Could you use similar techniques for your problems?

'Thinking outside the box' is a powerful device to help stretch the capabilities of your grey cells, and to improve your ability to think creatively about problems.

The concept behind lateral thinking is simple: the creative process is not logical. Most of the great discoveries came about because people made a crazy connection in their minds and asked the question, 'what if...?'.

So, if you want to solve a problem or come up with a good idea, you may need to examine the problem from a really different point of view; to stop yourself from trying to be correct all the time, and actually focus on being wrong for a change!

Lateral thinking was conceived by Edward de Bono in the 1960s

Random Stimulation

One of his techniques involves using random stimulation, a process in which you try to relate the problem to completely random information, to see what the result is. Get out a dictionary, open a random page, and randomly point at an entry. Then start to make connections.

Say, for example, you are thinking about buying somebody you like a present, but you don't know what to get them.

Think of such random subjects as 'sharks', 'boulder', 'bad acne', and so on; and relate them back to the problem at hand. Now try to relate these concepts to your problem. What links can you find? How does this help your problem?

Reversal

Another of his techniques, reversal, is really simple, and is surprisingly worthwhile. Consider the problem at hand, then consider the opposite; or just reverse something about it.

You are thinking of going on holiday this summer, but where?

Reverse the issue: where is the worst place you can think of to go on holiday? Where would you go on holiday if it was winter?

Stepping Stones

Yet another of de Bono's techniques involves taking advantage of people's initial ideas when trying to solve a problem, ideas which are often discarded. These ideas are either discarded because they won't work, or because they are illogical or ill-thought out. The idea of the stepping stone method is to record these ideas, no matter how ridiculous they might be. They may prove to be useful in pointing the way to a better idea, and eventually to the solution to the problem. The stepping stone technique can be performed alone, or in a group as part of a brainstorming session.

Say you need to double sales in your company next year...

Initial ideas might include:

A big promotion on television (too expensive)
A door-to-door salesman campaign (too intrusive and time-consuming)
A cut-price sale to increase customer loyalty (too risky)
Now, start to fiddle with these ideas. Combine them together. Rearrange them. Look for alternatives. What do you come up with? Forget about television, what about radio? What about newspapers? Even if the answer you get is still not the right answer, record it and come back to it. Using stepping stones you can arrive at a good alternative answer.

Abstraction

Alternatively, you can relate your problem to a different, but somehow similar, scenario; and see how that scenario might be addressed by the participants.

Say you want to reduce your loan to the bank...

Link this to fireman fighting a fire, or a doctor trying to cure a patient, or a policeman looking for a bank-robber. How would they go about it? Could you use similar techniques for your problem?

Your life today is the result of your....

This is a story of an elderly carpenter who had been working for a contractor for the past 53 years. He had built many beautiful houses but now as he was getting old, he wanted to retire and lead a leisurely life with his family. So, he goes to the contractor and tells him about his plan of retiring. The contractor feels sad at the prospect of losing a good worker but agrees to the plan because the carpenter had indeed become too fragile for the tough building work. But as a last request, he asks the old carpenter to construct just one last house.

The old man agrees and starts working but his heart was not in his work any more. He had lost the motivation towards work. So, he resorted to shoddy workmanship and constructed the house half-heartedly. After the house was built, the contractor came to visit his employee’s last piece of work. After inspecting the house, he handed over the front door keys to the carpenter and said, “This is your new house. My gift to you.” The carpenter was shocked and upset. Had he known that he was building his own house, he would have done a better job! Now, he would have to live in the house, which is not worth staying.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. You work hard every day but are you giving your best? We put our least to the work we don’t like or do not have interest in. Later, we get shocked at the situation we have created for ourselves and try to figure out why we didn’t do it differently.

Enjoy your tasks and carry on your responsibilities with pleasure and not with pain. “Life is a do-it-yourself project”. Do your job enthusiastically and with devotion, a positive output and a pleasing life will certainly be on your way.

Your life today is the result of your....attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result."

Impact of job change....

A taxi passenger tapped the driver on the shoulder to ask him a question. The driver screamed, lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, went up on the footpath, and stopped centimeters from a shop window.

