Concept

Launched in January 2012, the concept for Think Outside The Box Inside The Box Media was born when Founder Kelli Joan Bennett realized that, since the economic downturn of 2008, she too often got stuck, felt paralyzed and powerless in life by thinking that she was missing what she needed to create, whether it was the necessary cash, willpower, resources, funding, equipment, crew, skills, support, inspiration, motivation, meaning, encouragement or passion.  “I can’t do that because I don’t have this.”  “As soon as I get this, I will do that.”  “Once FILL IN THE BLANK happens, I’ll start—or finish.”  It was always something she didn’t have that stopped her, slowed her down and kept her from creating or completing her creation.

The lid was randomly blown off this limited thinking box she existed in when she unexpectedly found herself living in New York City for three weeks in August of 2011.  She kept encountering people who were not only fearless but also free from limited thinking.  They were creating from practically nothing and in their haste and imperfections they were brilliantly illuminating.  Those encounters caused a domino effect.  She then began to think of the incredible creators in her life who, against all odds, were already creating regardless of the challenging economic times—from plays to movies, to schools, to restaurants, to health, to positive change in their lives.  Her heart opened, her mind moved and the city’s energy, spirit, people, and possibilities coupled with all the inspiring creators in her life who were already creating no matter what, brought on her epiphany:  No one and no one thing she didn’t have was stopping her from creating, it was simply her thinking.  In that moment of clarity and discovery, she understood that she may not have everything but she always has enough to create something from. It was then she knew she was trapped by her tired, clichéd mantra of needing to “Think Outside The Box” in order to create.  It was time for a shift in her thinking.  From there, the research began.

The concept of “thinking outside the box” has become as confining and restricting as it once was revolutionary. Christopher Peterson, Ph.D sums it up in his blog The Good Life from November 7, 2010 for Psychology Today, “I use as many clichés as anyone, but there are few that I will not trot out because I have come to dislike them immensely.  “Think Outside the box” is one of these expressions.  Indeed, it is so inside the box!” Article after article she came across seemed to be screaming, “thinking outside the box can’t really happen without thinking inside the box first—whatever “box” means to you.”  Inspiration was ignited when she finally asked herself, “What if “the box” is my life…just as it is?  What do I already have inside my box–my life–I’m not seeing the potential of that I can create from?  So many people in the world are creating, surviving and even thriving from absolutely nothing in these difficult times.  Why can’t I create from what I already have?”  Ego, fear, judgment, complaining, comparisons, competing, clawing outside of her own life, her own heart, were the issues that came up.  She needed to start shifting her thought process and begin to create from within in order create from without.  It was time to start getting creative with what she already had.  Thus, the light bulb shattered and the paradox of Think Outside The Box Inside The Box shifted her thinking.

No more waiting to create.  The time is right now.  No one should feel powerless due to his or her current circumstances or situation.  Every person can create from wherever they are with whatever they have right now and in turn, motivate others to create.  If all external factors are stripped away—judgment, insecurity, fear—we are free to believe in each other.  Through encouragement and motivation we create.  There is a creator and therefore a motivator inside each and every one of us with the potential to affect positive personal, community, national and global change in the creative process.  Together we can create a different world, one creation at a time.

It is from this place that Think Outside The Box Inside The Box and create from what you have emerges into being.  This entire venture is an adventure into the unknown of the known and a quest to see where it leads and what it creates.  The paradox is open for debate, the concept is pliable and the rules are not defined.  Share your thoughts, your ideas, your opinions, your creations, your stories and your plans with us by emailing, submitting comments, and  joining the Twitter and Facebook communities—let the conversation and the creation begin.

What are you going to create?