It doesn't matter if you run a blog or run a business, there will come a moment in time when you're really stuck for fresh ideas. Fresh ideas can lead to new business opportunities, so brainstorming should be a process you adopt frequently if you want to stay ahead of your competition. I've compiled a list of tips and tricks that I use when I'm innovating, and each apply if you're trying to come up with new products, services or blog posts. Spotting solutions and opportunities is just a form of mental exercise. The more you do it, the better you'll get!

    1. Be really grumpy!Keep track of the things that annoy you. This is a great place to start, as you know the problem intimately as well as being the first customer for any solution.

    2. Listen to your clients, customers and readers.Complaints are a great source of insight as it's a very quick way to find something that needs a solution. So identify the common problems that your customers are experiencing and consider possible solutions to their troubles.

    3. Think like a child.Children have a fantastically simplistic and candid view of the world, something we lose as we become adults. Employ a strong sense of curiosity and simplicity when looking for solutions. So many things in this world happen due to convention or habit, so thinking like a child helps to break this pattern.

    4. Talk to friends and family.Find out what annoys your friends and family. What do they moan about? What problems do they encounter? Do they say stuff like "if only there was a service/product that did XYZ"?

    5. Watch and listen to the news.Keeping up with current affairs will help you to keep up-to-date with new legislation and new regulations. Any new constraint usually means that some kind of process needs to change. Where there's change, there's usually an opportunity.

    6. Learn from your mistakes.When you do something wrong, do you work out how and why you made that mistake? What could have limited the impact of your mistakes? Is there something, that if it existed, would have stopped you from making that mistake?

    7. Do volunteer work.Mixing with people from an entirely different background will help you to think from a different perspective. You can make new friends and get ideas for things you don't usually think about. As a bonus, you help someone too!

    8. Bounce ideas with a friend or business partner.If there's someone who you work well with, spend time brainstorming ideas together. Two different minds can often lead to great ideas, since you'll find you feed off each others thoughts.

    9. Analyse your products/services.Look at your current offerings and identify the best and worst features. See if you can add any features to your existing offerings. Also consider different markets who would be interested in what you offer. You can do the same for a competitors products and services too.

    10. Focus on the problem, not existing solutions.Rather than thinking about existing solutions, go back to the original problem. Given a blank canvas, how would you solve the problem? e.g. rather than re-invent the toilet, come up with alternative ways to dispose of human waste cheaply, conveniently and hygienically.

    11. Go people-watching.Unleash your inner spy! Spend time watching people go about their everyday lives. What are they doing? How do they do it? Can you spot any obvious problems?

    12. Distract yourself.Have a change of scene. Do something that you love doing that has nothing to do with your business or blog. Get lost in what you're doing. Often we come up with solutions when we're not even thinking about the problem in the first place.

    13. Get feedback.Make the effort to find out what your colleagues, customers and readers think about what you do. Ask what you could do to improve. Listen to their feedback, good or bad. You'll gain a great deal of insight when you ask people to tell you what they think your strengths are.

    14. Refactor, reorganise and rethink.Consider services, products or concepts that are too basic or too complex. Sometimes just adjusting an existing solution will yield more ideas.

    15. Critique everything.Question everything, and ask yourself "why?"! Intelligently analyse your environment and think of improvements. See what lessons you can learn about the good and bad things in your environment.

    16. Read lots.Any kind of reading material can give you ideas. Find a range of materials that you enjoy reading （there's no point reading something you hate!）. Ideas can come from fiction, magazine articles, scientific journals, anything really!

    17. Network, in real life and online.Listen to people who have similar interests to you and find out what they love or hate. What are the common or repetitive problems they would love solved? This is also a great way to find someone to brainstorm with.

    18. Regularly read forums related to your interests.Forums often have threads dedicated to frequently asked questions （FAQs）. You can borrow ideas from these FAQs as well as be on the look out for questions that pop up on the forums on a regular basis.

    19. Look for gaps.Identify gaps in products, services or articles that exist between you and your competitors. Then consider what you can offer to address that gap.

