Give Yourself an "A"

6/13/2015

The book, The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life, includes concepts and engaging supporting examples to help you move from anxiety and narrow-mindedness to living a more joyful and fulfilling life.

Some of these concepts you'll find familiar (such as actively practicing not taking yourself so seriously) to some you may have not considered.

Giving an "A" refers to an experiment where Benjamin Zander (one of the authors of the book and a conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra as well as a workshop leader and professor at the New England Conservatory of Music) decided to give his highly talented and ambitious students an "A" for the course as long as they met one requirement.

Here's the requirement as outlined by Benjamin to his students:

"Sometime in the next two weeks, you must write me a letter dated next May, which begins with the words, 'Dear Mr. Zander, I got my A because...,' and 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 is in line with this extraordinary grade." (p.27)

He decided on this controversial action in order to help his students move through the common obstacle of not taking risks because they were anxious to do well and not fail. Yet, this was the road to mediocrity; for with no risk-taking, a person could never achieve mastery nor personal greatness--this is gained only through stretching beyond what one feels they can accomplish.

In another chapter of this book, Benjamin reveals he also applied the underlying concept of this method to himself to help him move through a challenging situation he was having with a member of his orchestra.

You'll need to read the book to discover what comes out of his implementation of this practice...

In the meantime, try his method of giving an "A" to yourself, your students, or your children. Something you might consider impossibly wonderful may just happen!

***
A lover of exploring possibility, Kathryn V. White's most recent book is Rumble Tumble Joy: A Journey for Healing, Inspiration, and Wholeness. Find out more at: www.kathrynVwhite.com

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Author

Kathryn V. White is an author and artist who dreams of rousingly playing a djembe in a drum circle.

Two of my books are finalists in the 2014 Wishing Shelf Book Awards! Click on the below book covers to learn more.

Rumble Tumble Joy book reviews: San Francisco Book Review (4 star) & Story Circle Book Reviews (4 star).

2020 Juried Exhibit at the Washington State History Museum

Kathryn's collage, "Resonating Truth" has been juried into a show at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, Washington. The exhibit runs from April 9 to August 20, 2020.

2019 - 2020 Juried Traveling Art Exhibit in Virginia

Kathryn's papercutting plus collage "Summer Interlude" has been juried into a traveling show. The exhibit runs September 9, 2019 to December 8, 2019 at Gallery 3700 in Arlington, Virginia and from December 17, 2019 to February 18, 2020 at Westover Library in Arlington, Virginia.

2019 Juried Exhibit at the Washington State Convention Center

Kathryn's large collage "When I'm Gone, Who Will Remember Me?" has been juried into a show at the Washington State Convention Center's Phyllis Lamphere Gallery. The exhibit runs January 12, 2019 to March 31, 2019.

Poetry On Buses
Kathryn's poem, The Sound Soothes, was selected for the 2017 Poetry on Buses: Your Body of Water Program and is a part of the online collection! Click here to read it!

2018 Juried Exhibit at the Rosehill Community Center

*Three of Kathryn's collages have been juried into an exhibit at the Rosehill Community Center in Mukilteo, WA from April 3 through June 24, 2018. "Phoenix" won the Northwest Collage Society's prestigious Eleanor Wolters Smith Memorial Award.

2017 SOLO SHOW at the University Business Center

*20 of Kathryn's artworks were on exhibit in a solo show from October 16 through December 7, 2017 at the University Business Center's Gallery 4500 in Seattle's U-District.

2017 Juried Exhibit at Seattle City Hall
Kathryn's collage, "Welcome to My Universe" was juried into the exhibit, "Hot Town: Summer in the City" at the Seattle City Hall in downtown Seattle that ran from July 7 through August 30, 2017.

2017 Juried Exhibit at Seattle University
Kathryn had a large collage, "Broadway at Times Square" juried into the 2017 Search for Meaning Art Exhibition (part of the Search for Meaning Book Festival) from February 16 to 25, 2017 at Seattle University's Vachon Gallery.

2017 Juried Exhibit at Cascadia Art Museum
Kathryn had a collage, "Indra's Net" juried into the exhibit, "Collaged Impressions of the Northwest Social Realism and the American Scene 1930 to 1950" that ran January 19 to March 26, 2017 at the Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds, WA.

2017 Exhibit at Dreamclinic
Kathryn had 10 artworks exhibited from January through April 12, 2017 at Dreamclinic in Seattle's Roosevelt neighborhood.

BUY ART:
Kathryn's art is available as fine art prints. Click here to find out more.

Kathryn’s quotes

"You have everything when you embrace the full circle of life."— Kathryn V. White

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