Creative: Escape Artists Can't Be Boxed In

I was having dinner with my mom the other night and we started walking down memory lane. She started telling stories about my brother, Jon, who was a notorious escape artist before he turned two years old. Jon's first escape was through our living room window in the middle of the night. I was very young, but remember the story like it was yesterday. My parents received the call at 4 am. In a half asleep haze, my mother hesitantly answered the telephone. It was the next door neighbor telling her not to worry - that Jon was at their house and that he'd tried to crawl into bed with them a few minutes before. Apparently, Jon woke up in the middle of the night, opened an unlocked window (I grew up in a very small town) in our living room, walked to the neighbor's house, opened the unlocked door (it was the seventies - apparently no one locked their doors) and walked right into their bedroom asking to get in bed with them. I know, you're probably thinking CPS should have been called. Jon was also legend for escaping bible school. Once, my mom received a panic call from the bible school administrators. The teacher had left the room to use the restroom. Jon, not wanting to be at bible school, opened the window, climbed down the fire escape and left the scene. A police officer picked him up over a mile away. When asked why he left, he simply replied, "because". Throughout my life I remember those calls. From teachers to babysitters to parents, no one could keep him in a box. Jon was truly a free spirit. Today, Jon is an incredibly creative, talented musician and a successful project manger for Yahoo! He's never lived within the box and never will. I guess my point is that sometimes, creative people can't be put in a box. And if you try to put them in a box you inhibit their creativity. Instead, simply give them direction and watch their creativity flourish, or perhaps put them in the 960 grid system. If that doesn't work, invest in putting good locks on the box.