See the close up of this piece of art below.

Have you ever wondered how do you actually “think out of the box?”

All of us follow some kinds of pattern in whatever we do. That includes thinking.

It is usually very noticeable for someone on the outside. For example if you have a tendency say certain words, the kinds of decision you tend to make whether you lean towards making them fast or slow and many others.

Most of us are not aware of our own patterns unless someone points it out to us. Generally that would be your spouse if you have one or even close friends.

So how do you think out of the box?

Jay Abraham the marketing expert and other talk about seeing what people in other industry do. Industries that are very different from your own.

Then observe.

Observe the behavior of people there. The way they approach people, market, sell, price and everything else.

I did that recently by visiting an art exhibition. While I enjoy art in passing, it is not something I’m really into.

Going to the art expo opened my mind to many things. It was a bit of an eye opener to me.

Among them is many things that are thought of as unwanted junk can be turned into art pieces with creativity and patience.

Those can be sold for a lot of money.

Another thing is that in some sense, art depends on an individual. Some people like certain type of art, other a different kind.

So the so called competition is a bit different comparing to say hardware or software.

I may probably wrong on this next point but the vibe I get is that competition isn’t what you would feel when you go to say a property or even an auto fair.

So what I did I experience

No doubt a very different vibe at an art expo. The artists and those manning the different exhibits were kind of laid back. They do not do the usual so call “attempt to sell” you anything.

In a commercial type of exhibition brochures and names cards are often shoved into your hands in return for your name card. People are actively canvassing for follow up etc.

None of that happened in this expo anyway. Not that I can observe up front anyway.

There is a lot more talk about the art, the artist, the pieces etc. I’d say it have a feel like they are more educating and trying to get exposure than downright sale.

This is one art exhibition in a long while for me so I can’t say if it is common for all.

Try it

Anyway if you don’t have a method to think out of the box perhaps you can adopt the strategy of occasionally reading different kinds of books, different kinds of music or visit exhibitions you don’t normally visit.

One last thing. The photos here do no justice to the real thing. You have to see it with your own eyes up close in many cases to really appreciate what the artist did to create their art piece.

Close up of the art piece at the top.

Bones in a clear guitar case!

See this in the flesh and it looked like a real sheep.