Somewhere inside your mind you have the seeds of genius. They may be lying dormant now, but if nurtured and cultivated, these seeds can grow into achievements beyond which you have ever dreamed or imagined.

Einstein and Edison were recognized as geniuses. Not only did these men come up with innovative and previously unheard of ideas, each claimed to have gotten their ideas through a "flash of insight". The creative imaginations of Einstein and Edison set them apart from the rest of us. They were among the few individuals who had the ability to call upon their creative imaginations at will.

But all of us are capable of genius. All we have to do is to cultivate the creative genius within us. Creativity is not a gift given only to an elite few. It is available to all of us - if we learn to recognize it and nurture it.

What makes a person creative? Creative people have complex outlooks, adventurous minds and independent judgment. They consider many diverse solutions to problems, even foolish ones, recognizing that one idea often leads to another, perhaps better, idea.

Creative people systematically look at all sides of a problem and then lay the problem aside to incubate in their subconscious minds. Often solutions to problems come to them in sudden insights. Creative people trust their ideas and intuition. They develop the courage to proceed in spite of criticism. If they fail, they learn from the failure and try again.

Creative people tend to prefer complexity to neatness. They are not upset by half- formed ideas or half-realized solutions. They enjoy taking risks and experiencing challenge. Creative people tend to break out of the usual, recognized paths of conception.

To nurture your own creativity, start by breaking out of old thinking patterns.

Playfully consider "impossible" solutions to problems. Take risks and become open to new possibilities. Temporarily suspend logic and reason your and allow intuition to come into play.

Intuition, sometimes called "true" knowledge, is not contrary or opposite to reason, it simply lies outside the realm of traditional reason. Only by quieting or by- passing the logical mind can one free intuition and experience the "Eureka!" of discovery.

You can develop your creative intuition by learning to pay attention to "hunches". Keep a journal of your intuitions, hunches and gut feelings. Later, look back

on these feelings to see which proved to be real intuition, and which were just "wishful thinking". You may begin to notice that real intuitions feel different than your other thoughts. You may notice that you have intuitive cues that tell you when you are experiencing real intuition Common intuitive cues include feelings of expectation, a stomach dropping sensation or other mental alert signals.

Learn to play the "mind games" of creative thinkers, and you may find that you, too, can think like a genius.