: Think of as many uses for a brick? A strand of tinsel? How many uses you come up with, the originality and elaborateness of your ideas are key. “Testing” yourself may just shine light on some great insight for your business.
