I would like to hear some tips about how to maximize creativity and how to reach that mental state when wonders happen. I looked for tips on the internet elsewhere about this subject but would like to hear how you guys do your stuff.
kakku

The right mental mood and ambiance does wonders for me.
Ambiance includes lava lamps and low lighting...
 

Interesting question with so many possible answers. For me going outside of my comfort zone often forces me to think of things differntly. For example. I usually start with a melody and build from there. Sometimes I will do an opposite approach and compose melody last. Sometimes I will think of a concept like , for instance "addiction" and make a project with themes inspired by  related things.  The first track was called " the love of whiskey" which was an inside joke based on a tv character i saw who went to AA to deal with his murder addiction and referred to it as his "whiskey problem".  It made me think of a woman I found hard to resist who was in a sense my "whiskey problem" so the song ended up being a bluesy laid back collab with  a flute player that was somewhat sensual. Needless to say things evolved but started with simple decision to throw out a word.

Work, work, work and keep working.
In my case, a steady studio routine works best.
 
 
Sometimes it'll take days before anything really happens.
 
I have tons of bits and pieces of music I go through when I have no new idea that I can work on.
I also force myself to finish up stuff, or to do very specific things - like work out a certain type of change in tonality or mood.
 
Though this work is very technical and uninspired, it's all part of the bigger picture - it helps make me available when creativity hits.
 
Practice makes perfect, and creativity can also benefit from regular exercise. That's how you develop skills and learn your tools, which in turn make it easier for creativity to flow uninterrupted.
 
I see it as a sculptor, manipulating pieces of marble, evaluating them - he could be doing that for days until he finds one in which he sees something. That work may seems pointless, but it is far from fruitless.
 
And for me, personally - a dark, dimly lighted room, loose clothes and good cup of tea seem to help put me in the mood.

Thank you guys for the tips. I will try to take heed of your advice. My problem lies mainly in the creation of good choruses. They may sound good first but after a couple of listens I realize that they are mostly not good. It is usually a fast process but I don't get the results I'm hoping for.
kakku

There's a good video course on songwriting on Groove3 by Eli Krantzberg. One of the things he talks about is the different types of chord progressions used for the verse versus the chorus, ie "weak" changes for the verse and strong, resolving changes for the chorus. Nothing is written in stone of course, but rules like this have guided thousands of hit records. He also talks a bit about how to come up with new melodic ideas, like playing existing melodies backwards and mangling them in other ways. Of course none of this sounds like it's coming "from the soul" in case that's what you're looking for, but what I find is that the soul requires some raw material to get started, and there are ways of accruing that material, even if it is methodical or random.

Thank you sharke for your advice. I will try to get that material you mentioned. I would use any way there is to achieve good results although I am not very patient.
kakku

Groove3 is currently offering a year's unlimited access for $99, a bargain.

Kakku... I like Rain's response....   work, work, work...
 
The more you work the better you get at something.... Then out of that work there are things that just naturally start happening, as if by magic.
 
I heard a hit songwriter, Jeff Steel, a guy who has over 24 #1 country hits to his credit say that he writes a song a day. He doesn't write with the intent of writing a hit, he simply writes. And out of the 250 or so songs he writes in a year, most are good, 10% are really good, and of that number one or two of them get recorded and climb the charts.  It's a numbers game.
 
If you want to supercharge your creativity, get a co-writer to work with on some music.  Even, or should I say especially, the big hit writers often collaborate on writing. 
 
Without a doubt, I think some of the best music I have written has been a collaborative effort of more then just me working alone.  That also tends to be the music that publishers have picked up and signed most often.
 
Hope this helps you.

Thank you Guitarhacker for your advice. Hopefully I am able to keep on doing music. I have a tendency to quit if good results are missing.
kakku