Think outside the box.
You have heard the phrase “think outside the box”; This metaphor means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new and fresh perspective. I love thinking outside the box. In real estate sometimes creative solutions are the only way to bring our clients to a successful end. Sometimes the most impossible scenarios are easily made possible with a little creativity.
The phrase was used heavily in the business world since the 70’s to inspire creative thinking. If you think about it most great accomplishments, innovations and inventions would have never come to pass without new and creative “outside-the-box” thinking.
The origin of “thinking outside the box”, traces back to the 1960s and the use of the “9 dots” puzzle, which was originally published in 1914 in a book called the Cyclopedia of Puzzles by Sam Lloyd. The puzzle entitled Columbus’ egg puzzle consisted of the following diagram and the instructions: Link all 9 dots using four straight lines or fewer, without lifting the pen and without tracing the same line more than once.
Go ahead and print that out and give it a try. What you’ll eventually is that you’re going to have to think “outside the box” to come up with a solution. You can see one common solution below.
Even though there’s no instruction to stay within the box, most minds immediately tend to build a box, which instantly puts a constraint in place. Thinking outside the box, meanwhile, removes as many constraints as possible -- leading to the most original and innovative solutions.
Thinking outside the box is an incredibly powerful and useful tool. Out of the box thinking may feel a bit foreign but it is a key that can open countless doors:
- It allows you to generate more possibilities.
- It helps you step outside your comfort zone.
- It inspires others, helping them step out of their comfort zone.
- It creates tremendous learning opportunities.
- It opens doors to unforeseen results.
- It forces you to ask questions
- It inspires critical thinking skills.
- It allows you to stand out from the crowd.
If you tend to struggle with outside-the-box thinking, the next time you’re faced with a problem, approach it from a different perspective. There’s more than one way from point A to point B. Think wide, think differently, or maybe, your overthinking it and the idea is to not think at all.
This is one solution but it’s not the only solution. See what you come up with.
Now that you mastered it with 4 lines can you do it with only 3? If you can post in the comments below.
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