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Creative Solutions

Are you an original thinker? Do you see a problem and ponder about its solution? When faced with an obstacle do you envision how you can go forward and succeed anyway?

Sadly, most people allow difficulties to stop them from achieving. They just don't see how they might overcome when faced with trouble. It doesn't have to be that way.

Each of us possess creative abilities that are often untapped and lay dormant within. We must learn to access our creative abilities, and then, we'll be able to solve what at first seemed unsolvable.

Consider for a moment the case of George Ballas. An ordinary fellow that achieved extraordinary results. One day George was getting his car washed. He positioned his vehicle in the line for the automated brushes and sprays to do their work. As his car entered the wash, he settled back in his seat and thought about the things he had to accomplish at home. One of the chores was the trimming and edging of his lawn. This was a particularly hard task because his house was near a bayou, and he had to get down on his hands and knees to trim around the rocks. Difficult and dangerous because a copperhead snake might be hiding there.

As the car wash did its work, Ballas watched the strings of the brushes surround the car. Suddenly, the solution to his problem came to him. "I'd been trying to think of some way to trim the grass around my trees and patio stones on my lawn, and suddenly it came to me. I noticed how the strings in the car wash straightened out when revolving at high speed, yet...were flexible enough to reach into every nook and cranny." So it was that the Weedeater was born!

When Ballas returned home, he took a popcorn can and punched holes in it. He then threaded cord through the holes. Taking the blade off his edger, he bolted the can in place. It tore up the grass and its sound was deafening, but it worked.

Eventually, Ballas decided to market his invention. Twenty distributors turned him down in laughter that anyone would be crazy enough to try cutting grass with nylon string.

In 1971 Ballas invested his own money in the first thirty pound Weedeater. His son filmed a homemade commercial and Ballas bought twelve thousand dollars worth of airtime on a local TV Station. Orders poured in. Today, Weedeater, Inc., is a multi-million dollar international corporation.

It all started with a problem that was pondered in a car wash. He had a problem, but every problem has a solution. Ballas tapped into his creative reservoir and the rest is history.

Problems are to be solved. Next time you're faced with a difficulty, get away to a solitary place and begin to think. Relax and think. You'll be surprised what can come to you in the most unlikely places, in the most unlikely way.

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