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9 Trends L. Libr. Mgmt. & Tech. 1 (1998)

handle is hein.journals/ttllmt9 and id is 1 raw text is: February 1998 VoL 9 No. 1 IN LAW LIBRARY MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY Edited by Mark E. Estes . For academic, firm, corporate, and government law librarians What a Set of Nuts Can Teach Us About Creative Thinking By BOB BAKER J was on my way home late the other evening listening to a talk radio program in the car. The host related a story he swore he had read in the local newspaper. Whether or not it actually happened, the anecdote provides an interesting and illustrative lesson on thinking outside of the box. A man was driving home from work one afternoon when he happened to have a flat tire and pulled over in front of the city's largest mental institution. As he grabbed the jack out of his trunk the man noticed one of the patients watching him from behind a fence. The driver loosened each of the four lug nuts on the wheel, one by one, and placed them inside the hubcap he had put on the ground. Off came the flat tire and on went the spare. But as he turned to grab the lug nuts, he kicked the hubcap and caused them all to roll into a sewer opening a few feet away. The man jumped up and screamed: Oh no! Now what am I gonna do? I'm screwed. There's no way I can go anywhere now! A voice came from behind the fence: You still have four lug nuts on each of the other three wheels. Why not take one nut off of each one and put those three on the tire you're changing? That should at least get you to a gas station or auto parts store, where you can get more lug nuts. The driver, relieved and impressed, said, 'Wow! That's amazing! How did you think of that? The patient replied: I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid. Think about this story the next time you're faced with a challenge that seems insurmountable, or the next time you experience writer's block or another type of creative stall. Don't focus on the problem area only. Ask yourself, What opportuni- ties to remedy this situation are right here in front of me? As Robert H. Schuller said, When you think you've exhausted all possibilities, remember this: You haven't. Bob Baker is the autbor of Creating Wealth for Creative People. If you'd like to receive inspiration, low-cost marketing ideas, and tips on bow to boost your creative thinking ability by means of e-mail, send the message Subscribe CWI to BobMSRG@aol.com. Get a sample issue of Bob's Creative Wealtb Ideas newsletter by sending just $1.00 ora self-addressed, stamped envelope to Spotlight Publications, P.O. Box 43058-FA, St. Louis, MO 63143. February 1998 1 0

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