For a second everything went quiet in the cab, and then the driver said:"Look mate, don't ever do that again. You scared the daylights out of me!"
The passenger apologized and said, "I didn't realize that a little tap would scare you so much."

The driver replied, "Sorry, it's not really your fault. Today is my first day as a cab driver - I've been driving a van carrying dead Bodies for the last 25 years.......YOU can imagine what went into my mind when u touched my back!!"

DECISIONS Shape Your DESTINY

Dear Reader, there was a father and a 10 year old son. One day, Father gave his son $100.00 and asked, what do you want to do with this $100.00?

Son stared at his father. Father understood by his son’s expression that the son is confused. Then the father explained…

If you go out and buy a bunch of chocolates and eat it, you will just be spending the money you have and enjoy from it.

If you go and keep it in a Bank and withdraw it after a few months, you would be investing the money for the return.

If you buy a box of biscuits and sell it at a little higher price than you bought it, you would be Trading.

If you buy a pack of corn and flour it and sell it at a higher price, you would be in Manufacturing.

If you give it to someone whom you trust and collect it after a few days with a little additional money, you would be doing Banking.

If you pay the same money to someone to gain some Knowledge and invest the same knowledge to serve someone else, you would be investing the money to live and to serve others.

If you would keep it with you and do nothing, you would be killing the money and it would be THE DEAD Money.

The father asked the son, what would do now with the money I gave you?

I don’t know what the son answered. But dear reader I am asking you….

Have you efficiently utilised the money that your father gave you?

Have you invested the money in the right path that you thought would give you the happiness of life?

Are you happy with the way your money is satisfying your life expectations?

If your answer is YES… Thanks for reading the piece of information.

If your answer is NO to any of above questions… then its time for you to take the DECISION.

Make your Money give you all happiness you want. If you feel you are not doing what you think you are supposed to do, then think... think.. and take a decision of what you can create out of the money you have, to create a new horizon in your life.

Take right DECISION at right TIME and at a right DIRECTION.

Because

DECISIONS Shape Your DESTINY

4 Boyfriends - A Refresher On Life!

THIS TURNED OUT TO BE SO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE.

IT IS A WONDERFUL MESSAGE AND IF YOU THINK IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH 'REAL BOYFRIENDS' YOU WILL BE SURPRISED AT THE END... ENJOY

Once upon a time there was a girl who had four boyfriends.

She loved the fourth boyfriend the most and adorned him with rich robes and treated him to the finest of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the best.

She also loved the third boyfriend very much and was always showing him off to neighboring kingdoms. However, she feared that one day he would leave her for another.

She also loved her second boyfriend. He was her confident and was always kind, considerate and patient with her.. Whenever this girl faced a problem, she could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult times.

The girl's first boyfriend was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom.. However, she did not love the first boyfriend. Although he loved her deeply, she hardly took notice of him!

One day, the girl fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, 'I now have four boyfriends with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone..'

Thus, she asked the fourth boyfriend, 'I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you.. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'No way!', replied the fourth boyfriend, and he walked away without another word.

His answer cut like a sharp knife right into her heart.

The sad girl then asked the third boyfriend, 'I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?'



'No!', replied the third boyfriend. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to marry someone else!'

Her heart sank and turned cold.

She then asked the second boyfriend, 'I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!', replied the second boyfriend.. 'At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.'

His answer struck her like a bolt of lightning, and the girl was devastated.



Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go.' The girl looked up, and there was her first boyfriend. He was very skinny as he had suffered from malnutrition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the girl said, 'I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!'

In truth, you have four boyfriends in your lives:

Your fourth boyfriend is your body. No matter how much time and effort you lavish in making it look good, it will leave you when you die.

Your third boyfriend is your status, wealth and possessions. When you die, it will all go to others.

Your second boyfriend is your family and friends.. No matter how much they have been there for you, the furthest they can stay by you is up to the grave.

And your first boyfriend is your spirit. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world.

However, your spirit is the only thing that will follow you where ever you go.

Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of you that will follow you to the throne of God and continue with you throughout Eternity.

Thought for the day:

Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray.

Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect. It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections.