I've been working from home the last couple of days, and simply had to go and have a coffee to let my hair loose.

So I grabbed a copy of Edward De Bono's book "how to have creative ideas" and now I'm sitting here flicking through it at my local coffee shop.

As I'm reading it, I've picked up an excerpt I thought I'd share with you from the master of creativity himself...

On creativity: too many people believe creativity is a talent with which some people are born and the rest can only envy. This is a negative attitude that is completely mistaken.

Okay, with that in mind, let's take one of Edward De Bono's concepts and apply it to growing a business.

Firstly, he suggests that you should pick out four random words. He has some at the back of his book, but I imagine you can grab them from a dictionary.

Here's the one's I've just picked out:

1. Candle

2. Video

3. Drug

4. Tap

Okay, let's see how we can use these ideas to generate more business for a few different industries:

1. A health food store

-Video: we could take videos of our happy customers and display them within the store as testimonials

-Drugs: we could create a report called: 'the truth about drugs' which talks about why drugs are dangerous to your health. And why vitamins are a better way to maintain your health.

This report could be advertised in the local newspaper or on the internet. Or perhaps it could be a video you could sell for $47 generating an additional income stream.

-Candles: Perhaps they could have a special "customer only" night where 100 candles are lit behind the counter of the store. One candle is blown out for each customer who purchases... and the specials are only available until all the lights on the candles are gone.

-Tap: Or how about saying to each customer after they purchase "Are you aware of what's in your tap water" and then handing them a brochure advertising the dangers of tap water and the benefits of a water filter.

I could go on and on, but to prove this idea is applicable to more than one business, let's take a look at how this could

work for a service related business.

For example... a real estate agent...

Video: Every time you make a sale, why not ask your customers to tell you what they thought of the process of dealing with you. Use this video to develop trust and rapport with your new customers.

Drugs: You could donate $100 from every house you sell towards an anti-drug campaign. What's more, you could send a thank you letter to your clients after the sale explaining how by dealing with you they will be helping a good cause.

Candles: Candles burn, right? And you want to use words in your advertising copy that burn a flame of desire within

potential sellers to sell their property through you. Why not create a dozen new hot ads and test them in your local newspaper to see what works best?

Taps: Taps have water come out of them. Water is used to clean things and make us look our best. Would it be worthwhile to get a professional image expert to come into your office and educate your salespeople on how to look their best?

Okay, now that you've seen how these words can inspire a whole heap of profit generating marketing ideas, let's finish up by seeing if we can come up with an ad concept as a result of these words:

Firstly, the health food shop:

Free Video Reveals How This Former Drug Obsessed Doctor Saw The Light And Is Now Revealing The Secrets The Medical Industry Doesn't Want You To Know

And the real estate agent:

Free Video Reveals How A Christmas Candle Inspired This Real Estate Agent To Give Away $100,000 To The 'Say No To Drugs' Campaign

Of course, I've come up with these headlines on the fly. But they get you thinking, don't they?

Grab the closest dictionary right now and pick out four random words... and use them to brainstorm your next million dollar idea.