The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander

This book was recommended to me by Lois Zachary, mentoring guru, who was in South Dakota recently advising us on one of our projects. After she recommended this book to our group, she told me, "It reads like buttah!" She was right! It's very insightful in so many ways, and it's a joy to read. Each chapter has a different "practice" that helps transform one's life and thinking. It's very accessible and full of great little stories. I love the music metaphors!
One of the more powerful ideas is, "It's all invented!" The practice goes like this: Ask yourself, "What assumptions am I making, that I am not aware that I'm making, that gives me what I see?" And after you answer that question, you ask this one: "What might I now invent, that I haven't yet invented, that would give me other choices?" This line of thinking opens up all kinds of possibilities!
Something I underlined: 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." I'm pondering this one to see how it might apply to my driven self!
Other ideas in this book coincide very nicely with one of my all-time favorite books: Bonds That Make Us Free: Healing Our Relationships, Coming to Ourselves by C. Terry Warner. The me vs. we, the barriers we build, etc., etc. Powerful ideas that have transformative powers if I would live them! When I do, I feel their power!
Rule #6 is also a delight--to take yourself lightly. Remember this one!
A very motivating chapter is called "Giving an A" and would resonate not only with teachers, but with everyone! I liken this idea to unconditional love, and the authors give wonderful examples of how this plays out in individual reactions to being loved and motivated this way. Here are some quotes I underlined in this chapter:

• Standards can help us by defining the range of knowledge a student must master to be competent in his field. It is not in the context of measuring people's performance against standards that we propose giving the A, despite the reference to measurement the A implies. We give the A to finesse the stranglehold of judgment that grades have over our consciousness from our earliest days. The A is an invention that creates possibility for both mentor and student, manager and employee, or for any human interaction. The practice of giving the A allows the teacher to line up with her students in their efforts to produce the outcome, rather than lining up with the standrads against these students. In the first instance, the instructor and the student, or the manager and the employee become a team for accomplishing the extraordinary; in the second, the disparity in power between them can become a distraction and an inhibitor, drawing energy away from productivity and development.

Early in the book, on page 21, this quote stopped me in my tracks: "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." Definitely food for thought for this goal-driven person!!!

One place where I strongly disagree was with Roz when she advised one of her clients to ask her mother for money...although it illustrated her point of opening up possibilities, I don't agree that giving money helps those who don't seem to manage it well. Just had to go on record here about that!

I have really enjoyed picking up this book for an uplift from time to time, and now that it's all marked up, I enjoy it even more. My friend June sent this book to her musician son, who knows Ben, so his reaction will be very intriguing!