Box!! Who me? I'm not inside the box, or am I?
While visiting a real estate brokerage a successful realtor yelled out, "If we're going to be successful we have to get outside the box". Later the same day a good friend of mine said, "Max, doing the same ol' thing over and over again is insanity. If we're going to make it as realtors in this economy we need to start thinking and acting differently!"
As I tend to do, I took my work home last night and put the adage to the test.... literally. I explained to my five kids that I was going to put each of them into a cardboard box and then I would tape it closed. It was their job to get out, any way they saw fit. The carrot I offered as an escape reward was Blue Bell ice cream cone of their choice.
As expected, my 15-yr old used brute strength. Fragments of cardboard went flying as he hurled himself out of the box and then demanded his reward.
My 12-yr old daughter broke out in similar fashion but without all the attitude.
Our 10-yr old daughter meticulously used her fingers to reach in between the cardboard flaps and try to peel the tape back, not wanting the tape to tear the cardboard enclosure. Her exit took almost five minutes. Once out she declared, "my box is still usable". She then kindly asked for her reward.
My 8-yr old son went into the box a bit more prepared than the others. He took a knife (without our knowing!). His plan was to have as much fun as possible with dad's experiment. He started first by cutting holes in the box so that he could see us. He next cut out the base and stood upright with the box still covering his upper torso. His next move was to carefully cut every side of the box off, making sure the box would never enclose him again.
The 4-yr old tried to get out for about 1 minute before screaming, demanding that we set her free. My pleading for her to get out on her own was of no use. I tried calming her by reminding her of the treat that was to be hers if she could get out on her own. It was in vain. Her box was dark, it was overwhelming, and nothing, not even a Blue Bell ice cream cone was enough to coax her into giving a more meaningful effort.
I believe that we all have a box that prevents us from achieving greatness. For some, the box is a fear of rejection. We don't make the calls to potential clients that we should because we're afraid to be turned down. For others the box is "the blame game". We convince ourselves that the economy is so bad that nothing we do will make a difference. Rather than focus on the things that we can do to differentiate ourselves from the competition, we focus on the things that are out of our control.
These boxes come in every size, shape, color, and material. Fear of change, self-doubt, inability to take personal responsibility for failure, etc. These are all boxes that prevent us from achieving the success that is ours for the taking. Too often, our inaction or fear of change resemble the fear of my 4-yr old rather than the 15-yr old.
What is your box? We all have them. In order to get out we must recognize the box for what it is. The box is the thing(s) that prevent us from achieving success. Most often, the box is self-imposed. We must identify what the walls are. We must decide now that nothing is going to get in our way from achieving the greatness that can be each of ours. Whether you use your fingers, a knife or brute strength it doesn't really matter. We must however try. We must get out of the box.
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