There is greatness in people all around us. I believe everyone has a capacity to be awesome. Often we expect to learn about being great from “greatness experts”. However, we can learn about stepping into our own greatness from others who have stepped into theirs – even though their greatness isn’t to be a greatness expert. Here are 3 principles for greatness from a surprising source – a music conductor.
The principles outlined here come from a TED talk given by music conductor, Benjamin Zander. Go ahead and watch the video now if you’d like.
Trust
The first principle comes from Benjamin Zander telling everyone that he had no doubt in his mind that before he was done everyone would appreciate and understand classical music. His words were, “It’s one of the characteristic of a leader that he not doubt, for one moment, the capacity of the people he’s leading to realize whatever he’s dreaming.”
When we step into our calling, often we are the one’s leading the charge. We are the expert, the visionary. When we share our vision, we need to trust that others will catch on and make our vision come true.
Focus
When we pursue something about which we are passionate, and we are changing our family, our community, and the world, we need to focus on the destination. Benjamin Zander said, “Stop thinking about every single note along the way and start thinking about the long line from B to E.”
There will be a lot of little steps along the way but we need to keep our eyes on the destination. Otherwise we are likely to get stuck at one of the steps.
Another way to look at this is that we need to focus on the solution rather than the problem.
When we pursue our calling, we need to keep focused on the results we are producing in the world. We can be involved in a lot of activity, but activity often doesn’t equal results.
Others
I loved Benjamin Zander’s story at the end about realizing that the conductor doesn’t make a sound. This realization seems so obvious to us, but often we are so close to the situation that we don’t see clearly.
Benjamin Zander said, “The conductor’s power comes from making other people powerful.” Then he goes on to explain, “My job is to awaken possibility in other people,” and “If their eyes are shiny, you know you’re doing it.”
When we pursue our calling, it’s not about us. In a sense it’s about us in that we bring our strengths and our passions everywhere we go. But in the end, success is measured by how we have influenced others.
The key question here from Benjamin Zander is, “Who am I being that my player’s eyes aren’t shining.”
Who are we being that we aren’t having the impact or influence that we want in the world?
