Thinking outside the box is not about rejecting convention, it is about giving yourself permission to imagine opportunities most people never consider possible.
getty
What happens when people stop following the invisible rules they have been taught to live by? People have been systemically encouraged to value certainty over curiosity and practicality over experimentation for decades when choosing their careers. The safest career path is often considered the smartest one. Thinking outside the box was viewed as unconventional at best and reckless at worst, reserved for inventors or entrepreneurs willing to challenge the norm.
The growing appeal of unconventional careers reflects a broader cultural shift toward redefining what fulfillment and success can look like in a rapidly changing world.
“Thinking outside the box” gained popularity in the 1970s through a puzzle that challenged people to connect dots without lifting their pen. The solution required participants to draw beyond the invisible square that they assumed confined them. Over time, the phrase evolved into a cultural shorthand for creativity. What began as a simple exercise became a powerful metaphor for how people approach problems, opportunities and eventually careers.
Today, that mindset feels more relevant than ever. According to a 2025 LinkedIn Workforce Confidence survey, professionals are increasingly exploring nonlinear career paths in search of greater flexibility and fulfillment.
More people are realizing that sometimes the most rewarding opportunities appear only after someone is willing to step beyond them.
For Sooner Rae Routhier, thinking outside the box started long before she built productions for artists like Coldplay, The Lumineers and Mary J. Blige. It began in northern Vermont, where live concerts were rare.
During a Smashing Pumpkins concert, Sooner became captivated by the lighting and realized, in real time, that she wanted to pursue a career in professional live-music production lighting.
In the Zoom interview, she explained that she had originally been involved in theater, dance and music as a student, and had even planned to become a marine biologist. But after seeing the concert lighting production, everything shifted.
At the time, even her parents struggled to see it as a legitimate career path. Rather than following a traditional route, Routhier created one herself. She began asking questions others were not asking, including how touring crews actually worked and how someone without industry connections could break in.
Sooner Rae Routhier, founder of Sooner Rae Productions.
Dawn Walters
“What can I do to branch out from theater lighting into the concert world?” she recalled asking early mentors.
Instead of waiting for opportunities to appear, she inserted herself into the industry however she could. While still in college, she volunteered for weekend concert crews, drove hours alone across New England and took on any role available, from sorting lighting gels to loading equipment trucks at 3 a.m. That willingness to step beyond the job description became one of the foundations of her success.
“If I’m just there as a lighting tech, but I get done with my work earlier, then I should be helping the audio crew to get off stage earlier, too,” she said. “I used to go above and beyond to help out the other departments as well.”
That approach eventually led her to launch Sooner Rae Creative in 2007, helping redefine modern concert lighting and production design. Today, her work extends far beyond lighting. She now oversees full-scale creative direction, production design and immersive visual storytelling for some of the world’s biggest live performances.
What makes Routhier’s story especially relevant in today’s workforce is that her career did not exist in a clearly defined way when she started. She built it through curiosity, persistence and relationship-building in an industry many people never even realize exists.
“Nobody knows that our career paths exist,” she said. “We are behind the scenes, so that the talent on stage can shine brightly.”
For people interested in pursuing unconventional careers like live production design, Routhier recommends starting locally through technical theater programs, venue work or stagehand crews. More importantly, she emphasizes teamwork and relationships over prestige.
“Make sure that you’re the person everybody wants to go to summer camp with,” she said. “Always work with kindness.”
For Skyler Miser, growing up around the circus made the impossible feel normal. Long before she officially became a human cannonball for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, she watched her mother, Tina, fly through the air in front of live audiences around the world.
“My first time on a Ringling stage, I was under a year old,” Skyler said. “I remember watching the shows as a kid, just daydreaming about the day it would be my turn.”
Skyler Miser flying through the air during the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey show.
Courtesy Feld Entertainment
Today, Tina and Skyler are the only two women in the world professionally flying out of cannons, carrying forward one of the entertainment industry’s most physically and mentally demanding careers.
For Tina, the path into the profession was unconventional from the start. She was not born into circus life and had little knowledge of the stunt world before meeting her husband, Brian, who was building human cannons professionally.
“I saw the excitement and the adrenaline rush that he went through for every performance and knew I wanted to experience that for myself,” Tina said.
Rather than viewing the cannon as too dangerous or unrealistic, Tina approached it as a challenge to master. At 23, she became a human cannonball herself, entering a profession that very few people, especially women, even know exists.
Skyler’s first experience inside a cannon came at age 11, when her father asked if she wanted to test a miniature cannon he had built for a clown in England. What began as a childhood curiosity eventually evolved into years of disciplined physical and mental preparation.
Still, pursuing a career professionally required a different level of commitment. Before Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey relaunched this year, Skyler had considered more conventional futures, including college or joining the Air Force. But when Ringling reached out to her parents about using one of their cannons for the new tour, the opportunity shifted everything.
“My dad replied, ‘Of course, and I actually have someone who can fly out of it, too!’” Skyler shared.
Brain, Skyler and Tina Miser posing before a show.
Courtesy of Feld Entertainment
What began as a personal pursuit eventually evolved into something larger, the preservation of a rare legacy. Instead, their careers were built through instinct and a willingness to pursue something most people would dismiss as impossible.
“Every shot is a calculated risk, but one worth taking,” Tina stated. For Skyler, she commented, “The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.”
Their story reflects the larger theme behind thinking outside the box. Sometimes, unconventional careers are about being willing to imagine a life and profession that most people never consider possible in the first place.
The idea of a “dream job” is evolving. More people are recognizing that career growth is no longer confined to a single linear path.
The future of work will continue to reward people who are willing to redefine success on their own terms. How to start thinking outside the box:
What career opportunities might appear if you gave yourself permission to think beyond the path you were expected to follow?
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Update: ‘Sooner Rae Productions’ to ‘Sooner Rae Creative’
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