Benjamin Zander on Possibility and Vision

Last day of year 2008 – time really flies.

On this day, I want you spare 20 minutes and watch this video from Pop!Tech where Benjamin Zander  takes a 15 year old cellist’s performance to next level and demonstrates what it means to live in world of possibility. I am indebted to Rajesh Shetty for sharing this. Benjamin Zander is a great teacher and author of a book – “The Art of Possibility”. As a part of his speech, Benjamin Zander tells a great story about looking at possibilities – having an eye for abundance. The story goes like this –

“In year 1900, two shoe salespeople were sent to Africa to open up new markets. Three days after arriving, one salesperson sent a telegram to his boss and said, “Situation hopeless. Stop. No one wears shoes here.”

At the same time the other salesperson sent a telegram to his boss telling “Enormous opportunity. No one has shoes here yet.”

According to Zander, these statements/conversations are not about assessment of circumstances – they are a reflection of attitude. Awesome.

We were told in Management Development Program that everything happens twice – first in human mind and then externally. We see a stone, and a sculptor sees a beautiful statue waiting to be discovered. Sculptor first envisions a statue and creates a print in his brain – and then he begins sculpting. Sculptor sees a possibility. On the same lines, Zander mentions a great quote from Michelangelo which goes like this – “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”

What is your vision for 2009? What possibilities are you ready to explore? This is a good time to ruminate and connect.

WISH YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR!