I don’t know where that brain-wave came from at that moment!
Down-sizing, we were exchanging our larger deep-freeze (4 ft. x 3 ft. x 2 ft.) for the in-laws’ smaller one. So we shoved ours into the back of the truck and headed the sixty kilometers, or so, to their house.
Problem was, they were in the midst of a move themselves. While their smaller freezer came out of the garage, an easy load, this larger one was to fit into a low-ceiling attic, with steep stairs. Oh, and did I mention?—this old freezer weighed a ton!
We wrestled one end of the freezer onto the bottom step, then speculated as to how we would move it up from there. The stairs were too steep to carry it up properly. Could we perhaps slide it up on a board? Didn’t seem like that would work, either. Maybe the moving dolly would work. Worth a try, anyway. But, alas, one tire was flat.
That’s when the crazy thought came to me–why not roll it up, end over end? Not something any of us had seen done before—but why not try?
Probably less than a minute later, the freezer was sitting, right side up, in the attic at the top of the stairs. Couldn’t have worked slicker. And we’d broken less of a sweat than when we’d hefted that first end onto the bottom stair.
That’s the way it usually happens. Most break-throughs seem to result from creative ideas that are outside of our ordinary experiences. “Outside the box thinking,” we often call it.
Can we train our mind to more easily imagine new and creative ideas, to come up with significant (to us) break-throughs, and to solve problems we haven’t encountered before? I think we can.
We can do so by expanding our contexts, by trying new things at the boundaries of our normal experiences. If our experiences are limited to A, B, C and D, we will not imagine a G out there! It is simply too far beyond the context of our experiences. But, if we have ventured out to E, at some point, and, from there, perhaps witnessed someone else pulling off an F, then we might suddenly imagine a G possibility when the circumstances call for it.
In virtually all of the ongoing educational ventures I pursue, whether a simple webinar, a one-night seminar, or a weekend conference, there is talk about “expanding your context.” It’s that stretching of the mind that is necessary in order to fill it with more content.
I’m currently taking a serious course that I paid a pretty price for, just for that one purpose: to expand my mind to see creative possibilities in real estate. Sure, there will be a lot of content. But the most valuable aspect will be the expansion of my context.
At least, that’s how I see it…
Rent 2 Own tip
It takes time to put together a rent 2 own deal. Often people come to us when they have to be out of their rental within thirty days. That is not enough time to put together a rent 2 own deal. So, if you are considering rent 2 own, you should apply at least 60 to 90 days in advance.
Quote of the Week:
When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things. – Joe Namath
