Thinking Out of the Box (Creative Thinking)

In a small Italian town, hundreds of years ago, a small business owner owed a large sum of money to a loan-shark. The loan-shark was a very old, unattractive looking guy that just so happened to fancy the business owner’s daughter.

He decided to offer the businessman a deal that would completely wipe out the debt he owed him. However, the catch was that we would only wipe out the debt if he could marry the businessman’s daughter.

Needless to say, this proposal was met with a look of disgust.

The loan-shark said that he would place two pebbles into a bag, one white and one black.

The daughter would then have to reach into the bag and pick out a pebble. If it was black, the debt would be wiped, but the loan-shark would then marry her. If it was white, the debt would also be wiped, but the daughter wouldn’t have to marry the loan-shark.

Standing on a pebble-strewn path in the businessman’s garden, the loan-shark bent over and picked up two pebbles.

Whilst he was picking them up, the daughter noticed that he’d picked up two black pebbles and placed them both into the bag.

He then asked the daughter to reach into the bag and pick one.

The daughter naturally had three choices as to what she could have done:

• Refuse to pick a pebble from the bag.
• Take both pebbles out of the bag and expose the loan-shark for cheating.
• Pick a pebble from the bag fully well knowing it was black and sacrifice herself for her father’s freedom.

She drew out a pebble from the bag, and before looking at it ‘accidentally’ dropped it into the midst of the other pebbles. She said to the loan-shark;

“Oh, how clumsy of me. Never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”

The pebble left in the bag is obviously black, and seeing as the loan-shark didn’t want to be exposed, he had to play along as if the pebble the daughter dropped was white, and clear her father’s debt.

Moral of the story:

It’s always possible to overcome a tough situation throughout of the box thinking, and not give in to the only options you think you have to pick from.

Growing Older is Mandatory. Growing Up is Optional

AN 87-YEAR-OLD COLLEGE STUDENT NAMED ROSE

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know.

I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

The Bet

by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860-1904)

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short fiction in history.

I

It was a dark autumn night. The old banker was walking up and down his study and remembering how, fifteen years before, he had given a party one autumn evening. There had been many clever men there, and there had been interesting conversations. Among other things, they had talked of capital punishment. The majority of the guests, among whom were many journalists and intellectual men, disapproved of the death penalty. They considered that form of punishment out of date, immoral, and unsuitable for Christian States. In the opinion of some of them the death penalty ought to be replaced everywhere by imprisonment for life.

The Ambitious Guest

by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

One September night a family had gathered round their hearth and piled it high with the driftwood of mountain streams, the dry cones of the pine, and the splintered ruins of great trees that had come crashing down the precipice. Up the chimney roared the fire and brightened the room with its broad blaze. The faces of the father and mother had a sober gladness; the children laughed; the eldest daughter was the image of Happiness at seventeen; and the aged grandmother, who sat knitting in the warmest place, was the image of Happiness grown old. They had found the "herb, heart's-ease," in the bleakest spot of all New England. This family were situated in the Notch of the White Hills, where the wind was sharp throughout the year, and pitilessly cold in the winter--giving their cottage all its fresh inclemency before it descended on the valley of the Saco. They dwelt in a cold spot and a dangerous one; for a mountain towered above their heads, so steep, that the stones would often rumble down its sides and startle them at midnight.

When The Clerk Came To Work - A Prison Ghost Story

"It really happened, Taylor," Kellogg said. He sat behind his desk in the Facility Three Yard program office of the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility. He wore the bravo class uniform of a correctional sergeant, khaki shirt with three stripes on each arm, depicting his rank, and a black uniform ballcap to cover his brown, thinning hair. I sat across from him, leaning back in a chair, one booted foot on the desk. "I don't expect you to believe me, but I was there. I saw him with my own eyes."

It was first watch, the graveyard shift. The inmates were locked up for the night, and the prison was staffed by a skeleton crew. What better time was there to tell ghost stories?

I See You

English Short Story Published on October 28, 2018 by Liabefdford

Excerpt: As I went to hang up, a high pitched scream came out of the phone. I pressed the red button as quick as I could, my heart racing.

I am a 17 year old girl who experienced something truly terrifying. I was an average teenage girl, with a completely normal life. Nothing strange or out of the ordinary has ever happened to me before this event.




Recently, I got a new job at a local cinema, where many other teens worked. Normally, I would work from 10am-5pm but my manager thought I should start working later hours like the other employees, to make it fair. This is when things started to go horribly wrong…

What We Have Been Searching for All Along

About a decade ago on his 37th birthday, after spending his entire adult life loosely dating different women, he finally decided he was ready to settle down.  He wanted to find a real mate… a lover… a life partner—someone who could show him what it meant to be in a deep, monogamous, trusting relationship.





