“Some men see things as they are, and say, “Why?” I dream of things that never were, and say, “Why not?” – George Bernard Shaw

Life is about balance and equilibrium. One of the best ways to learn and grow is by emulating the Greats of this world. On the other hand, since each of us is basically different, we must at times be willing to leave the beaten path and forge ahead in uncharted lands. That’s when we need to start thinking outside the box.

Thinking outside the box is creativity at its finest. That’s how some of the greatest breakthroughs came about. While most people were thinking about reinventing the proverbial “better” mousetrap, someone said, “Hey, how could I make a million dollars using my computer?” The rest is history – hundreds of new billionaires.

While everyone was mailing resumes, someone said, “How could I create my own job?” Result, hundreds of new entrepreneurs making tons of money and having the time of the lives. Again, the magic of thinking outside of the box.

It is said that, “People do what people do because people do what people do.” What that saying does not say is that when people do what other people do, they also get what other people get. We don’t have to look around very long to find out that maybe we don’t want what others have. That’s not being cynical; it’s being factual.

Thinking outside the box is simply the pursuit of a seemingly outlandish or impossible dream. It is done by asking ourselves the simple question, “Why not?” It is done by exploring what may seem to be a fantasy at first sight, something that had never been done before. The simple fact that something has never been done before does not mean that it cannot be done or should not be done.

When we approach the autumn of our live, most of our regrets are not over things that we have done but about what we should have done and did not have the courage to do.

We don’t know what we are capable off until we try. We have personal resources that we don’t even suspect that we have. They just lay there waiting to be discovered and exploited. It is said that we only use a fraction of our god-given talents. A statement that has never been disputed.

Napoleon Hill said, “What ever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” It takes courage and fortitude to believe and heed those words. They are powerful words and once integrated into a personal fundamental belief, they can unleash astonishing personal resources.

Thinking outside the box creates diversity. It opens new channels of expression and reveals new worlds. Often times it creates the channel to what was hitherto impossible, and in doing so, brings life to a new level. The story of man’s progress is the story of thinking outside the box.

Thinking outside the box is to think differently, unconventionally or from a new perspective. This is sometimes called a process of lateral thought. A technique that is especially useful when encountering a solid wall while pursuing an objective or developing a theory. When that happens, the only thing that can be done is lateral gravitating in search of the opening that will allow further progress.

Faith in the knowledge that, “where there’s a will, there’s a way” is the essential element to spur on and flame the process of thinking outside the box. A technique that could be called “life saving” for moribund concepts.

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