Python Alternatives to Global Variables

import random  

#----------------------------------------------#
def main():  
    create_list_and_find_max_and_min(10)  
    the_smart_way()
#----------------------------------------------#
def create_list_and_find_max_and_min(n):
    global my_array
    my_array = []
    n = input("How many numbers do you want in your array?:")
    for i in range(n):
        my_array.append(random.randint(1,n))
    print "My array is:", my_array
    #----------------------------------------------#
    min = my_array[0]
    for number in my_array:
    if min > number:
        min = number
    print "The minimum value in the array is:", min
    #----------------------------------------------#
    max = my_array[0]
    for number in my_array:
        if max < number:
        max = number
    print "The maximum value in the array is:", max
#----------------------------------------------#
def the_smart_way():
    # "This one uses the built-in Python functions for min/max..."
    min_my_array = min(my_array)
    max_my_array = max(my_array)
    return min_my_array, max_my_array
#----------------------------------------------#
if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

I'm fairly new to using Python. I've generally heard that using global variables is a bad practice when programming.. So are there any alternatives to what I'm trying to do here. Which is to use the variable "my_array" from inside another function? Thanks!