Fed up with the idea of trying to make a fast buck, I promised myself that I would never again try to win my fortune by gambling. I needed to get away from the fast lane for a while. Pulling out a map of the United States, I closed my eyes and randomly put my right index finger smack-dab down on the map. My finger pointed to Brookville, Ohio. Brookville, with a population of 4,322 and located approximately twenty miles northwest of Dayton, seemed like a quiet place to spend a couple of days and collect my thoughts.

I journeyed to Brookville and registered in a motel. My spacious room featured a kitchenette. I decided to go to a nearby grocery store, pick up a few things to munch on, and simply spend a quiet, relaxing evening at the motel.

When I returned from my brief shopping spree, I emptied the contents in the grocery sacks all over the kitchen counter. A liter-size bottle of Pepsi®, plastic paper cups, a box of crackers, a package of straws, a carton of Tomarlburys, and a six-pack of Zapmeister beer were scattered across the top of the counter.

While I shopped for groceries, I had also picked up an interesting-looking book, A Whack On The Side Of The Head, authored by Roger von Oech. I laid the book, which dealt with the subject of “creativity,” on the kitchen counter, along with the other stuff that I had purchased.

In addition to my grocery shopping, I had stopped at a hobby shop and bought a strange novelty item. I dumped that bag out on the counter, as well. I didn’t notice it then, but a little black key fell out of the sack. The key dropped on the counter behind the box of crackers; the key was hidden from my view.

Immediately, I began to examine the interesting-looking novelty product. It was a square, thick-sided, clear-plastic box, about fourteen inches across on all sides. A neck-size circle was cut out of the bottom side of the container.

The see-through plastic box was hinged in several places so that it could be opened, allowing someone, who was foolish and had absolutely nothing better to do, to stick his or her head in the contraption and close the front door.

Furthermore, the box had an automatic-locking mechanism. Once closed, I would need a key to open the front door and get my head out of the box. I really don’t know why I bought the damn box in the first place. Out of curiosity and wanting something to play with, I just couldn’t resist!

I sat the box down for a moment, popped the top on a cold 12-ounce can of Zapmeister, and took a couple of gulps. Then quicker than I could have said “knight-in-the-box,” I downed the rest of my beer. After I bellowed out a loud, disgusting belch, I said, “That brewski really hit the spot. I think that I’ll have another.” I did. . . . And then I chugged another, right after that.

About half way through my fourth can of Zapmeister, I got a little tipsy. And I got brave enough, or dumb enough, to put my head, after removing my helmet, in the box. Then I closed the clear-plastic door, which was now directly in front of my face. Fortunately the gap between my neck and the round hole in the bottom of the box was just wide enough to allow some air to seep through. That seemingly trivial circumstance enabled me to breathe!

I grabbed my big fat war club and raised it over the box. I paused for several seconds before I said, “My creative mind is locked in a box. I lost the key. I could give myself a good whack on the side of the head, to break the box, but it might hurt! I’m thirsty for ideas, and I want to drink the rest of my beer. Lord, how can I become more creative in this dire moment of need?”

Instantly, God appeared. She laughed at me and said, “Wantsalittle, you’ve really done it this time. What a fix you’re in! Percy Bridgman wrote, ‘There is no defense, except stupidity, against the impact of a new idea.’ Creativity is what innovative people with desire and initiative do to make their ideas happen. The world constantly needs new solutions and new ideas. What worked yesterday probably won’t work today . . . or tomorrow. Creative thinking means generating new ideas and new answers. Fresh innovative thoughts lead to all progress. As Disraeli put it, ‘Imagination rules the world.’ Wantsalittle, right now, you need to use your best imagination.”

“Lord, I could really use some more of Your advice on the subject of ‘creativity’!”

“Wantsalittle, do you want to become more creative? Here are some tips: Don’t always be so practical. Loosen up. Get nutty and crazy. Break the rules. Learn from your mistakes. Use your imagination. Change your viewpoint. See the ‘Big Picture.’ Ask yourself ‘what if’ questions. Look for the obvious. Get an idea. Do something to it. Then do something else to it. Before long, you’ll have something.”

The Lord stopped, for a moment, to take another look at me. I was still standing there with my head in the box. She just laughed again and said, “Visualize yourself as being creative. Your creative mind has the power to change something and make it something else. In his remarkable book, A Whack On The Side Of The Head, Roger von Oech suggested, ‘By changing perspective and playing with our knowledge and experience, we can make the ordinary extraordinary and the unusual commonplace.’ By the way, Wantsalittle, I see that you picked up this great little book. It is ‘must reading’ if you want to stir your creative juices.”

“God, I promise that I’ll read the book.”

“You definitely should!”

“I’d like to start reading the damn book right now. But it would be difficult for me to see the words, considering that my head is locked up in this damn box!”

“Wantsalittle, please watch your language! It wouldn’t hurt for you to show Me a little more respect, at times! . . . At any rate, as you think with the goal of becoming more creative, you will transform your imagination. You’ll be able to create practical solutions and useful ideas. It’s high time that you ‘whack’ yourself into thinking more creatively! I’ll talk to you later.”

When God left, I tossed the heavy war club off to one side. My head was still locked in the box, but I thought of a way to solve my thirst problem, creatively.

I reached for the package of straws, which was lying on the counter. The straws had flexible joints in the stems. I simply stuck a straw through the keyhole on the front door of the box, bent the straw at its flexible joint, and slipped the main shaft of the straw into my can of Zapmeister.

After I slurped some suds through the straw, I tritely said, “Indeed, ‘necessity is the mother of invention.’”

When I finished my beer, I searched for the key to the clear-plastic box. Luckily, I found it on the counter, behind the box of crackers.

(The moral of this episode: “Creativity” is what innovative people with desire and initiative do to make their ideas happen!)

Back to the Learning Center

Back to the Building Self-confidence and Self-esteem Center

Back to the home page