Benjamin Zander, in his TED talk "On Music and Passion," was fun to watch as listen to. He made some incredible points in the little talk he gave, and the underlying message I received was that if you love something, if you have passion for it, and if you can give others a glimpse into that passion, you will give people more meaning in their lives and introduce them to a passion that may well become their own. Your passion, or lack of it, will infect other people. They can't help it. I don't think everyone in Zander's audience came to LOVE classical music that night, but they had a very positive experience with it for certain, and they are much more likely to listen to it again and be open to having a similar experience, even without Zander's guidance. And that means that someday it could become a passion of theirs, simply because their understanding was opened and they were shown that classical music can be fun, it can be humorous, and it can be touching.
Thinking about this in a leadership aspect, especially related to council, I'll quote Zander by saying, "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."
The ideas we have are important. More important is that we are not doing things just to be doing them, but that we are doing things we are passionate about in order to create passion in those we desire to lead, those we desire to follow us. The why of what we do is incredibly important. Is it to help students? Is it to bring them joy, efficient means of completing their education, or the resources to discover what they love and desire to to as a career?
In our rolls on council we are not the ones "creating the music" of living. As students, we are. But as leaders, we are conductors, just like Zander. We do not make sound--we listen for where there is no harmony and strengthen that area. We direct the orchestra, we bring it all together, and sometimes we "appear on CD covers." We contribute to the whole, we are not the whole.
Speaking of a conductor, Zander said, "He depends...on his ability to make other people powerful." This is our calling; to empower the students of the Humanities to make their own music. We can't be there in each one of their lives playing the notes, but we can direct them in this small aspect, for this time, creating together the beautiful music that living with passion makes in this world.
Here's to my father, for encouraging me always to discover what I'm passionate about and, once I found it, for supporting me in my pursuit of happiness so I can join in the symphony of those around me.
