The following contains excerpts from the book, The Art of Possibility (Benjamin Zander).
At our music school in Odessa, Texas we believe that music is much more than sound, rather, it is relationships. The subject of relationships envelops the understanding of Leadership. Relationships, leadership and community are enhanced and even defined by music and the arts.
“Historically, artists have been employed by leading institutions to bring emotional truth to established principles. Yet in our new global society, not institution has the wide acceptance to create values and direction for the majority of people. Markets in free societies are rapidly replacing governments and religious institutions as regulators of the highest authority, and markets perform without values…revolutionary shifts in the operational structures of our world seem to call for new definitions of who we are and what we are here for.”
Zander’s goal is to open up the possibility that the normal ways we have come to view life are “all invented…When you bring to mind ‘it’s all invented’, you remember that it’s all a story you tell- not just some of it, but all of it…(I) do not mean that you can just make anything up, and have it magically appear…you can shift the framework to one whose underlying assumptions allow for the conditions you desire. What assumption am I making, that I am not aware of making, that gives me what I see? What might I now invent, that I haven’t yet invented, that would give me other choices?”
Zander, throughout the book, draws a distinction between two kinds of thinking: the measurable world, which tends towards a ‘downward spiral’ versus what he calls ‘possibility’. “All the manifestations of the world of measurement- the winning and losing, the gaining of acceptance and the threatened rejection, the raised hopes and the dash into despair- all are based on a single assumption that is hidden from our awareness. The assumption is that life is about staying alive and making it through- surviving in a world of scarcity and peril. Even when life is at its best in the measurement world, the assumption is the backdrop for the play.”
By contrast, “on the whole, you are more likely to extend your business and have a fulfilled life if you have the attitude that there are always new customers out there waiting to be enrolled rather than that money, customers, and ideas are in short supply. You are more likely to be successful, overall, if you participate joyfully with projects and goals and do not think your life depends on achieving the mark because then you will be better able to connect to people all around you. On the whole, resources are likely to come to you in greater abundance when you are generous and inclusive and engage people in your passion for life. There aren’t any guarantees, of course. When you are oriented to abundance, you care less about being in control, and you take more risks. You may give away short-term profits in pursuit of a bigger dream; you may take a long view without being able to predict the outcome. In the measurement world, you set a goal and strive for it. In the universe of possibility, you set the context and let life unfold.”
We believe, at our music school in Odessa, Texas that there are endless possibilities for each student, as they become aware of the unique, individual giftedness, maximizing their potential on their journey to personal development.
Giving an A
Zander demonstrates this principle through a practice he uses, as an instructor at the New England Conservatory, in which he gives an ‘A’ to each student at the beginning of the class. “Each student in this class will get an A for the course…However, there is one requirement that you must fulfill to earn this grade: Sometime during the next two weeks, you must write me a letter dated next May, which begins with the words, ‘Dear Mr. Zander, I got my A because…,’ and in this letter you are to tell, in as much detail as you can, the story of what will have happened to you by next May that is in live with this extraordinary grade…In writing their letters, I say to them, they are to place themselves in the future, looking back, and to report on all the insights they acquired and milestones they attained during the year as if those accomplishments were already in the past. Everything must be written in the past tense. Phrases such as ‘I hope,’ ‘I intend,’ or ‘I will’ must not appear. The students may, if they wish, mention specific goals reached or competitions won, but I tell them ‘I am especially interested in the person you will have become by next May. I am interested in the attitude, feelings, and worldview of that person who will have done all she wished to do or become everything he wanted to be.”
The results, by the end of the semester for many students is outstanding, particularly the transformation of the student’s life-perspective.
Each student at our music school in Odessa, Texas receives an ‘A’ from us, as we commit to helping them develop their potential.
Zander is critical of the competitive environment in the professional world. “It is dangerous to have our musicians so obsessed with competition because they will find it difficult to take the necessary risks with themselves to be great performers. The art of music, since it can only be conveyed through its interpreters, depends on expressive performance for its lifeblood. Yet it is only when we make mistake in performance that we can really begin to notice what needs attention. In fact, I actively train my students that when they make a mistake, they are to lift their arms in the air, smile, and say, ‘How fascinating!’…Not only mistakes, but even those experiences we ordinarily define as ‘negative’ con be treated this way…My teacher, the great cellist Gaspar Cassado, used to say to us as students, ‘I’m so sorry for you; your lives have been so easy. You can’t play great music unless you heart’s been broken.”
One of the students, who was from Taiwan, who received an A in Zander’s class wrote,
“I was Number 68 out of 70 student. I come to Boston and Mr. Zander says I am an A. Very confusing. I walk about, three weeks, very confused. I am Number 68, but Mr. Zander says I am an A student…I am Number 68, but Mr. Zander says I am an A. One day I discover much happier A than Number 68. So I decide I am an A.”
Zander says, “He had realized that the labels he had been taking so seriously are human inventions- it’s all a game. The Number 68 is invented and the A is invented, so we might as well choose to invent something that brightens our life and the lives of the people around us…One of the complications of working with standards is that those in charge- be they teachers, school systems, CEOs, or management teams- often fall into the trap of identifying their own agendas with the standards. How often in a business situation does a manager find himself at his wit’s end when he discovers that word has not been done by others the way he would have done it himself? A common response is to deliver the ultimatum, whether explicitly or implicitly, ‘Do it the right way- my way. Not only does this latter message tend to squelch innovation and creativity, but it also trains students and employees to focus solely on what the need to do to please their teachers or their bosses, and on how much they can get away with. The mentor’s disappointment with a student whose style and interest vary from her own is often what is measured in the grade she gives.”
We seek to focus on each student’s unique abilities, to enhance their greatest strengths, encouraging them to see themselves through the eyes of what they can offer that is personally authentic, at our music school in Odessa, Texas.
In a particular situation, as Zander was conducting Mahler’s 9th Symphony with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, he noticed a girl in the violin section who was almost in a slouched position. At the end of one of the rehearsals, he went to her and asked her if anything was amiss. She complained to him that the tempos he was taking were too fast for the marked bowings and she suggested a slower tempo in certain sections. Zander studied the materials in light of the player’s suggestions and implemented them in the concert, observing the changed demeanor of the player, as she played more passionately than any of the others. He didn’t have a chance to speak with her after the concert, but he later found out that “Mahler was her favorite composers, that she was passionate about all his work, and that the performance we had done together was one of the high points of her musical life…The lesson I learned is that the player who looks least engaged may be the most committed member of the group. A cynic, after all, is a passionate person who does not want to be disappointed again…I learned from Tanya that the secret is not to speak to a person’s cynicism, but to speak to her passion.”
Our goal at our music school in Odessa, Texas is to remove barriers to the student’s progress, making it possible for them to experience true freedom in their creative endeavors. We know that we have made a difference when we can see their eyes shining.
“When we give an A we can be open to a perspective different from our own. For after all, it is only to a person to whom you have granted an A that you will really listen, and it is in that rare instance when you have ears for another person that you can truly appreciate a fresh point of view.”
We want each student to know that we care about them deeply and that they each have a unique ability that can be maximized, for the sake of bringing light and inspiration to others. At our music school in Odessa, Texas we believe that possibilities abound.