Do you think Bill Gates thinks there is a box? Warren’s Buffet of Gold? Do you think Muhammad Ali thought there was a box? What about Sir Richard Branson? How do you think Tiger Woods or Roger Federer would feel if they thought they had to operate inside ‘the box’?
Too often, I hear business leaders (I mean “normal” business leaders, not people whose names we all know) talk about “thinking outside the box.” This phrase is frequently used in business, whether it is related to problem solving or innovation. Many business people talk about it, but very few rise to what is, in fact, not much of a challenge. What very few of them have realized is that there is no box!
Only special people, unusually successful people, in other words, not normal people realize this fact. That’s why we all know their names: they stand head and shoulders above the rest of us.
There is no box, apart from the box we create for ourselves. From a very young age, society and education form a box for us, and since we are all in the box together, it seems to be fine. “Get yourself a good education” (Bill Gates dropped out of college) or “Get yourself a good job” (Richard Branson dropped out of school when he was sixteen and started Student magazine).
When you get a good job, they teach you how to be a “team player”; that really means “Don’t do anything to upset anyone else on the team, follow the rules, and for God’s sake don’t do anything unusual or innovative.” And, of course, organizations have a “corporate culture,” which means “this is how we do things here: compliant.”
So the box, which you effortlessly slipped into, is all around you, backed up by the mindless behavior of all the other clones. And when I hear people talk about “thinking outside the box,” I know for a fact that most of them never will.
Never mind “thinking outside the box”, what about living outside of it?
The Buddha knew there was no box, it just took him a while to experience it. And the people I have already mentioned also had some indications, though perhaps only in relation to certain aspects of their lives, in which they were more motivated towards achieving their goals.
The box you live in, the box you think in, was created for you during your formative years: at home, at school, at university, at your first job or two. It is based on what other people told you and, like a sheep, you have settled, you have followed. The blind have been leading the blind.
It’s time to get out of the box.
But actually, you already know how to do it: we all do it from time to time, without realizing that we are free! For example, I mentioned troubleshooting earlier. When are you most likely to think of a solution to something that has been bothering you? When you’re not thinking about it, of course! When you are in the bathroom, in the bathroom or brushing your teeth.
Of course, you’re not being a team player in the bathroom: corporate culture is never squeezed onto your toothbrush! You solve problems when you accidentally wander outside the box. What you should be able to do is get out of the box when you decide to; who knows, you might even stand outside and in doing so realize that there never really was a box.
Artists, scientists, inventors, they all wander outside the box too: Picasso called it inspiration, Thomas Edison cultivated his ability to wander when he felt like it. You have to do the same.
How? Well, does ‘sitting on the toilet’ give you a clue? We need to make room in our lives to do nothing, to daydream (which is completely different from being distracted or letting the mind wander, but other articles deal with this). The Buddha became enlightened when he was sitting under a tree. Newton discovered gravity while he did the same.
The best way to get inspired, to come up with innovative ideas, to solve problems innovatively, is to step back from what you’re doing, slow down, give your mind the space it needs to be inspired. And, make this an integral part of your daily life.
I’m not talking about power naps, nor am I talking about meditating in the conventional sense, nor am I suggesting that you go for a walk to think things through. I suggest to you, to all my clients, that you set aside a little time most days to sit, by the river or canal, in an outdoor cafe, on your patio or balcony in the evening, and do absolutely nothing. any.
You may be surprised by what comes to mind.
Copyright (c) 2009 Willie Horton