So, he searched far and wide.  There were so many women to choose from, all with great qualities, but none with everything he was looking for.  And then, finally, just when he thought he would never find her, he found her.  And she was perfect.  She had everything he ever wanted in a woman.  And he rejoiced, for he knew how rare a find she was.  “I’ve done my research,” he told her.  “You are the one for me.”


But as the days and weeks turned into months and years, he started to realize that she was far from perfect.  She had issues with trust and self-confidence, she liked to be silly when he wanted to be serious, and she was much messier than he was.  And he started to have doubts … doubts about her, doubts about himself, doubts about everything.

And to validate these doubts, he subconsciously tested her.  He constantly looked around their apartment for things that weren’t clean just to prove that she was messy.  He decided to go out alone to parties with his single guy friends just to prove that she had trust issues.  He set her up and waited for her to do something silly just to prove she couldn’t be serious.  It went on like this for awhile.

As the tests continued—and as she, clearly shaken and confused, failed more and more often—he became more and more convinced that she was not a perfect fit for him after all.  Because he had dated women in the past who were more mature, more confident, and more willing to have serious conversations.




Inevitably, he found himself at a crossroads.  Should he continue to be in a relationship with a woman who he once thought was perfect, but now realizes is lacking the qualities that he already found in the other women that came before her?  Or should he return to the lifestyle he had come from, drifting from one empty relationship to the next?

After he enrolled in our Getting Back to Happy Course a few days ago, desperately looking for answers, this is the gist of what Angel and I told him:

One of the greatest lessons we learn in life is that we are often attracted to a bright light in another person.  Initially, this light is all we see.  It’s so bright and beautiful.  But after a while, as our eyes adjust, we notice this light is accompanied by a shadow… and oftentimes a fairly large one.

When we see this shadow, we have two choices: we can either shine our own light on the shadow or we can run from it and continue searching for a shadow-less light.

If we decide to run from the shadow, we must also run from the light that created it.  And we soon find out that our light is the only light illuminating the space around us.  Then, at some point, as we look closer at our own light, we notice something out of the ordinary.  Our light is casting a shadow too.  And our shadow is bigger and darker than some of the other shadows we’ve seen.




If, on the other hand, instead of running from the shadow, we decide to walk towards it, something amazing happens.  We inadvertently cast our own light on the shadow, and likewise, the light that created this shadow casts its light on ours.  Gradually, both shadows begin to disappear.  Not completely, of course, but every part of the two shadows that are touched by the other person’s light illuminate and disappear.

And, as a result, we each find more of that bright beautiful light in the other person.

Which is precisely what we have been searching for all along.

Where We Can Go When We Feel Lost and Alone

She notices the people sitting in a small sports bar across the street.  They’re cheering and chatting.  They look so alive.  She wants to cross the street and join these people just to connect with them—to be a part of something.  But a subtle voice that comes from within, that whispers from the open wounds in her heart, holds her back from doing so.  So she keeps walking.  Alone.

Just One Small Sip

Once upon a time there was a woman who had been lost in the desert for three whole days without water.  Just as she was about to collapse, she saw what appeared to be a lake just a few hundred yards in front of her.  “Could it be?  Or is it just a mirage?” she thought to herself.

With the last bit of strength she could muster, she staggered toward the lake and quickly learned that her prayers had been answered: it was no mirage—it was indeed a large, spring-fed lake full of fresh water—more fresh water than she could ever drink in her lifetime.  Yet while she was literally dying of thirst, she couldn’t bring herself to drink the water.  She simply stood by the water’s edge and stared down at it.

The Weight of the Glass

(Note: This story is an excerpt from our NYT bestselling book.)

Twenty years ago, when Angel and I were just undergrads in college, our psychology professor taught us a lesson we’ve never forgotten.  On the last day of class before graduation, she walked up on stage to teach one final lesson, which she called “a vital lesson on the power of perspective and mindset.”  As she raised a glass of water over her head, everyone expected her to mention the typical “glass half empty or glass half full” metaphor.  Instead, with a smile on her face, our professor asked, “How heavy is this glass of water I’m holding?”

Students shouted out answers ranging from a couple of ounces to a couple of pounds.

When Our Old Stories Hold Us Back

She rarely makes eye contact.  Instead, she looks down at the ground.  Because the ground is safer.  Because unlike people, it expects nothing in return.  She doesn't have to feel ashamed about her past.  The ground just accepts her for who she is right now.

As she sits at the bar next to me, she stares down at her vodka tonic, and then the ground, and then her vodka tonic.  “Most people don’t get me,” she says.  “They ask me questions like, ‘What’s your problem?’ or ‘Were you beaten as a child?’  But I never respond.  Because I don’t feel like explaining myself.  And I don’t think they really care anyway.”

What Life is All About

Once upon a time, there was a girl who could do anything in the world she wanted.  All she had to do was choose something and focus.  So, one day she sat down in front of a blank canvas and began to paint.  Every stroke was more perfect than the next, slowly and gracefully converging to build a flawless masterpiece.  And when she eventually finished painting, she stared proudly at her work and smiled.

