The Art Of Possibility

The Art of Possibility

By: Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander

1. It’s All Invented – Life is all invented anyway, so we might as well invent a story or a framework of meaning that enhances our quality of life and the life of those around us.

Ask: What assumption am I making, that I am not aware I am making, that gives me what I see?

And then: What might I now invent, that I haven’t yet invented, that would give me other choices?

2. Stepping into a Universe of Possibility – you can create a place to dwell where new inventions are the order of the day; a place that extends beyond the borders that confine us to our everyday reality. A place outside of “the World of Measurement” (win/lose, gaining of acceptance, threatened rejection, hope and despair) – the assumption that life is about staying alive and making it through - surviving in a world of scarcity and peril.

Ask: How are my thoughts and actions, in this moment, reflections of the measurement world?

3. Giving an “A” – giving each individual you an encounter in the world an “A” grade from the start. Removing the competitive win/lose, good/bad judgments from your relationships and transporting your relationship into the universe of possibility. An “A” is not an expectation to live up to, but a possibility to live into. People who perceive their role in a group to be of little significance (playing “second violin/fiddle), that they make no difference – fail to live up to their individual potential – the greatness they bring uniquely to the world. When we give an “A” (to ourselves or to others) we can be open to a perspective different from our own.

Exercise: Write a letter to yourself, dated a year from now, that describes why you have earned an “A” in life over the past year. 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 will earn you this extraordinary grade.

Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall is quoted to have answered when asked of what accomplishment he was most proud, simply, “That I did the best I could with what I had.”

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4. Being a Contribution – step out of the game of “Is it enough?” or “Am I loved for who I am, or for what I have accomplished?” into the game of Contribution – asking, “How will I be a contribution today?”

Steps: 1) Declare your self a contribution

2) Throw yourself into life as someone who makes a difference, accepting that you may not understand how or why. Imagine that everything you do today will send ripples (like a pebble in a pond) out beyond the horizon.

5. Leading from Any Chair – allowing others (and yourself) to step into their unique greatness in the world, recognizing that there are great leaders everywhere. It’s all a question of “How much greatness are we willing to grant?”

6. Rule Number 6 – Don’t take yourself so g-damn seriously! Lighten up! Decide that you are not going to listen to the “calculating self” – the “self” that works to control other people and circumstances to give ourselves a boost; looking out for #1.

7. The Way Things Are - is the way things are! Presence without resistance to what is frees you to discover what is possible.

Being with the Way Things Are by clearing “Shoulds”

Being with the Way Things Are by closing the exits: escape, denial, blame Being with the Way Things Are by clearing judgments.

Being with the Way Things Are by distinguishing physical from conceptual reality

8. Giving Way to Passion – Giving way to the passionate

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