Destroy The Box
Two ways to think differently than your peers.
Go play outside!
Growing up in the ’90s, we didn’t have things like cell phones, Netflix, Xbox, or YouTube to keep us entertained. We had sticks and our imagination.
Whenever I started moping around the house, complaining that I was bored, my mom would kick me outside to go “find something to do”.
I never wanted to go out, but the moment I stepped off of our patio and into our backyard, my imagination exploded. The options for fun became unlimited.
I immediately switched from having nothing to do, to a world of boundless possibilities. From crawling under the house to looking for snakes under old pieces of wood to exploring the dark and scary “gulch” at the bottom of the dead-end street, were just a few.
The one thing I know is that the moment I went outside, my creative brain was kicked on.
Part A: Change Environment
The hardest part of being creative is switching from a consumption environment to a creative environment.
If you’re like most people, your current environment is perfectly designed for consumption. Think about it. Your kitchen for eating, obviously, but what about your living room? A couch to watch TV, a desk to browse the internet, even your reading nook to read.
How much of your current environment is designed to help you be creative? How about your workplace? Is it entirely accommodating to your creative and productive needs, or has that been transformed into another place for consumption as well?
If you want to change your mindset, change your surroundings.
MAGIC WAND
Timothy Ferris is an uber-popular podcast host and a New York Times best-selling author. One question he likes to ask himself when facing a difficult challenge or obstacle is: “If I could wave a magic wand, what would the solutions look like?”
The amazing thing is that this question can be used in almost any situation.
Let’s say you’re looking for ways to market your new business but don’t know where to begin. Ask yourself, “If I could wave a magic wand and market my business like a pro, what would that look like?”. What this does is help you move quickly past what is “possible” and closer to what is “ideal”.
When you first identify what the ideal outcome would look like, you then find ways to make that outcome possible.
Typically, whenever we’re presented with a challenge or problem, we immediately start by looking for solutions that are most probable or most possible (inside the box).
We think of options available to us by only looking to the past to see what’s already been done — to previous challenges or roadblocks we’ve already encountered. We think to ourselves, what’s possible, what’s realistic, and (if we’re honest) what’s easy”.
Consider this quote from President JFK…
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.” — John F. Kennedy
Kennedy was starting with the “impossible”, not the possible. Because of this, we went to the moon.
When we approach a problem with what’s possible (inside the box), we tend to use our current tools, systems, and resources to find solutions. This all but deactivates our creative minds. What we do is confine ourselves to thinking like everyone else. This is a left-brain approach that is rational, but not creative.
Part B: Start With The Impossible First
When you start with the impossible in mind(outside the box), you immediately open yourself up to a world of possibilities. You begin to think like an artist, engineer, and scientist all at the same time.
When you start with the ideal outcome, your mind enters a magical world of unlimited possibilities and you begin to activate your problem-solving, artistic, imaginative brain.
BBQ Business
Imagine you’re a successful restaurant owner in your small town. When all of a sudden a competitor moves into town. They have similar quality food, menu, and environment as your restaurant.
Eventually, your profits begin to slide and your business begins to slow down.
What do you do?
Option #1 (Most Common Approach):
You think that maybe you should lower your prices, renovate your building, or spend a lot more $$$ on advertising. Some might even think that maybe it’s their time to close up shop now that competition will make it harder than ever to make money.
Option #2 (Starting With the Impossible):
You think, what would it look like if I waved a magic wand and not only, recovered any lost business but found even more business than before. What would that look like?
You would begin to see your business in a different light. You’d begin noticing opportunities throughout the city. You might open a food truck for all of the local events. Maybe you begin catering to large corporate events. Even crazier, maybe you create a food item to be placed within all of the local grocery stores.
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re correct.” — Henry Ford
If you say it’s possible, then your brain will find 100 pieces of evidence on why it is. If you say it isn’t possible, your brain will find 100 pieces of evidence on why it’s not.
Now, with these “impossible” options listed, you begin to discover real solutions that could work. Even now, your brain might be thinking of ways how these crazy ideas could work.