    20. Keep a notebook handy at all times.Inspiration can hit you at any time, and you can forget it just as quickly. Keeping a record of this inspiration is vital. Make sure you revisit entries in your notebook on a regular basis too! You might be able to elaborate on ideas you had in the past.

    So there you go, 20 tips to help you identify opportunities. There's a common theme among these tips, namely to analyse problems in as much detail as you can. When you get ideas, consider all ideas, regardless of how stupid they might seem. Then weigh up the pros and cons of those ideas as solutions.

    不管是写博客还是经营企业，都会遇到新意不足的困惑。新点子可以带来新商机，因此要想在竞争中保持领先，就必须集思广益想点子。下面是我讲一些实用的技巧和窍门，适用于新产品、新服务抑或是博客。这可以看做是一种心理历练，做的越多，收获越大！

    1、雷厉风行！紧跟困扰着你的事情不放，以此为开端，可以迅速找到问题所在，并及时解决。

    2、倾听客户、顾客和读者的投诉。投诉便于我们及时发现需要解决的问题，因此，要设法了解并及时解决顾客碰上的问题。

    3、像孩童般思考。孩童对世界的看法相对单纯，处理问题也多带好奇、简洁明了，可见像孩童思考才能突破思维束缚。

    4、与朋友和家人谈心。问清楚朋友和家人的苦恼。他们为何苦恼？遇到什么问题了？是不是会有类似"要是有服务/产品能做某某事情该多好"的疑问？

    5、收看收听新闻。紧跟时下热点事件让你知晓最新的法律规章，而出现新限制也就意味着变革的发生，而这往往能带来机遇。

    6、了解自己的错误。出错后，要弄清楚经过和原因。要知道怎样做才会减少影响？怎么做能避免出错？

    7、做义工。不同环境的人在一起工作，这有助于你从不同的角度来分析思考问题。结交新朋友，可以让你获得一些不寻常的灵感。而且，这是一个相互的过程！

    8、与朋友或生意伙伴多交流。要多花些时间跟同事沟通交流，思维的碰撞往往会产生智慧的火花。

    9、深入分析产品/服务。分析现有的产品，找出最佳和最差性能。看看能否在现有基础上添加新功能；各种市场对什么感兴趣；是否可以提供与竞争对手相同的产品和服务。

    10、注重问题，而非解决办法。比较来说，我们更应该重视问题本身，而非解决办法。应该考虑：如果一切从零开始，我们将如何解决这个问题？

    11、注意观察。花点时间去观察人们的日常生活：他们在做什么？怎么做的？这其中有问题吗？

    12、打乱自己的部署。尝试做些改变，如做些自己喜欢的，但与生意或博客无关的事。放放手头的工作。很多时候是解决办法都有了，但我们却还没能真正的考虑过这个问题。

    13、做好信息反馈。要及时了解同事、顾客和读者对你的评论，并考虑如何改善。不管好坏，都要听取他们的意见，这能让你受益匪浅。

    14、重整、重组和重新思考。全面思考提供的服务、产品或概念，是太简单了还是太复杂了。有时调整现有方案也会产生很多的灵感。

    15、秉持批判的态度。怀疑一切，并拷问自己"为什么？"!理智地分析你所处的环境和改进，看看能从中得到什么教训。

    16、增加阅读量。要找一些你喜欢的阅读材料如小说、杂志文章、科学期刊等，这些都能给你带来灵感。

    17、参与现实生活和虚拟世界上的人际交往。这是一个集思广益的好方法。看看谁跟你志趣相投，他们喜欢或憎恨些什么，他们乐于处理哪类共同的或重复的问题。

    18、定期访问感兴趣的论坛。论坛时常会有FAQ类的帖子，你可以从中获取灵感。

    19、查找差距。找出与竞争对手在产品、服务或文章间存在的差距，然后设法消除。

    20、随身携带记事本。灵感往往是来匆匆去匆匆，因此及时记录就显得尤为重要。切记要定期翻阅记事本！

    这20条简单技巧的主旨就是尽可能深入的分析问题，希望对各位有所帮助。