There's no doubt about it. Times are tough right now. The economy is tanking, jobs are insecure, and the holidays are right around the corner.

　　毫无疑问，现在时局艰难。经济状况下跌，工作不稳定，节日即将来临。

　　This is probably one of the hardest times to think of ideas. After all, the more stressed people are, the less able they are to think creatively.

　　大概目前也是最难想出点子的时候。毕竟，人们的压力越大，创造性思考能力就越弱。

　　Unfortunately, just because it's hard to think of ideas, that doesn't mean that you can just forget about creativity until times are better. In fact, now's the time when great ideas are needed more than ever!

　　不幸地是，不能因为难以想出点子，你就可以把创造性抛在一旁，等时局变好了再去想它。事实上，此刻比任何时候都需要好点子！

　　So what do you do when you need to come up with a mind-blowing idea... and you're coming up blank? (Especially when there's a deadline and your boss is on your back?) What do you do at those times? How do you manage to come up with innovative ideas when your well has run dry?

　　那么，当你需要一个出色的想法，头脑却一片空白的时候怎么办？(尤其当你有一个截止日期，还有在屁股后盯着你的老板) 那些时候你会做什么？在“创意之井”枯竭的时候，怎样想出有创意的点子?

　　The answer comes from a similar strategy used in drilling for oil.
　　其实，这策略和石油钻探中用到的方法类似。

　　You see, companies used to drill for oil by going straight down. For a long time, they used percussion drilling - which basically means they hammered away at the ground to get as deep as they could get. But, no matter how hard they hammered, the well would eventually bottom out and the oil would dry up.

　　你瞧，过去石油公司常常采用垂直钻探。很长时间里他们用冲击钻井——基本上就是不停地砸地面，直到砸不动。但是，不论他们多么努力，最终，油井会打到底，油会干枯。

　　Then, companies turned to rotary drilling, where drills would churn down to the earth, making a deeper hole. That was more efficient, since they could get further down and reach more oil. Drilling further down wasn't the best solution though, because eventually the well would go below the oil and hit rock bottom.

　　随后，石油公司采用了旋转钻探。钻头会钻入地表，钻出一个更深的洞。这个方法的效率更高，因为能挖地更深从而开采到更多石油。不过，钻地更深并不是最佳的策略，因为最终钻头会钻到油层以下，撞上底部岩石。

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