In no particular order: (1) Listening to lots of podcasts and audiobooks. Amazon's even offering a holiday discount on Audible subscriptions, so grab that whil

In no particular order: (1) Listening to lots of podcasts and audiobooks. Amazon's even offering a holiday discount on Audible subscriptions, so grab that while you can. (2) Reading incessantly, both non-fiction and fiction. Let me emphasize the fiction. The scientists that brought us satellites were inspired by Asimov's fiction, and the same could work for you. (3) Sitting and watching. Our friends and family (and total strangers) constantly put up with small annoyances and major blind-spots. Ask yourself: Why are they accepting these pains? Oftentimes, they do so either because no one's engineered a fix, or because -- and this is often overlooked -- no one's found a way to sell them on an existing fix. If you could find a way to get programmers to consistently write unit tests first, for example, you'd have an engineering "miracle" on your hands. (4) Make a habit of meditating and journaling. The first, so that you can notice all the inspiring ideas already floating around inside your head, and the second so that you capture those ideas. I recommend pen and paper (or a stand-alone voice recorder: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00COF74E4/ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00COF74E4/) when doing both at once. That protects you from the "I'll only check Twitter for a minute" trap of using a phone or computer. Good luck!