Thomas Edison was a person who contributed greatly to creative thinking. Here are several of his ideas and techniques regarding creative thinking. (These are what I learned from the very first Soft Skills programme I attended: Thinking Out-of-the-box.)
1. Focus your creative mind power
This method is based on the principle that compressing and focusing the energy of anything to a point will increase the power and force of that thing. Edison believed that with focus, effort and determination, one could achieve whatever one wanted to achieve. This included the creative mind power to make an idea come to fruition.
2. Work on ideas that are being worked on by others
This does not mean that you can simply copy the ideas of others. It means that you should try to think of ideas that are related to its time. Edison deliberately chose to pursue projects that were being explored and worked on by other inventors. The prime example would be the invention he is most famous for: the electric lightbulb that is efficient. By putting your creativity to work in existing industries and improving upon the current systems and ways of operating, you can succeed. Another way is to take existing inventions ans apply them to different industries.
3. Always be exited about your ideas
To sell your idea, you need to be enthusiastic about it. No matter how creative or clever your idea may be, it would be no good if other people are not sold on it. By being exited about your ideas, you can make the public be enthusiastic about your ideas as well. This helps greatly in making the public embrace your creative ideas and not reject it.
4. Scribble your ideas on a notebook
Edison himself has compiled more than 3500 notebooks containing his various ideas and experiments. To be successful in generating creative ideas, you must always record your thoughts and ideas into a notebook. This is because when you write your ideas down, you will create a feedback loop with your mind that accelerates your creative mind power.
5. Use experimental feedback
You should always put your ideas to the test though trial and experimentation in order to understand its various flaws. After discovering the flaws, you can then fix them to ensure that your ideas are not only creative, but also practical. With more and more knowledge and experience gained through trial and error, you will find it easier and easier to create workable ideas.The process of feedback is essential to the creative process of improving upon existing or new ideas.
6. Set an Idea Quota
Throughout his life, Edison has amassed as much as 1093 patents, a record for a single individual. This achievement is due to the fact that he had set a personal Idea Quota which demanded that he come up with a minor invention every 10 days and a major invention every 6 months. The fact is, your brain responds to the demands placed on it. So, try aiming for a good idea each week, and a great idea every two months or so.
7. Power nap
In the space between being fully awake and fully asleep, your brain's creative thinking process will go into overdrive. This is known as accessing the alpha and theta levels of the mind. Edison himself slept little and had naps of about twenty minutes each instead. He found that great flashes of insight would often come to him that helps him in solving a particular problem while developing creative ideas.
8. Work with other creative minds
Two heads are better than one. When you work together with other creative people, you can exponentially increase your creative output. Edison was a master at organising and utilising the creative abilities and talents of other creative people. He focused their minds on very focused creative pursuits and in the process of doing so, he himself became better at coming up with creative ideas.
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