Dwayne,
The
statement the authors made “Fill free to use the whole sheet of paper”
completely shifted this seemingly impossible puzzle and created a way to solve
it using outside of the box thinking. I think your analysis of this was spot on
and we really do need to remind ourselves that its ok to use the whole paper.
The idea of
measuring our talents, skills, and knowledge levels against our peers, family
and friends is something that apparently is an innate characteristic we all
seem to have. Maybe it is because this measuring allows us to make ourselves
better at what we are trying to improve on, so when we see someone that has
done a pretty good job of it, we try to surpass that bar we have set for
ourselves. Its funny about your son asking if he was better than his friend,
this is something we have all done, but this book kind of makes you look at the
idea of comparison a little differently.
The Art of
Possibility raises the notion that it is important to teach and learn to the
whole person not just one perspective. Zander teaches a music course but it
becomes so much more than that and he really teaches his students to focus on
their whole being, which is why this book makes such a compelling read. Great
post and analysis of the reading.
Amanda
Chapter 1 - “It’s All Invented Anyways”
The idea that jumped out at me during this chapter was to enlarge the box. In doing so, new opportunities appear. I love the illustration that he gave of the nine dots in the shape of a box. In the instructions, It said to connect the dots with four straight lines without taking the pen from the paper within the square framed by the outer dots. There is really no way to complete this problem. It is impossible to connect all four dots with four straight lines. I believe sometimes in our creativity, we are confined by limitations and rules that others or ourselves have put upon us. We kill our creativity this way. Sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to rewrite the rules just as was done in his illustration. By simply altering the phrase and inserting, “Fill free to use the whole sheet of paper”, it then gave you the ability to complete the task. Sometimes we need to allow ourselves to use the whole paper.
Chapter 2 – “Stepping Into A Universe of Possibility”
Measurement – It is amazing how we measure our lives, our goals, our finances, and our relevance to those around us. The author stated, “We grow up in a world of measurement, and in this world, we get to know each other and things by measuring them, and by comparing and contrasting them.” Even tonight as I took my son to the ball field to practice baseball, we met up with a young friend of his. They both took turns batting and throwing and they had a great time together. On the way out, all my son wanted to find out from me was “Did he throw better than his friend? Did he hit better than his friend? Who did I think was a better player?” My mind went back to reading this chapter. Sometimes we just need to let life unfold. We don’t need to measure ourselves all of the time against others. We need to self-evaluate on our own strengths and weaknesses and set goals for ourselves.
Chapter 3 – “Giving An A”
I love when the author talked about training young musicians from early childhood urging them to be “extraordinary technical masters” and encouraging them to “develop good practice habits”. He explains that it is dangerous to have musicians so concerned with competition because they will find it hard to take risks with themselves to become outstanding musicians. I love the quote that he gave from the cellist, Graspar Cassado, “I am so sorry for you; your lives have been so easy. You can’t play great music unless your heart has been broken. An A is not an expectation to live up to, but a possibility to live into.
Chapter 4 – “Being A Contribution”
I love when the author asked his music class to write down how they contributed over the past week. He did not want them writing about how they contributed musically. He wanted things such as, “Did they help an old lady cross the street? Or did they set their boyfriend straight?” He wanted the student to look deeper, to look into themselves. The contributions on paper grew each week because the students became more aware of them. He had the students describe what contributions they had in the week ahead. Like the author said, “Like a pebble into a pond, and imagine that everything that they do sends ripples out beyond the horizon.” The author is truly challenging us to become a contributor. Rewards of a contributor are an extremely deep and rewarding.
I agree with your statement about this book being applicable to life, I can definitely appreciate that. I want to look up the book you mentioned Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. It’s great when you find a book that can really speak to you.
Your comment “We must expand our thinking to eliminate problems and create opportunities.” does a great job in summing up this book by what we have read thus far.
The idea of grades is such a touchy subject especially because of how much weight grades actually carry when it comes to "being successful". We make such a big deal out of grades and focus less about the improvement that is really taking place, which I believe is the ultimate accomplishment.