BOOK SUMMARY

All around the

world, every

hour of every

single day,

people are

finding their

“Element” – the

place where

what they love

to do, and

what they are

good at, come

together.

“Ahhhh....I love the smell of pleather

in the morning.”

When we see these people, the majority of us have a twinge of envy and wonder “why can’t life be that easy for “. While we are busy wondering this, the people who are in their Element are busy doing the thing that they love, and getting better and better in every waking moment.

am

Joe’s

fist

of rage

I

ME?

As Sir Ken Robinson would tell us,

This is a book about where to look

for your Element, and how to fight

against the forces that don’t want

you to find it.

“We can all find that magical place where time seems to fly by because we love what we do with every fiber of our being – if we only knew where to look...”

We are all blessed with talents and

abilities that if tapped, would allow us

to do so much more than we ever

thought possible. The first step

to being in the Element is to

find our own distinctive

talents. Although there

are many factors

c o n s p i r i n g

against us from

finding them,

you only

n e e d t o

look in the

mirror to find

the biggest......

Why finding the Element is so hard...

yourself

The first limitation we place on

ourselves is that we don’t

understand the full range of

our capacities. As Sir

Robinson says, “we are all

born with extraordinary

powers of imagination,

intelligence, feeling, intuition,

spirituality and of physical and

sensory awareness.” Most of us

haven’t found our Element

because we don’t understand

our own powers. After all, it’s

hard to tap into powers that

we don’t even know are there.

The second limitation is in understanding how these talents and capacities work together holistically. Our minds, bodies and our relationships with others are not independent operating systems that we can treat separately, because one has an impact on the other, which has an impact on the other, and so on. Understanding our holistic nature brings us one step closer to being in our Element.

Now that we know what’s standing in our way, let’s focus on the things that are necessary for us to find our Element.

Lastly, we don’t truly understand the human capacity for growth and change, now matter how many candles are on your birthday cake. Most people lament the fact that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and blame missed opportunities on things outside of their own control. How many times have you heard somebody in your life mutter that “Oh, I’m too old for that”. While there are some instances where this might be true, there are

infinitelymore where growth and opportunity await.

I Get It (Aptitude)

Unfortuntately, our society is set up to

look for and reward only one type of

intelligence – as if the SATs or other

standardized tests could be a good measure

for our aptitudes in becoming successful in

the world. But, as Robinson would tell you,

the question we should be asking is not

“how smart are you”, but rather, “how are you

smart”. Let me explain...

I Get It (Aptitude)

The book starts off with the story of a young girl who can’t seem to sit still in class and was a constant disruption. Even worse, she handed in her assignments late and had the worst handwriting on this side of the Atlantic. Her teachers and her parents were concerned – enough so that they decided that it would be best if Gillian be put in a school with children of special needs. They took little Gillian off to the psychiatrist for an assessment to confirm their hunch. What happened there was remarkable. At some point during the visit, the doctor turned on some music and then took Gillian’s mother out of the room. They watched from outside in amazement as Gillian got up and moved to the music gracefully, seemingly lost in the moment. The doctor turned to Gillian’s mother and said “You know, Mrs. Lynne. Gillian isn’t sick. She’s a dancer. Take her to dance school.” This story would be remarkable enough if it ended there. But as it turns out, Gillian Lynne went on to become one of the most celebrated dancers and choreographers of all time – helping create classics such as Phantom of the Opera and Cats with Andrew Lloyd Webber.

There are many types of intelligence beyond how well we can sit still in class and how well we do on math tests. In fact, Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner has identified many intelligences that we all possess:

These intelligences are pretty much independent of one another, and none more important than the other.

linguistic & musicalmathematical & spatial

kinesthetic & interpersonal intra-personal

Takealook into your own life

What aptitudes do you seem to have a natural ability for? Perhaps you were the

kid in class who could never seem to shut your mouth – maybe that was less

of a sign that you were a bad student and more of a sign that you had a

natural interpersonal intelligence? Maybe you were the kid who wanted nothing

else in the world but to lock yourself in a room and play the guitar – maybe that was less

of a sign that you were socially awkward and more of a sign that you had a strong

musical intelligence? The important thing here is to realize that no matter what

constraints the school system

or society seems to place on you, there is

more than one way to be intelligent, and if

you pay attention, you can find where

your intelligence is strongest. That’s where

you’ll most likely be “in” your Element.

That you should love what you do for a living isn’t a new concept. But platitudes alone aren’t

very helpful, so let’s explore how you can figure out what this means for you. Most people

make the mistake of deciding what they think they will love and then chasing that, rather than

understanding what they actually love. It’s hard to understate the impact that this has on

your life. Human beings are notoriously bad at guessing what will make them happy,

and deciding what you want to dedicate your life to is no exception. Perhaps you

may have been influenced by what your peers and family have done for

a living, and you see them living a lifestyle that you think you want,

and finally you decide that you should be a lawyer

too. What you don’t take into account is that for

most people, the day-to-day of

being a lawyer will

suck the life

out of

you.

passion(I Love It)

Instead of looking for what you think will make you happy, take a look at what you are doing in your spare time. When were in class and you were daydreaming, what were y o u d ay d re a m i n g about? When you should be doing your homework or complet ing those TPS reports, what are you doing instead? For P a u l McCartney, that thing was studying and playing rock music when he should have been doing his algebra homework. Music consumed his every thought, and he let it extend to his actions.

