I 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 a wonderful lesson on "thinking outside of the box."

It seems a man was driving home from work one afternoon when he got a flat tire. He happened to pull over in front of the city's largest mental institution. The man noticed one of the patients watching him from behind the fence as he grabbed the jack out of his trunk.

One by one, the driver loosened each of the four lug nuts on the wheel 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 mental institution 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 was relieved and impressed. "Wow," he said, "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 opportunities to remedy this situation are right here in front of me?"

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Bob Baker is the author of "Creating Wealth for Creative People." If you'd like to get inspiration, low-cost marketing ideas and tips on how to boost your creative thinking ability by e-mail, send the message "Subscribe CWI" to BobMSRG@aol.com. Get a sample issue of Bob's "Creative Wealth Ideas" newsletter by sending just $1 or a SASE to Spotlight Publications, P.O. Box 43058-FA, St. Louis, MO 63143