Three Simple Steps To Better Intuition

1. Watch for it. You'll have hunches and ideas more often. I bought a conversion van, and now I see them all over. Have you had a similar experience? The same process will happen if you watch for your intuition - you'll start to see more of it.

2. Question it. If I had asked myself why I felt bad about that bus, I might have thought, "Oh yeah, crowded busses are a bad idea. I know that." Try to see in which areas your intuition works best, or not at all. If, for example, your hunches about people are always wrong, don't follow them.

3. Give it good information. Your skill, knowledge and experience determine potential effectiveness of your intuition. A weak chess player will never intuitively beat that computer. So learn enough about a subject, before you expect any good hunches. Remember programmer's maxim: garbage in - garbage out.

Do these three things and you'll have more useful intuition more often.

Would you like to have something unique to say about any topic? Train your mind to take other perspectives. What would Ghandi say? How would a martian view this? The point isn't to ask silly questions, but to see what creative ideas are suggested by other perspectives. Do this until it's a habit, and you'll usually have something interesting to add to a conversation.

Work, and you'll have more opportunity for creative ideas. Train your mind, and you'll have more creative ability. There's your two-step guide to greater creativity.