The first stop on the BSO's 2023 European tour was Royal Albert Hall in London. At well over 5,000 seats it's one of the largest indoor concert halls I've ever played. (Boston's Symphony Hall seats 2,625.)  

It's my job to fill the hall with my playing — all the way to the very last seat in the house. But even the most glorious flute sound can seem pretty darn teensy in this giant space. 

In this huge hall, I'm required to handle a very specific challenge:

I've got to play BIG.

And — just like in life — “playing big” doesn't necessarily mean what we think it does.

In a vast acoustical space, it's tempting to force and push to be heard. The louder the better, right?

Not so fast.

Forcing makes the sound louder, sure. But it also gets tighter, more strident, and (ironically) smaller. It's like sending a tiny focused laser beam out into the audience.

This isn't very successful. And it's not particularly pleasant to listen to, either.

The better way — the way to truly fill the hall — is to allow my sound to expand, deepen, to become richer, more resonant, to let it multiply and magnify. I want my sound to fill the hall in all directions, 360 degrees.

This isn't easy. I have to start with a clear concept of the sound I want to create (and not be tempted by the “quick fix” of forcing.) Then I have to relax, expand my body and my mind, give my sound time and space to develop … and then let go and trust.

Playing big in life is a lot like this, too. When we step into a bigger space — a higher level of visibility, leadership, or risk taking — it's tempting to grip too hard, to become strident, to force and to push. It feels powerful, like we're rising to the occasion.

But in reality, we're shrinking.

Truly playing big in life asks us to release that tight grip on control. It asks us to develop ourselves, to visualize a deeper, richer, more expansive version of ourselves. And then to let go and trust.

Both/And

For me, I'll get to practice playing big in Royal Albert Hall.

I also get to practice as I continually ask myself to play even bigger in my coaching work. 

It turns out that if we choose, playing big can become a life-long practice. 

What about you? How does playing big fit into your life right now?

RESOURCE: Check out Tara Mohr's must-read book on this subject. While it's written for women, I know many other folks for whom it resonated just as well.