adapted from the book the art of possibility by rosamund stone zander and benjamin zander the art of...
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STEPPING INTO A UNIVERSE OF POSSIBILITY
Adapted from the book The Art of Possibilityby Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility
Stepping intoa Universe of Possibility
In the World of Measurement:
We understand things (and people) only in the context of how they compare to other things (and
people).
It feels safer to deal with reality as though it were fixed, as though people, ideas, and situations can
be fully known and measured.
Stepping intoa Universe of Possibility
From birth to death, we struggle to measure up…to our parents’
expectations, our friends’ expectations, our teachers’ expectations, our bosses’
expectations, our children’s expectations....and our own
expectations.
Stepping intoa Universe of Possibility
In the Universe of Possibility:
Freed from the need to measure up, we find ourselves at liberty to
imagine what CAN be...for ourselves and others.
IT’S ALL INVENTED
Adapted from the book The Art of Possibilityby Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility
It’s All Invented
A shoe factory sends two marketing scouts to a region of Africa to study the prospects for expanding business.
One sends back a telegram saying,SITUATION HOPELESS STOP NO ONE WEARS SHOES
The other writes back triumphantly,GLORIOUS OPPORTUNITY STOP THEY HAVE NO
SHOES
It’s All Invented
We perceive only the sensations we are programmed to receive and our awareness is
further restricted by the fact that we recognize only those for which we have mental maps or
categories.
If there are absolutes, we have no direct access to their existence.
It’s All Invented
We cannot do otherwise but perceive everything in life through the structure of our brains, the lens of our unique past experience, and our
[necessarily] limited understanding.
What we know as “life” is, then, entirely a product of our own
perceptions.It is…all invented.
GIVING AN A
Adapted from the book The Art of Possibilityby Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility
Giving an A
The practice of giving an A is, simultaneously:
the recognition of others for exactly who they areAnd
the willingness to see in them everything they can be.
Giving an A
If a sculptor can look at a rough-hewn block of stone and see the grace and
beauty it contains, how can we do any less for each other?
How much grace are you willing to grant those you encounter in life?
Giving an A
The practice of giving an A allows us to line up with others in their efforts to
produce something great, rather than lining up with expectations against
them.
The A is not an expectation to live up to; it is a possibility to live into.
BEING A CONTRIBUTION
Adapted from the book The Art of Possibilityby Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility
Being a Contribution
The drive to be successful and the fear of failure are, like the head and tail of a
coin, inseparably linked.
Unlike success and failure,contribution has no other side.
Being a Contribution
To think of yourself and others as contributions takes you away from self-
concern and creates the space for making a difference.
Being a Contribution
Declare yourself to be a contribution and throw yourself into life as someone who makes a difference, accepting that you
may not understand how or why.
LEADING FROM ANY CHAIR
Adapted from the book The Art of Possibilityby Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility
Leading from Any Chair
The conductor of an orchestra does not make a sound…his true power comes from his ability to make other people
powerful.
Leading from Any Chair
It is the conductor who decides who is playing in her orchestra.
It is you who decides who the people are whom you encounter as you go
about your day.
Leading from Any Chair
Ask yourself this difficult question:
How much greatnessam I
willing to grant people?
RULENUMBER 6
Adapted from the book The Art of Possibilityby Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility
Rule Number 6
The calculating self is that part of us that wailed and cried as a baby and later
learned simply to smile coyly or stamp its foot to say,
“Pay attention to me.”
Rule Number 6
The central self understands that control is neither possible nor necessary; thus, it freely joins the flow of life, reveling in the abundance of possibility along
the way.
Rule Number 6
So…kindly observe Rule Number 6.
“Don’t take yourself so damned seriously.”
There are no other rules.
THE WAY THINGS ARE
Adapted from the book The Art of Possibilityby Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility
The Way Things Are
Acknowledge the way things are, and acknowledge your feelings about the way things are. Then, ask yourself,
“What is here that I can do something with, and what do I want to do with it?”
The Way Things Are
When we dislike a situation, we tend to put all our attention on how things
should be rather than on how they are.
When our attention is primarily directed to how wrong things are, we lose our
power to act effectively.
The Way Things Are
A canceled airplane flight is neither good nor bad. It may wreck our schedule and bring us face to face with our future spouse in the waiting area.
When a splendid osprey eats a beautiful fish, it is
neither good nor bad…or, it’s both good for the osprey and bad for the fish.
“Good” and “bad” are categories we impose on the world—they are not of
the world itself.
GIVING WAY TO PASSION
Adapted from the book The Art of Possibilityby Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility
Giving Way to Passion
Suppose for a moment that vital, expressive energy flows everywhere, that it is the medium for the
existence of life, and that…
whatever keeps us from participating fully in that flow of energy lies within
ourselves.
Giving Way to Passion
Notice where you are holding back, and let go. Release those barriers of self that keep you in
control. Then, participate…and hold nothing back.
Your passion is what makes you who you are. It is the very essence of
your specialness.
Giving Way to Passion
“There is a vitality, a life force…that is translated through you…, and because
there is only one of you in all of time,…if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.”
Martha Graham, quoted by Agnes DeMille inMartha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham
LIGHTING A SPARK
Adapted from the book The Art of Possibilityby Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility
Lighting a Spark
“Certain things in life are better done in person.”
Walter Zander
Lighting a Spark
Enrollment is the art and practice of generating a spark of possibility for others to
share.
We have at our fingertips an infinite capacity to light a spark of possibility. Passion, rather than fear, is the igniting force. Abundance,
rather than scarcity, is the context.
Lighting a Spark
The life force for humankind is, perhaps, nothing more or less than the
passionate energy to connect, express, and communicate.
BEING THE BOARD
Adapted from the book The Art of Possibilityby Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility
Being the Board
To the extent that I blame others for the way things are, I lose my power. There is nothing I can do
about their mistakes – only about mine.
I am the framework for everything that happens in my life.
Being the Board
In the fault game (a manifestation of the world of measurement), your attention is focused
on what was done or not done by you or others.
When you own the risks in your life, your attention turns to
repairing relationships.
Being the Board
Grace comes from owning the risks we take in a world largely
immune to our control.
CREATING FRAMEWORKSFOR POSSIBILITY
Adapted from the book The Art of Possibilityby Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility
Creating Frameworks for Possibility
The abundant universe of possibility exists in an environment of
conversations dedicated to the notion that no one will be made wrong,
people will not be talked about behind their backs, and there will be no
division between “us” and “them”.
Creating Frameworks for Possibility
The foremost challenge of today is to stand confidently as a relentless architect of the possibility that
human beings can be.
Creating Frameworks for Possibility
In the pursuit of objectives under a vision, playing is relevant to the
manifestation of the possibility, winning is not.
TELLING THE WE STORY
Adapted from the book The Art of Possibilityby Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Art of Possibility
Telling the WE Story
The WE story points to relationship rather than to individuals or objects. It
attests to the in-between –
the unseen threads that connect those who make up our company, our community, or our group of two.
Telling the WE Story
Each of us has an ongoing choice:
to tell the story of the WEOr
to tell the story of the Other.
Telling the WE Story
If we describe revenge, greed, pride, fear, and self-righteousness as the
villains — and people as the hope — we will come together to create possibility.
In the universe of possibility, we need never again name a human
being as the enemy.