Those who may rightly be called creative show the following characteristics:

Wide association. While most new ideas are conceived by a single person sitting alone, such a moment does not tell the whole story. The truly creative people I know stay in touch with other creative people. Bright ideas may hit them at three in the morning, but they come out of an environment of creativity.

You have to set up an almost constant discipline to maintain your vitality through association. Creative people ask you the right kind of questions. They probe you. So you stay in touch with them.

Special areas. Ralph Carmichael, the Christian musician, and I were talking about marketing one day, and he said, "Fred, if you want to talk fast to me, talk music. I can talk music fast, but I have to talk business slow." I know exactly what he meant, because it's the opposite with me! In the area of a person's gift, he can race along. His pores are open; he knows all the nuances and ramifications; problems in this ...