Top 27 Quotes & Sayings by Benjamin Zander

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.

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

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

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.

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

Imagine Martin Luther King saying, 'I have a dream ... But I don't know if the others will buy it.'

Life is revealed as a place to contribute and we as contributors. Not because we have done a measurable amount of good, but because that is the story we tell.

Live the rest of your life in possibility

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

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

I have a definition of success.

South Africa is a country built on possibility. Possibility lies in making a difference and creating value from a situation - without denying that certain issues exist.

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

I make myself a relentless architect of the possibilities of human beings.

If you make a mistake, celebrate.

My job is to awaken possibility in other people.

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.

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?"

It is the tuning of the universe... It's as if at the beginning of the symphony God turns up the volume just a tiny bit.

Who am I being that my players' eyes are not shining?

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

how absurd human beings are and how magnificent.

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.

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.

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.

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

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