Innovation

The Japanese are magic people. They manage to invent the most
extraordinary things... not only in electronics but in almost everything
as in this story that we see today.

Japanese grocery stores had a problem. They are much smaller than the
USA stores and therefore don't have room to waste. Watermelons, big and
round, wasted a lot of space. Most people would simply tell the grocery
stores that watermelons grow round and there is nothing that can be done
about it. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach. If the
supermarkets wanted a square watermelon, they asked themselves, "How can we provide one?"

It wasn't long before they invented the square watermelon. It turns out
that all you need to do is place them into a square box when they are
growing and the watermelon will take on the shape of the box!!! This
made the grocery stores happy and had the added benefit that it was much easier and cost effective to ship the watermelons. Consumers also loved them because they took less space in their refrigerators which are much smaller than those in the US meaning that the growers could charge a premium price for them.

What is Innovation? Is it inventing new models, new processes or new
movements? Or, is it simply using the same models, processes and
movements in new better ways. I guess both counts as Innovation. Lets
make some square watermelons today!

What does this have do with anything besides square watermelons? There are a few lessons that can you can take away from this story which help you in all parts of your life.

Don't Assume:
The major problem was that most people had always seen round watermelons so they automatically assumed that square watermelons were impossible before even thinking about the question. Things that you have been doing a certain way your entire life have taken on the aura of the round watermelon and you likely don't even take the time to consider if there is another way to do it. Breaking yourself from assuming this way can greatly improve your overall life as you are constantly looking for new and better ways to do things.

Question habits:
The best way to tackle these assumptions is to question your habits. If
you can make an effort to question the way you do things on a consistent basis, you will find that you can continually improve the way that you live your life. Forming habits when they have been well thought out is usually a positive thing, but most of us have adopted our habits from various people and places without even thinking about them.

Be Creative:
When faced with a problem, be creative in looking for a solution. This
often requires thinking outside the box. Most people who viewed this
question likely thought they were being asked how they could genetically alter water melons to grow square which would be a much more difficult process to accomplish. By looking at the question from an alternative perspective, however, the solution was quite simple. Being creative and looking at things in different ways in all portions of your live will help you find solutions to many problems where others can't see them. It's a learned art and builds upon itself.

Look for a Better way:
The square watermelon question was simply seeking a better and more
convenient way to do something. The stores had flagged a problem they were having and asked if a solution was possible. It's impossible to find a better way if you are never asking the question in the first
place. Get into the habit of asking yourself, "Is there a better way I could be doing this?" and you will find there often is.

If you begin with the notion that something is impossible, then it
obviously will be for you. If, on the other hand, you decide to see if
something is possible or not, you will find out through trial and error.
Take away the lessons from the square watermelons and apply them to all areas in your life and you will find that by applying them, you will
constantly be improving all aspects of your life.