I’ll bet you have old or rejected ideas sitting in a file or desk drawer. They're just gathering dust, even though they might really be good ideas that were just presented at a bad time. Try pulling them out of the darkness and see what happens.

1. Dead then doesn’t mean dead now.

Mark Constantine once showed Body Shop a fizzling ball a customer could dissolve in her bath to add aroma. Body Shop turned down the idea.

But years later, Constantine started Lush Cosmetics and pulled out his old idea. Constantine now sells thousands of Bath Bombs each day, providing 40% of Lush’s sales.

Just because one boss or client slammed your idea doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a dog. What rejected idea can you show again?

2. Keep prototypes and drafts.

When architect Rem Koolhaas began designing Portugal’s Casa da Musica concert hall, he dug up the rejected prototype for a house he had proposed several years prior.

The prototype – basically a wood block with a hole cut in the center – gave the inspiration for Casa da Musica. The open center became the performance hall, and the surrounding block became labs, studios and offices.

Can you dust off yesterday’s prototype for today’s project?

3. Trump the old ideas of others.

Butterball introduced the first pre-basted turkey 50 years ago. Jennie-O recently one-upped this idea with turkey in a bag. The bird is seasoned, soaked in brine and sold in a heat-resistant plastic bag to pop in the oven.

Millions of oldie-but-goodie ideas deserve tricking out. What idea can you make better?

Sam Harrison is in demand as a speaker and the bestselling author of the "IdeaSpotting: How to find your next great idea" and "Zing! Five steps and 101 tips for creativity on command." He has years of experience in creative communications fields and has worked with such clients and affiliates as NFL, Major League Baseball, Hallmark and John Denver Environmental Groups. He also teaches creativity classes and writing seminars at a graduate studies program in Atlanta.

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