However, finding the thing that you love to do might not even be enough to figure out what will put you “in” your Element. The other thing you need to be on the lookout for is what Robinson (and every single sportscaster on the planet) would c a l l “ T h e Z o n e”. A s Robinson says , the Zone is deep within the heart of the Element. When we are in the Zone we get lost in the moment of whatever it is that we are doing. Time seems to stand stil l , although we can go for hours and have it feel like minutes. Without this euphoria to keep us going through all of the other “stuff” that comes along with doing what w e l o v e ( s t u d y i n g , prepping, etc), we will n e v e r l a s t . M o s t importantly, when you are in the zone you are doing whatever you are doing for it’s own sake.

INTO

YOUR

ZONE

DROP

(attitude)So you’ve found what you are good at, and you know what you love to do and what puts you in the Zone. However, we are only half of the way there. It seems trite to say this, but you have to really want this to be a permanent part of your life in order to succeed. For certain, you shouldn’t expect the entire world to line up and try to help you get to where you want to go. In fact, you’ll face three sources of resistance along the way:

I WANT IT

SOCIAL

Robinson calls these the:

three circles of constraints

PERSONAL

CULTURAL

First, get ready to face all sorts of resistance from the last person you’d expect to

receive it from: yourself. This shouldn’t be news to you. In fact, as you are working

your way through this summary, you’ve probably been listening to a voice in your

head telling you that “you shouldn’t be so foolish”, or “you’re not good enough to

do that”, or some other put down that would seem

devastating to you if it were coming from the lips of

somebody you love. It’s incredible how hard we are on

ourselves, without even noticing. You’ll have this

battle on a daily basis, and each and every one

of those days you are going to have to feel the

fear and do it anyways.

“Is someone frying bacon?”

“At least these pants make my ass look hard”

“Is this a good idea? Is it even original? Oh god, all the good ideas have already been taken. I knew it. This is a crap idea. I’m doomed.”

Wow, now that’s a pretty cool idea.

Even for me. Wait, what? Zero hits on Google? Can’t

Surely, if the other guys are pivoting their synergies, it must be right. We should copy them.

If I don’t say anything, maybe they won’t notice I’m here.

be. Must be something wrong with it. Legal? Ethical? Gotta be a reason. Who am

I kidding. I can’t invent anything new. I’m over the hill, didn’t go to school for this,

not paid enough. Really Gonzo, that’s the worst idea I’ve heard this month. No, wait,

this millennium. Knew I should’ve stayed in bed this morning.

Secondyou aren’t the only one who doesn’t want to see

yourself succeed. Everyone around you is going to have an opinion on your crazy dreams. Many times

these people can and will give you good advice. But on many occasions, and in this one in particular, you are

best advised to ignore them. One of the most common phrases you are likely to hear is “it’s for your own good”,

or “I’m only saying this because I love you”.

Take the example of Paulo Coelho, whose parents had him committed to a mental institution on three

separate occasions because he wanted to become a writer. You see, his parents believed that he had an

excellent future ahead of him as a lawyer and couldn’t have their beloved Paulo wasting his talents on

something as trivial as the arts. Luckily for Paulo and for the entire world he persevered even through this. He went on to write The Alchemist, which sold over 40 million copies worldwide and he became the best-

selling Portuguese language writer of all time.

Understanding these forces, and being willing to break through them, is critical if you want to find yourself

in your Element.

NEW MEMBERS ALWAYS WELCOME.

STUPIDEST OF ALL

STUPID IDEAS CLUB

Where is It? (Opportunity)

Where is the opportunity in this world? This is a question that all people in search of their Element must ask. There are two answers. The first answer is everywhere. People who find their Element are much more likely to be of the “glass half full” variety. In fact, Sir Ken Robinson himself had what many people would consider to be a crushing blow to their dreams when he was a child. Growing up in Liverpool, football wasn’t a pastime, it was a family passion. His family had aspirations for him to play professionally one day, and his talent seemed to match the dream. One day, however, he came home and was in so much pain that he couldn’t move. It turned out that he had Polio, and he never regained the use of his right leg. Some people might have viewed this as the end of a dream, but Robinson viewed it as the beginning of another. He found his Element in working in the creative and educational fields and through giving presentations around the world to groups of people who have been tasked with transforming those disciplines. People who find their Element are not more or less likely to come up against trials and tribulations in their lives. But they are more likely to find the good in these events.

The second answer is through finding your tribe. The culture and groups that we find ourselves in has a deep impact on what we perceive as acceptable behaviour. The culture and the groups you associate yourself with are for the most part things to be celebrated. However, they can also lead to “groupthink” – where the decision of the group is accepted at face value without any further exploration.

For instance, pale and pasty old men in Europe find it perfectly acceptable to parade up and down the beach wearing nothing more than a thong, while in North America he would be lucky if he weren’t arrested for indecent exposure. In most high schools around the world, being a male dancer would cast a death sentence on your social life. But find yourself attending the Julliard School and that same male dancer might find their social life taking a turn for the better, not to mention socially acceptable to work insanely hard at their craft.

`

Finding a tribe is finding a group of people with a common commitment to the thing they feel born to do. Once you find the one thing you feel born to do, find the tribe where doing that thing on a daily basis is something that is not only encouraged, but demanded from you. Of course, the demanding will do no good, because you’ll already be doing that thing before they have a chance to demand it anyways.

Tribe!ROK IT MON 24/7/365

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If you find yourself wondering what it would be like to absolutely love what you do for a living, and to find yourself lost in time everyday, this book is for you. This might be the most important book you ever read.