Benjamin Zander Quotes

The conductor of an orchestra doesn’t make a sound. He depends, for his power, on his ability to make other people powerful.

My job [is] to awaken possibility in other people. If their eyes are shining, you know you're doing it. If they're not shining you get to ask this question: "Who am I being that my children's eyes are not shining?"

I have a definition of success. For me it's very simple. It's not about wealth and fame and power. It's about how many shining eyes I have around me.

In the measurement world, we set a goal and strive to achieve it. In the universe of possibility, we set the context and let life unfold.

When you make a mistake, throw your hands in the air and say "How fascinating!"

This is the moment — this is the most important moment right now. Which is: We are about contribution. That’s what our job is. It’s not about impressing people. It’s not about getting the next job. It’s about contributing something.

It’s one of the characteristics of a leader that he not doubt for one moment the capacity of the people he’s leading to realize whatever he’s dreaming. Imagine if Martin Luther King had said, ‘I have a dream. Of course, I’m not sure they’ll be up to it.

Throw yourself into life as someone who makes a difference, accepting that you may not understand how or why.

The job of the leader is to speak to the possibility.

The major difference between the 'best' and the 'average' is that the 'best' get as much pleasure from practice as performance.

My job is to awaken possibility in other people.

Everybody loves classical music they just don't know about it yet.

Look at their eyes. If their eyes are shining, you know you're doing it.

As leaders, we're giving out grades in every encounter we have with people. We can choose to give out grades as an expectation to live up to, and then we can reassess them according to performance. Or we can offer grades as a possibility to live into. The second approach is much more powerful.

I'm so sorry for you; your lives have been so easy. You can't play great music unless your heart's been broken.

It's not a question of how much power you can hoard for yourself, but how much you can give away.

How often do we stand convinced of the truth of our early memories, forgetting that they are assessments made by a child? We can replace the narratives that hold us back by inventing wiser stories, free from childish fears, and, in doing so, disperse long-held psychological stumbling blocks.