The World's Leading Retailer Focus On Vision: Sam Walton's new way of looking at old business spelled success.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)

Byline: LISA SCHMEISER

Creativity is often a synonym for originality -- the ability to produce something the world hasn't seen.

Sam Walton thought that was a limited view. "We've certainly borrowed every good idea we came across," the Wal-Mart founder quipped.

Walton (1918-92) was simply highlighting another facet of creativity: being able to perceive the wider opportunities that good ideas can engender.

Walton spent his childhood in the Dust Bowl. Born in Kingfisher, Okla., he and his family moved from town to town in Missouri when his father, Thomas, took a job as a farm loan appraiser. Walton got his bachelor's in economics from the University of Missouri. Following his Army service in World War II, he bought his first discount department store in Newport, Ark., with the help of his father-in-law.

Walton's ability to find -- or devise -- opportunities that fed his long-term goals developed early. His father stressed the virtue of self-determination through hard work. His mother, Nancy, stoked his competitive nature.

"I have always pursued everything I was interested in with a true passion -- some would say obsession -- to win," Walton wrote in "Sam Walton: Made in America, My Story."