The Element

How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything

By: Ken Robinson Ph.D.

Narrated by: Ken Robinson Ph. D., Lou Aronica

Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the Element, they feel most themselves, most inspired, and achieve at their highest levels.

The Element draws on the stories of a wide range of people: Paul McCartney; The Simpsons creator Matt Groening; Meg Ryan; Gillian Lynne, who choreographed the Broadway productions of Cats and The Phantom of the Opera; journalist Arianna Huffington; renowned physicist Richard Feynman; and many others, including business leaders and athletes. It explores the components of this new paradigm: the diversity of intelligence, the power of imagination and creativity, and the importance of commitment to our own capabilities.

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 21st century.

©2008 Ken Robinson, Ph.D (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Motivating and persuasive, this entertaining and inspiring book will appeal to a wide audience." ( Publishers Weekly)
" The Element offers life-altering insights about the discovery of your true best self." (Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)

Very resourceful guide to confirm your element

The education system needs to transformed as the author suggests with plenty of evidence but it is also important that we, parents, plant our seeds of transformation and breaking the paradigm of static principles and inherited behavior. Excellent book magnificently crafted by Mr. Ken Robinson and team.

Brilliant!!

Thoughtfully curated, thoroughly entertaining, and superbly executed! I enjoyed every minute of this book and found it to be insightful and thought provoking.

Excellent for anyone, but especially teachers

I would recommend this to all teachers and school administrators. Sir Ken Robinson is spot on in his evaluation of our current education paradigm.

Good but not as I expected

Good stories to gain some perspective. However, I’ll rather stories and statistical facts combined. I think it was too much stories than facts.

Looking for meaning in your life?

Are you making lots of money but still feel like you're not doing anything significant in your life? Did you just graduate high school and not sure which major to take or if you should even go to college? Are you midway in college and feel like you're not in the right place? Then this book is for you. Or, if you're just feeling empty in general, listen to the audiobook.

A book everyone should read.

This is a book I am ready to start handing out at airports, as it eloquently articulates some of the fundamental socioeconomic issues of the Western World (particularly the US) due to our failing school system. He explains the problem is systemic — the entire schema of teaching in a top-down, industrialized, mass-production model that is so focused on teaching content is outmoded and irrelevant for today's economy, never mind tomorrow's. Educating kids in a way that is relevant and effective for them requires us to teach to the individual, not a standardized test — teaching them how to become life learners in areas that play to their strengths is the key.

The fact that he reads this himself adds a great deal, as he is a great speaker. Also hilarious.

Success Principles for Creatives

If you could sum up The Element in three words, what would they be?

education paradigm shift

What did you like best about this story?

The book is full of inspirational stories about people who have found themselves, or found their

Have you listened to any of Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica ???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I'm dying to listen to

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I think the opening story about Gillian Lynne, choreographer of Cats and Phantom of the Opera, set the tone perfectly for the rest of the book. I dare you to read that story without coming to tears.

Any additional comments?

Often authors shouldn't narrate their own books, but Ken Robinson, whom I first discovered through a TED Talk, lends a dynamism to his work that a third-party narrator probably wouldn't be able to capture.

Lots of anecdotes but short on specifics.

First, I found the narrator's voice grating and at some times difficult to decipher. The English accent required close concentration in some passages. Secondly, this read like a collection of success stories which, have a common theme; those who succeeded met a key mentor or connection that put them on a path to the Element. No formulas are offered on how the rest of us can get so lucky.

Nice! challenging the status quo

I found the examples in the book very helpful..My son will start school this year and I'm glad I read this book before that..

Eh...

I was phrase to follow my passion. So this was nothing new to me. This would be great for those that weren't raised that way.