The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything
Written by Lou Aronica and Ken Robinson, Ph.D.
Narrated by Ken Robinson, Ph.D.
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
With a wry sense of humor, Ken Robinson looks at the conditions that enable us to find ourselves in the Element and those that stifle that possibility. He shows that age and occupation are no barrier and that once we have found our path, we can help others do so as well. The Element shows the vital need to enhance creativity and innovation by thinking differently about human resources and imagination. It is an essential strategy for transforming education, business, and communities to meet the challenges of living and succeeding in the twenty-first century.
Lou Aronica
Lou Aronica has coauthored multiple New York Times bestsellers, including The Element and Finding Your Element. His other titles include the USA Today bestseller The Forever Year and national bestsellers When You Went Away, The Journey Home, Anything, and Blue. A long-time publishing industry veteran, Aronica is the cofounder of The Story Plant and a past president of Novelists, Inc. He is a father of four and lives with his wife in southern Connecticut.
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Reviews for The Element
73 ratings21 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book made my reading list because it was on a list of books recommended to change your life, or a similar promise. Perhaps this would be true if I were reading it at age 19, but I suspect that most people of my age have encountered Robinson's themes previously. I recall as a teenager having Dr. Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking thrust upon me by my parents, who apparently thought I was mired in teen negativity. Imagine that! In the intervening years, I've had exposure to finding my "zone", the "artist's way", and myriad programs of workplace creativity-inspiring. And yet, I still can't definitively label my particular element. There are numerous activities I enjoy, and a few I even do well, but nothing I could accurately describe as an overriding passion.
Most of Robinson's success stories involve people who found their element seemingly by chance. I'm left to wonder what happens to the would-be dancer who is never taken to the ballet studio and thus never discovers this latent gift? Robinson doesn't address that, although he does give examples of people who find a passion later in life, or in a unorthodox context.
I spent most of the book also wondering who would drive the garbage trucks if everyone is out looking for their creative element. Surely some tasks are necessary but unlikely to elicit much passion. Zen Buddhists tackle this reality by urging mindfulness and reverence when performing every task, no matter how mundane. But Robinson doesn't seem to be coming from the "be here now" school of thought. However, he does indirectly address the question in a section titled "for love or money," noting that some people pursue their passion as a hobby while working a job to pay the bills.
Robinson's stories are engaging and inspirational, and every now and then even those of us in our middle years can benefit by renewed attention to this question of, "what are my dreams and am I pursuing them?"1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This book is really just his opinions on this topic for he only uses anecdotes to support his points. While it was uplifting at points it also felt long and drawn out. It was interesting hearing about the famous people who were having a hard time in school only to find their calling later in life. (He does a lot of school bashing) While this is not a self help book he does explore what is involved in finding your element and valuing the pursuit of it in others. There are better books on this topic.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Quite an insightful book when to comes to fulfillment in regard to roles played by creativity, education, and mentorship in a person’s life.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ken Robinson is a well known speaker, author and international speaker for the arts. He has done many talks dealing with education and living a fulfilled life. The Element is yet another example of his work and passion. When reading this book I felt I could hear him speaking just like I had seen on many video clips. What he said in his book made so much sense to me in that he truly highlighted how a person playing to their passion makes all the difference to not only their own lives but also to how easily performing all the relevant tasks for the job comes for them. To further highlight this Ken used examples of many different celebrities and how they found their element. Whilst it was good to have these examples the proliferation of them became a bit annoying and detracted from the overall feel of the book. In spite of this though it is still a worthwhile read for anybody and especially for those who are trying to find where their passion is.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love this book! It is SO inspiring. I think everyone should read this at some point in their life. It is never too late to make a difference with your life.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Even in Portuguese (only version found in Portugal) , Ken Robinson knows what to say and the examples he give in here are something to consider.
