A book I would recommend everyone read is "The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything." The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. In this book, world renowned creativity expert, Ken Robinson considers the child who is bored in class, the disillusioned employee and those of us who feel frustrated but can't explain why - and shows us we all need to reach our Element.
Through the stories of people like Paul McCartney, Arianna Huffington and Richard Branson, who have recognised their unique talents and made a successful living doing what they love, Robinson explains how every one of us can find ourselves in our Element, and achieve everything we're capable of.
Below is an excerpt that really resonated with me, given that this year I have found myself doing a job that has nothing to do with my Element (for the first time in my life) and hence have made it a priority to ensure that I incorporate my passions into my every day life in other ways.
Robinson says:
"Finding the Element is essential to a balanced and fulfilled life. It can also help us to understand who we really are. These days, we tend to identify ourselves by our jobs. The first question at parties and social gatherings is often, "What do you do?" We dutifully answer with a top-line description of our professions: "I'm a teacher," "I'm a designer," "I'm a driver." If you don't have a paid job, you might feel somewhat awkward about this and find the need to give an explanation. For so many of us, our jobs define us, even to ourselves - and even if the work we do does not express who we really feel we are. This can be especially frustrating when your job is unfulfilling. If we're not in our Element at work, it becomes even more important to discover that Element somewhere else.
To begin with, it can enrich everything else you do. Doing the thing you love and that you do well for even a couple of hours a week can make everything else more palatable. But in some circumstances, it can lead to transformations you might not have imagined possible.
Khaled Hosseini immigrated to America in 1980, got a medical degree in the 1990's, and set off on a career practicing internal medicine in the Bay Area. In his heart, though, he knew he wanted to be a writer and that he wanted to tell the story of life in Afghanistan prior to the Soviet invasion. While continuing his medical practice, he began to work on a novel about two boys growing up in Kabul. That novel became The Kite Runner, a book that has sold more than four million copies and generated a film.
Hosseini's pursuit of his most intense interests, even while he was working hard at another profession, transformed him in profound ways. The success of The Kite Runner has allowed him to go on an extended sabbatical from medicine and to concentrate on writing full-time."
"Whether or not we can spend most of our time in our Element, its essential for our well being that we connect with our true passions at some way and at some point. More and more people are doing this through formal and informal networks, clubs and festivals to share and celebrate common interests. Personal happiness comes as much from the emotional and spiritual fulfillment that this can bring as from the material needs we meet from the work we may have to do."
It is a great read that encourages you to enhance creativity and innovation by thinking differently about yourself and inspires you to reconnect with your true self.
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