Recently I was contacted by a reader asking me if I would suggest some exercises that he could use to think more creatively. That request has inspired me to write about some fun ways that you, too, can exercise your creative mind.

The purpose of these exercises is to condition your mind to quickly make new connections or combinations between two or more existing items or ideas. When this becomes second nature, you will begin to automatically notice connections that you never saw before. Some of these may even turn into money-making opportunities.

Find new uses. Select a common item such as a bottle, comb, fork, or chair, then come up with 10 or more alternate ways that you use that item. I saw a product on Amazon.com called an onion holder (for holding an onion while you slice it); it looks like someone found a new use for a metal hair pick.

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