How to succeed thinking outside the box

A.K.A. SUCCESSFUL LIVING

This can be a very exciting time in your life. For me, I was always a bit of a rebel but as a young'en it was usually just misguided rebellion. I tended to question everything. I still do but now, with some maturity. I know that there are good reasons why things are done a certain way and one must first understand them before trying to venture outside that with a new idea. Also one doesn't just question everything for the sake of questioning. One should question to learn. First thing you need to learn to do is reason without your emotions involved. Our subconcious minds are extremely efficient and very capable problem solvers. They do not use emotions,  but facts. Facts we don,t even know that we know. You have to learn to trust that subconcious mind. You have to learn that if you have a God given idea (and I do believe that is where GOOD ideas come from) you need to act on it. That does not mean discussing it with others. That means start, even if it is only a little bit each day, working towards trying it.  For example, I want to cast some special pistons for my slant 6 engine. I know the design I want and I know I can cast a strong piston as shown in my projects page. I set about figuring out the dimensions and have begun a little each day to fashion a permanent steel mold. I know that it may not work the first time. I realize that I may have over-looked some important factor that will become painfully obvious when I begin pouring aluminum. I am willing to pay that price to learn. In life and in anything,  learning to accept the possibilty of making a mistake is the first lesson to be learned. I once told a very proud and somewhat pompous friend "You are not a man till you can say with a clear strong voice "I'm sorry, I was wrong"  Once you conquer that life's mountain, the rest is almost easy. Since you are no longer afraid of being wrong you are free to try a whole bunch of things. The possibilty that you may be right or even partialy right is far greater than the possibility you will always be wrong and since you now know you can make a mistake and still live and enjoy life, you are FREE. Free of that ego that has unknowingly been your torment all these years. Free of the worry "what will people think if I try that and fail." Free of wondering if it is ok to investigate this avenue of research. In the words of Martin Luther King , "THANK GOD ALMIGHTY WE'RE FREE AT LAST!" Or as Martin Luther himself would have said in his native german, "DANK ALMACHTIGE GOTT, WIR SIND ENDLICH FREI"

So here you are now doing what your heart tells you is a good idea.You are no longer worried about what others may think of the idea and you are willing to make mistakes in order to find success. Your emotions are in check. You are so to speak, IN THE ZONE. Good things happen here. Far more than you ever realized. Solving problems with a cool head becomes almost fun . As you learn to work this way more and more you will stop and try little ideas that pop up from what you are doing. Feed your creative side. You will be astounded, quite literally how often your (as we call it) "gut instinct" will be right. Every little success you have along the way prepares you for even more. Life will be fun. You will find you can hardly wait for each new day. And you will be productive. You will have entered that area of life few people ever find and you will discover you have the abilty to do things you never even dreamed about. Before long you will understand that you can now tackle almost anything. Remove time from your thinking. Nothing has to be done by a certain day or month or year.  That is where stress comes from and stressed people are rarely creative. On the other hand do not be lazy. Work a little bit on your projects every day that you have for them. I do not work on Sundays myself and that stems from my religious beliefs. When the Good Lord says "sit down one day a week and be quiet and restful" I dont need to be told twice. On working days when I am in my shop though I try to use what I call THE ONE BOLT RULE. I always put in at least one bolt or weld or whatever into my project. Of course one always turns into two or four or what have you but I never allow it to be none. That assures me that sometime my project will be finished unless I should pass away first, which in that case it won,t matter anymore. Anything worked on in steady manner (no matter how slow the progress is) will someday be done. The other trick is knowing when to quit. When you  are working and you find yourself getting antsy then put the tools down right away and leave the shop and go do something else. In my Old Reliable Book I called this "The Cabbage Rule".( Quit while you're ahead) . Also don,t ask 15 people for their opinion. Work on your own and ask only specific info ( ie how do you cut this material etc). Never ask someone to validate your project. Why not? Because they won't. They can't! They are not FREE yet and can't think the way you now do. Remove that part of your thinking that needs approval and instead apply that energy to the success of your project.These things have been for me and will be for you a great boost to your self respect and to your abilty to enjoy life. Who knows? You may even get to like the person you are becoming. Stranger things have happened.

Here is a graphic example of thinking outside the box.

I needed a circle with evenly spaced holes for the steering wheel I am making. The holes were to screw the cherry wood rim on with.  I have no compass that would work well so I made a square sheet of paper.

I folded it up from the bottom once, then from the side over so it was 1/4 its size. I rough cut  the open corner by hand and then folded it over again from the same side leaving the cut end at the top. I determined where I wanted the reference holes for the evenly spaced holes and notched the sides in that spot. I unfolded the paper to find a circle with evenly spaced holes and not a compass in sight.  Try it. It is fun! And you thought Kindergarten was a waste of time!

Here is a small example of the process.