Start with an A

May 9, 2007 by jacquie.

I’m reading the Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander. Ben’s story tells how he, as a professor, used a new approach to inspire Conservatory students to be the best they can be. His idea was this: Everyone gets an A. The students were instrumentalists and singers, the class was the Art of Performance. Ben wanted to eliminate competition and anxiety so that the students would be encouraged to play full out and take risks in order to discover their own unique gifts.

The only requirement was that each student had to write a letter during the first week of class, dated for the end of the course. That letter must describe why the student deserved the A he or she was going to get. They must write the letter as if the events, inspirations, and discoveries had already happened. This is a clever way to embody the adage: Start with the end in mind.

This view of the future is a mind trick we use in teaching the Law of Attraction. If I imagine the success of my new business five years in the future, I can use that vision now to help get me overcome the doubts that creep in. Yes, doubts creep in every day! Bummer. But when I think of the future I don’t get bummed:

When so many people tell their friends about my Secret of Success teleclasses that we have to purchase more conference lines, I am grateful, fulfilled, and joyful. Our  Promise Bracelets are so popular, we’ve engaged a whole village of silversmiths in Mexico to keep our supply flowing, thus creating consistent livelihood for these artisans, promise for the buyers, and income for us to do more good work. I read the many emails that tell us how people’s lives have changed since they listened to our podcast, read our blog, or took our class! I love thinking about all the people I get to know personally, who used to be just names of authors of books on my book shelves. Now I have lunch with them and talk about the latest trend in self growth and spiritual awareness so that we can help people succeed in all aspects of their lives.
Thinking about all those things is like getting an A in my own version of the Art of Performance. I can focus on that vision or I can get caught in the whirlpool of worry about how much I’m spending or how often I haven’t succeeded.  I can listen to that voice in my head that says I’m starting too late or I’m too shy or there are so many more experienced people trying to do the same thing – or I can be inspired by the possibilities I am sure to discover as I engage my enthusiasm about what we can accomplish.

One of the promises we make in our teleseminars is that once you are committed to your goal, you will be amazed at the doors that open for you. It’s happening every week for us and we couldn’t be happier!

Have courage. Promise yourself something wonderful!

© 2007, Jacqueline Hale

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