Very Recomendable book - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A much needed perspective on education and raising our children to be individuals who not only believe in their dreams are possible but have the encouragement to pursue them. A must read!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book was a disappointment to me. It was filled with inspiring stories about people who had found their passion/life's work against the odds, but the book had no direction or advice about finding what that passion is (some of us need a little help in that area). Then, after multiple chapters of inspiring stories, the book launches into a discussion on educational reform, then to environmental issues and finally to population statistics. While informative (and depressing) I'm not sure what exactly that has to do with finding your life's work or playing to your strengths (unless education/the environment/population issues ARE your passion). Nice book, important information but not the correct forum/vehicle.Recommended for someone who is well aware of his/her strengths and passions but needs a push to go for it. Skip chapter 11 and the afterword unless global/educational issues are of interest to you.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Cute stories; extraordinarily little substance
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Yet another "find your passion/do what you love" book, which makes a case for the importance of doing something you're passionate about (duh!), but with little advice on how to go about doing it. This one adds a deserved dig at our educational system.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is not the usual type of thing that I read but I picked it up in the library on a whim. Dr. Robinson explains that those who do what they love are happier in life, no surprises there. He then goes on to give multiple examples of people who have had great success in life after doing poorly in school. The point being that schools do not do a good job of developing talents outside of math, science, and reading. While I agree with Dr. Robinson’s assessments, once he made them he really had no where else to go so he kept making them in different ways. The book was relatively short but I got bored with it about half way through, once I got the main point it became somewhat depressing to hear about people doing what they loved and making a living at it. All in all it wasn't a bad book and Dr. Robinson injected a good bit of humor throughout. Bizarrely, some of his writing reminded me of Douglas Adams.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great stuff - esential reading for all kids in grade 8, teachers and teachers administrators, and policy makers
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inspiring book, as was his TED talk. Easy to read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If you've ever heard Ken Robinson's famous Ted talk, The Element is pretty familiar ground. To some extent, it is an elaboration of that talk. Robinson stresses the importance of creativity and how schools systematically sap creativity out of students. The book is sprinkled with interviews with celebrities, scholars, authors, and the like. I really didn't learn anything new from the book, but Robinson does a good job making his case. He doesn't really outline much specific in terms of educational practices, but he does pose the problem to us. Robinson asks: how do we harness our creativity to face the challenges we face as a society? In that sense, the Element raises what is perhaps the single most important topic of our age.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5For anyone who has seen Ken Robinson's TED talk, some of the anecdotes in this book will sound familiar. The book is full of stories about men and women who have found their element, their passion. It offers advice on how to find your own element, as well as the obstacles that keep us from it. I was particularly interested in the section on standardized testing. I have been an opponent of standardized tests for a long time, and I have rarely heard a better argument against them. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to help guide a child (or themselves) toward a more fulfilling life.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Good audiobook. There's so much I liked about it. The part about lucky people and unlucky people really struck a cord with me. I've always seen myself as an unlucky person, and I've been working on replacing negative thoughts with positive ones & toward becoming a less negative and more agreeable person. The stories of how some people have overcome tragedies & have gone on to find their element are truly inspiring. I recommend this.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great read on why it’s important to explore our interests and find the things we love and how we can foster the same in others.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If you've ever found yourself sitting in a classroom wondering what in the heck you were doing there, this book offers 260 pages of pure encouragement.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book should be mandatory reading in schools and companies, for everybody in them.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Always great to hear sir ken Robinson . Loved every bit
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rating: 3.5 of 5The Element was an inspirational introduction to Robinson's concept the Element which is "the place where the things we love to do and the things we are good at come together." Filled with with examples of how successful people discovered their own Element it's a great jumping off point for those who know in their gut something just isn't right in their life and they want to change that. But you won't find any how-to or exercises for finding your own Element. For that sort of stuff you'll have to read Robinson's other book, Finding Your Element.Quotes that jumped out at me:"What is true is that if you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original (p. 15).""The Element has two main features, and there are two conditions for being in it. The features are aptitude and passion. The conditions are attitude and opportunity. The sequence goes something like this: I get it; I love it; I want it; Where is it? (p.22)""You can think of creativity as applied imagination (p. 67)." Imagination is internal; creativity is actually doing something with that imagination."Activities we love fill us with energy even when we are physically exhausted. Activities we don't like can drain us in minutes, even if we approach them at our physical peak of fitness...When people place themselves in situations that lead to their being in the zone, they tap into a primal source of energy. They are literally more alive because of it (p.93).""It turns out, " Dr. Henry Lodge says, "that 70% of American aging is not real aging. It's just decay. It's rot from the stuff that we do. All the lifestyle diseases...the diabetes, the obesity, the heart disease, much of the Alzheimer's, lots of the cancers, and almost all of the osteoporosis, those are all decay. Nature doesn't have that in store for any of us. We go out and buy it off the rack. (p.197)"