eSoup

I'd like my crayons back, please

  Box-o-Crayons for Tricia [83/365] 
  Originally uploaded by turbojoe

Everyone is born creative. Everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with books on algebra etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the creative bug is just a wee voice telling you, "I'd like my crayons back, please."

So you've got the itch to do something. Write a screenplay, start a painting, write a book, turn your recipe for fudge brownies into a proper business, whatever. You don't know where the itch came from, it's almost like it just arrived on your doorstep, uninvited. Until now you were quite happy holding down a real job, being a regular person...

Until now.

~Gaping Void

How napping can stimulate creativity

  poetry boat 
  Originally uploaded by bbmarie

Creative ideas are the bread and butter of any entrepreneur. A great problem solving idea can become a large part of your livelihood, and the continuing growth of your business is depended on your ability to create more groundbreaking ideas.

It's not always easy though. Some ideas seem to come out of thin air, some are spurred by our own experiences (necessity is the mother of invention), and still other ideas come about more mystically. Since we're so dependent on new ideas, wouldn't it be nice if we could take some specific steps to increase our chances of coming up with an earth shattering idea?

I'm thinking of two particular creative thinkers whose greatest ideas resulted during or immediately after a time of sleep:

101 Killer Resources for Virtual Business Owners

Blogtrepreneur has a very helpful post listing 101 of the services/references/resources that most online entrepreneurs will find handy.

Included in the master list is:

• Online Communications Tools
• Data Backup Systems
• Invoicing
• Financial Management and Accounting
• Time Management and Project Management
• Contact Management
• Hiring Freelancers
• Online Reputation Management Tools
• Accepting payment
• Shopping Carts
• Social Networking
• Finding Funding

...And like a gazillion other things. Check it out: 101 Useful Resources for Online Entrepreneurs