Out Of The Box

This is going to be short. All I have to say is that out of the box thinking is more than just being creative or finding a market niche. It's taking a project and idea by the balls and pursuing it. 


Some MFA students end up with successful careers as novelists. Some MBA students end up as successful executives. 


Mark Twain, as far as I know, did not attend an MFA program. His writing was based on wit, experience and life. Many of today's small business owners do not have business degrees. Many millionaires, like the guy who invented a special razor ergonomically designed to shave heads bald, did not attend Penn state or Harvard. 


The point is this: You don't always need spreadsheets, beta tests, financial models or classes that parse the minutae of great literature to be successful. 


What I think you do need is to be willing to take a stab at the dark. Maybe hit up some MBA watering holes and pick some brains : ) or even send an email to your favorite author's publisher. With every question you ask, with every article you read, you come closer to your goal. And you're out of the box.


There's nothing wrong with higher education, I LOVE education both formal and informal. But action is what counts at the end of the day. And falling on your face is part of everyone's path. Mark Twain HATED lecturing (his fans loved it) but he had to because so many of his investments failed and he needed the money. 


That might even be another point: don't take for granted what you do well.