Outside the Box

“Thinking outside of the box” is an overused phrase, but what does it really mean?  Did you know that sticker burrs (yes like you find in a field of weeds) were the inspiration for the fastener we now know as Velcro?  Now that is outside of the box thinking!  It makes sense, but I sure would not have thought of it.  When we look at the familiar with fresh eyes we really open our minds to creativity.  I am not the most creative guy around, but I try and look at business problems with an open mind.  It is very easy to get caught in a rut, to live with blinders on.  We tend to only see things within the parameters we are accustomed.  But wild ideas are often really very creative solutions.  “Thinking outside the box” might be overused, but it is a necessary way of thinking.  It does not come naturally.  We have to consciously force ourselves to see with fresh eyes and think outside of the box.

How will you see things this week? 

Change

Jerry Jeff Walker sings a song entitled Too Old to Change.  I recall being in my mid to late twenties and thinking that song applied to me.  I had this notion that I was who I was and was not likely to change much.  People around me just needed to accept that.  At that point my song title should have been Too Stupid to Change.  We are never too old to change, often just too hard-headed to change.  In fact, we do not grow as people if we do not change.  Life is all about change and how we accept, embrace and adapt to it. 

Don't be too old to change!