Keep on the lookout for novel ideas that others have used successfully. Your idea has to be original only in its adaptation to the problem you're working on.
Source: In A Kick in the Seat of the Pants, by Roger von Oech, 1986.
-- Thomas Edison, (Feb 11 1847-1931), US inventor; He changed U.S. lifestyle with over 1,000 inventions including the phonograph and light bulb.