Am I thinking freely, even feeling free to go about doing that?

Not really, I just had a flashback to a place from years ago. Well, not really a place, a conference room in an old client’s building.

The Innovation Room.

It was your garden-variety conference room, but since they needed a room to innovate, they put up a few whimsical (yet pre-approved) posters, hung a shelf with a few toys, along with a big ol’ banner that greeted you when you walked in the door.

“Feel Free to Think Freely!!!”

(The exclamation points were meant to convey excitement, I assume.)

Yes, this was the room where the corporate peeps were supposed to shed points of company protocol, forget the corporate politics and the managers who motivate by fear.

Throw the rules out the window. This is THE INNOVATION ROOM.

No company surveillance cameras in here, we promise.

Yes, in the quagmire of cubicles and walls with posters containing uplifting quotes of wisdom about maintaining a positive attitude and embracing that sense of accomplishment, there stands The Innovation Room.

Besides all the rules, there are no rules here in The Innovation Room.

The whole room, the FEEL FREE TO THINK FREELY-ness of it all, I’m imagining that Communist dictatorships provided consultancy services to the team that put together this room.

“No! Three exclamation points. If the workers walk in the room and only see two exclamation points, they won’t be inspired to think freely. Three exclamation points, though, three exclamation points invite a sense of freedom. The third exclamation also reminds the workers of the consequences if they don’t think freely.”

I love the word “innovation” so much. To me, this word implies that one needs to forget your immediate surroundings and focus on breaking through whatever wall stands in front of the problem you’re trying to solve.

Innovation’s similarity to the words “inspiration” and “intuition”, I like that.

And The Innovation Room was a testament to everything that is the opposite of innovation.

Enough memory lane, enough about the world that inspired Fearkiller (Volume 1.)

I gotta get work done. Have a good day.

And think freely.