Inverting business models. Going against the grain. Doing the impossible. Irrespective of what you do in life, the ability to think outside existing boundaries gives one an edge! It gives one the ability to be able to look at existing problems, and think out of the box in figuring out innovative ways to solve them. It allows one to distill complex concepts into simple drawings. This is a gift that each and everyone of us has, yet, we are limited by the number of boundaries we create for ourselves.

Boundaries are created by phrases such as, “You can’t do that”, “That is not possible” ,”That is wrong”, and many more such phrases that we hear on a regular basis. The greater we confine our ability within rigid structures the harder it is for us to see the bigger picture. As business owners, we often get bogged down with what our customers are saying, what our competitors are doing, how much money we have in our bank accounts, and what we think we can and cannot do, or rather, should and should not do. This makes it extremely difficult to see past existing problems and barriers.

Breaking down these barriers does not happen over night. Personally, I have greatly benefited from the writings of Edward de Bono & Dan Raom in expanding my abilities in this area. Do you have any favorite authors, or tools you use, to provide youself the inspiration to think differently?