Stifled By The Corporate Box?

Try this experiment with a friend:

As you count to ten, have your friend slowly look around the room and make a mental note of everything that's brown.

Then have your friend close her eyes.

Ask her to tell you all the things she saw that were, say... blue.

If she's like most people, she won't be able to do it.

That's what it's like to be boxed in. You see only what you're used to seeing, and your brain doesn't register all the other great stuff out there.

If you're like most people I talk with, you're pretty boxed in at work. You have little control. You show up when you're told to, sit where you're told to, work with whomever you're told to, do what's on a job description, even see the world the way the company sees it.

This place is known as the "corporate box."

It's a place where your full talents rarely get noticed, much less used. It's where you do what others expect of you or lose your job. Being boxed in is what happens to you, slowly, as you continue to hold back the best parts of yourself because the people you work for are too boxed in themselves to see or understand that you have something to share that could make a difference. They are seeing brown and you are, well, still seeing blue, and green, and red, and yellow... at least for a time. But the more they ignore you and your gifts, and the more you are required to be like them, the less color you see and the more brown the world becomes... until one day, almost everything you see and talk about are brown things. And brown follows you everywhere. It permeates every corner of your life.

Of course, in the company you work for, seeing brown is a good thing. It earns you raises and promotions. You get pats on the back for being so able to pick up on the brownness of things. Your future in the company actually depends on sustaining a certain amount of brownness in your life.

But what happens to you as a person? What happens to your soul? What happens to the blue you used to see, and the green, red, and orange? They're there, but you can't see them. They're simply not on your radar screen. Only shades of brown sink in.

There are some people who love brown. However, there are more and more people, everyday, remembering their inherent color and sparkle, and running away from the corporate world as quickly as they can. They want to reclaim what's been lost. They want to see what they've not seen in ages. What they want is to pop off the top and tear down the side walls and burst out of the corporate box.

But that's not easy. And it requires immense courage.

In my experience, the corporate box is the single biggest thing that people struggle to leave behind when they leave the corporate world to work for themselves. And it makes sense. After all, the company defined everything for them... in some cases, for most of their adult lives.

But breaking out of the box is the very thing you'll have to do if you want to be successful on your own. You must reclaim your right to be yourself, and find joy again in all things colorful. Everything will follow from that.

The Top Ten Ways To Break Out Of The Corporate Box

1. Tell the truth
If you're unhappy, say so. Everyone can see it, anyway. If you're sick and tired of not being able to share your gifts, commit to doing something about it. Once you tell the truth, you've mentally broken free of the box. After that, little can hold you back.
2. Commit to seeing the world, and yourself, through new eyes
Pretend that you have just learned to see. If that were so, the whole world would be vibrant, alive, a joy to behold. You'd see the shapes of flowers. You'd notice businesses in your town you didn't know were there. And you'd look at yourself -- who are you really? Not on the surface, but at your core? Brown things aside, what gives your life meaning?
3. Figure out what you love to do, rather than what you're good at -- they're not always the same!
You can get the skills you need to do what you love more quickly and easily than you can continue to find motivation to do something you hate.
4. Challenge your assumptions
What are you sure of? Make a list of the things you know and ask yourself if you could be mistaken. What other options might there be? Just because you've "always" done something one way, is it the only way?
5. Learn at least one new thing every day
You'll never know it all. The goal is to commit to the journey, and to being open to new ideas, people, and ways of being yourself.
6. Stop being resistant
When you find yourself resisting something, it's probably a lesson you really need to learn. We resist that which we most need, usually out of fear that it might change us. Be willing to change now.
7. Take big risks
It's usually more of a risk to stay the same than to go out on a limb! Take every risk that doesn't threaten your safety in some way.
8. Take consistent action
It can be scary to do new things, but don't stop. Behind one of the doors you open will be your future. A future of joy, love, and complete fulfillment. Just keep taking actions to get you there.
9. Have a strong support system
The change from seeing brown to seeing colors is huge. Make sure you surround yourself with people who can see all the colors, and who can lovingly support you in this process.
10. Believe in yourself
You can have what your heart desires. You simply have to believe in yourself.

There are no dress rehearsals for life. You can either live a life you love, or a life you lie to yourself about. Work plays a huge part of what kind of life it is. If you love your work, congratulations!! If you're unhappy, or if you're unsure, take the time to look at what's going on in your life and work, truthfully. It may just be the perfect time to break out of the corporate box and discover/rediscover your passions in a business of your own!