Not that difficult, right? Wrong! Creativity is a constant state of awareness and many are not willing, or are too involved in the everyday stuff, to devote the effort required in staying on top of the creative process.

How 'bout a jumpstart?

To help give you a jumpstart, here are 10 ways to spark your creativity and reinvigorate your business pizzazz:

1. Clear your mind. You don't have to chant a mantra in the lotus position to sweep your mind clean enough to let in new ideas. Simply take a physical break from your everyday hectic pace. Your body will take a break, but your gray matter won't. It's akin to downloading a program to your computer and walking away while it processes the information. "Subconsciously, you're working on your problem or goal : particularly if you've reinforced it," says David Heavin, senior marketing consultant and owner of Ideas In Action.

2. Stick to your strengths. Here's something I consciously decided: I gave up on being organized. I am just not good at that stuff. I have people with whom I work who are great at it and give me the freedom to do what I do best. I know how my mind works best and I know my strengths.

3. Look for a jumpstart. Most of the time, businesspeople can't wait for inspiration to strike. You need ideas now and you are hopelessly stuck. Try opening a dictionary and randomly selecting a word. Then try to formulate a solution incorporating the word. The concept is based on a little-known truth : barriers are actually opportunities to get you thinking.

4. Don't brainstorm, brainspark instead. I think that brainstorming implies a violent act that occurs when the wind blows in just the right direction. Brainsparking is the real goal : sparking an idea in yourself or others that will take you to the next level or solve a seemingly unsolvable challenge. The best brainsparking sessions involve bringing together a team of people with different personalities and thinking processes. They may not be from within your organization. Invite some business associates whose opinions you trust to lunch and go for it!

Incidentally, it isn't always going to be a likable person who inspires you. Creative marketer Rick Segal mentions a woman who worked for him for 17 years. "I hated her," he says. "I didn't like working with her. But she was, without a doubt, one of my best employees who pushed me more than any of the ones I liked. She's one of the few people I actually remain in contact with."

5. Tear down barriers. Some obstacles to creativity include behaviors (yours and others) and physical reality. Do you work in a dreary space? Maybe your demanding schedule is so blocked you can't devote even 15 minutes to creative thinking. Fear and lack of confidence will kill the creative spirit, and self-criticism will shovel the dirt on top of your fragile new ideas.

Why not set a new rule? Self-censorship is prohibited! Never allow one of your ideas to wither away because you think it's too crazy to say out loud. Just remember that every idea is a good idea and nobody should play the critic too quickly. Usually it is the weirdest ideas : when modified : that become the great idea in the end.

6. Create a space to be creative. Set up an environment that encourages creative output, a comfortable space within which you feel non-threatened and able to create. Many of us work in small offices or have a space at home to work. There's likely an unused shelf or corner that you can call your "creative space." Put two things there: 1) something that reminds you of when you were a child (as a reminder of when you were uninhibited, willing to take risks and unbelievably creative), and 2) something that symbolizes what you do for a living. Try to find something that brings a smile to your face.

Make some rules for when you go into your creative space. One client shared that they have turned a small office into a "fun room" with inflatable chairs, a popcorn machine, black light, children's bookshelves and an easel with paper. The rules are no shoes or normal pens and pencils and no interruptions during creative sessions.

7. Question everything. Nothing can block creativity like "the status quo." If you're willing to question things, you will find out not necessarily what's been working for other people, but what will work for you.

Those who ask the most questions : children : are in touch with their creative side and use their imagination freely. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author and professor at the University of Chicago, says the most creative people live by the maxim, "Die young : as late as possible." Creative people are "as curious, engaged and innocent as children. They keep asking questions, wrestling with interesting problems, and looking at the world through an ever-changing lens," he says.

8. Mine the past for ideas. Don't feel like you have to always blaze your own trail. What was done in the past should be used as inspiration. When you hear what has worked for others, don't discount it. Take the idea and ask yourself, "How can I apply that to what I am doing in my organization?"

9. Get outside your comfort zone. Leaving your comfort zone doesn't mean abandoning what's proven to work. It means adopting a new perspective, seeing a new place or looking to another industry for ideas.

As you read this, try something. Take off your watch and put it on the other arm. Uncomfortable? Awkward? Yes, but if you wear it like this for the rest of the day, you will be reminded of all of those things that we do in our lives (personal and professional) that are strictly habitual : we do them because that's the way they have always been done in the past.

I suggest to clients that they look outside of their "four walls" for ideas. Look at other professions and industries. See what they are doing to market themselves and attract and retain customers.

10. Know your customer. If you are truly offering your products or services in a creative way to your customers and they see you as a creative resource, you have to be asking a lot of questions. Creativity builds from interaction with your customers. How well do you know them? How well do you anticipate their needs? Can you sell them something unexpected if you believe that's what they need?

Your success is ultimately contingent upon your customers' successes. If they succeed, you succeed : and you don't ever have to worry about the competition.

Free by fax: "How to Solve Almost Any Challenge Creatively." Fax your name on your letterhead to (412) 373-8773 with the word "SOLVE" and Jeff will send you this free report.

Jeffrey Tobe CSP, is a speaker, author, marketing consultant and the Primary Colorer at Coloring Outside the Lines and the author of the new book, Coloring Outside the Lines. Visit his Web site at www.jefftobe.com