How To Be a Master Storyteller — Tips From 5 Experts

How To Be a Master Storyteller — Tips From 5 Experts

Source: Grammarly

What makes a story great? And what are the steps that will get you to that final product?

Whether you’re writing a novel, screenplay, personal essay, or another creative project, you want to deliver your best work possible—but honing your creative process can take a lot of trial and error.
Fortunately, we can look to the experiences of others to help light our way. For your inspiration and edification, here are words of wisdom from five master storytellers on how they navigate the creative process.

The Corporation

The Corporation

By Ohwo   
Born 2004, M, from West Sussex, United Kingdom

As Mark was hiding out he heard the dreaded drone alarm. The air started to fill with the sound of tiny electric motors. Mark dashed to a hiding spot and saw multiple drones fly past at breathtaking speeds with the familiar high pitch scream. Just as he thought he was safe, a scanning drone came back and called him out for scanning. Mark slowly and carefully presented himself and prepared for the recognition process. Within seconds, he could see that the malware he implemented into the system was working, as the drone started to shake violently and spark before dropping to the ground, seemingly lifeless.

A Devil of a Christmas.

A Devil of a Christmas.

By Kevin Hughes 
Born 1951, M, from Wilmington NC, United States

The Devil looked in the mirror. He was so pretty he almost cried. Out loud he said:

“Amazing. No wonder they call me Lucifer. I can’t believe the Humans think I have horns, hooves, tusks, and all that other crap they made up to make my physical appearance match their idea of my Evil soul.”

That made Lucifer laugh out loud. As if God would make a perfect being that was only perfect on the outside. Suddenly Lucifer stopped laughing.

“I do have one imperfection. Pride. I really thought I could do a better job than God. I was wrong. The Evil done in His name is partly my fault. I can’t seem to stop Humans from coming down here. (he sighed) That’s my punishment. I try to stop Humans from feeling they are the chosen ones, I know where that leads. I was, after all, God’s favorite. The greatest of all his Creations…Lucifer.”

Blue Moon

Blue Moon

By JT Evergreen 
Born 1939, M, from Hilo, Hawaii, United States

As told by Richard Tracy

The last evening we were together found us sitting on the end of an old pier, our favorite meeting place. The clarity and brilliance of the full moon in the clear night sky made it seem so close you could reach out and touch it. Watching this heavenly body move silently across the horizon, we hardly said a word to one another. We had grown so close, words were no longer necessary … just closeness. Conor laughed when I reached out toward the moon, “I know. I was thinking the same thing.”

“It seems so close.”

He leaned back and lightly touched my back. I smiled and leaned back, resting my head on his abdomen.

We had come of age together, doing all the foolish things kids do including experimenting with sex which included a good deal of laughter until the day arrived when we stopped laughing and realized something else was happening. You read about first loves … but when it actually happens to you, it’s like walking on the moon and wondering how you got there.

Ghost Plane

Ghost Plane

By Tom Di Roma 
Born 1947, M, from Oceanside, United States

I’ll never forget that day. It was like something out of The Twilight Zone. Actually, it was The Twilight Zone, as far as I was concerned. That’s because I was stuck on a remote Air Base in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness for a whole year. It was so different from anything I had ever known. My home was back in Connecticut in a typical middle-class neighborhood, where stores and restaurants were a mere quarter mile away. On the site, the nearest restaurant, besides the chow hall and the food counter in the NCO club, was probably a thousand miles away. Well, maybe not that far, but you get the idea.

The Legend of Eredom

The Legend of Eredom

By Julianna ziezio   
Born 1998, F, from London, United Kingdom

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom called Eredom that lay far beyond the forests and hills, hidden in the mountains. It’s likeness resembled no other kingdom, as it was flat with only four triangular towers at the four points of the compass. The towers were grey with white roofs that were so similar to the image of mountains that it was hard to distinguish a difference between them. The rooms were arranged next to each other in a row on both sides of the court. However, the room occupied by the royalty stood about two steps higher, at the very end of the castle court, so that as royal highness went out of the room, every other person stood at both sides in a humble manner, and bowed so low that their noses touched the floor. Built it was on the highest peak of a mountain called Eteral, for from it, one could see the whole world. The home of mortals, the Ederas.

Naked and Free

Naked and Free

She has light brown hair, a seductive smile, and the most engaging set of hazel-green eyes I’ve ever seen.  It’s the kind of engaging I can’t ignore—the kind that makes me want to engage too.  Because she’s mysterious.  And I’m curious.  And I need to know more.

What We Have Been Searching for All Along

What We Have Been Searching for All Along

About a decade ago on his 37th birthday, after spending his entire adult life loosely dating different women, he finally decided he was ready to settle down.  He wanted to find a real mate… a lover… a life partner—someone who could show him what it meant to be in a deep, monogamous, trusting relationship.