Sir Ken Robinson's book: "The Element" is a book about finding your passion in life.
Don't be put off by the title, that sounds more like the discovery of some mystical chemistry compound, than the lyrical series of stories it tells about people - ordinary people who discover within themselves, extraordinary talents and gifts.
Sir Ken Robinson is a life force to be reckoned with - he has all the educational credentials (been there - a Professor in England's most prestigious universities, and done that), and is an internationally recognised leader in creativity, innovation, education and human capacity. He was knighted in 2003 for his contribution to education and the arts and in 2008 received the Benjamin Franklin Medal from the Royal Society of Arts, awarded to a global 'big thinker' who has energised public discourse about human progress. One of the best short clips you are ever likely to see on creativity is on youtube, from his TED lecture on creativity: http://www.ted.com/ or just google Ken Robinson.
Back to the book though ...... Robinson tells us story after story of people, who for all intents and purposes, were a little different from their families, their peers and for want of a better term, the 'norm'. Robinson contends, that all of us have unique gifts and talents; sometimes these gifts have been stymied by 'industrialised education' - we have had the creative juices sucked dry by old fashioned methods and attitudes to education. (my words...) Sadly for us educationalists, Robinson is somewhat disparaging of what we do to children through the educative process. (I should reassure readers, that this is not the case at my school!) He points out that some of the most brilliant, creative people he knows did not do well at school and most of them did not find out, who they really were 'until they had left school and recovered from their education.' A sad indictment indeed!
He tells the story of how Gillian Lynne's mother (and successive teachers) worried that she could not sit still at school and stay focused. As a last resort, her mother took her to a psychiatrist who told her, "You know, Mrs Lynne, Gillian isn't sick. She's a dancer. Take her to a dance school." Gillian Lynne went onto dance for the Royal Ballet School in London, and became a highly successful choreographer with Andrew Lloyd Webber, including 'Cats' and 'The Phantom of the Opera'.
Robinson tells story after story of people rejected initially for the one thing that they were to become famous for in the future: Paul McCartney was rejected by the choir of Liverpool Cathedral, John Cleese went through school and university where no teacher recognised he had a sense of humour. Creativity is like intelligence, we all have it, but sometimes we doubt our own abilities to the point where we no longer see or believe in our own intelligence and creativity. As Robinson points out: "when people say they're not creative, it's often because they don't know what's involved or how creativity works in practice."
Robinson claims that you can be creative at anything - not just in the arts, design or advertising, but also in science, maths, engineering, business, athletics - just about everything. It's all about recognising the 'unique powers of imagination'.
Key messages from Robinson's book for me:
- We can all be imaginative, if we step back and release our minds from the immediate here and now - we can hypothesise, speculate, suppose and conjecture. We can all do this!
- We sometimes need to find 'our tribe' - people with like interests and passions - they can be collaborators or competitors. What connects a tribe is a common commitment to the thing they feel they were born to do.
- Creativity is a step beyond imagination because it requires you to do something rather than lie around thinking about it.
- At some point, to achieve, we need to be 'in the zone'. Doing what we love does not necessarily mean that we will be 'in the zone', sometimes we have to develop our own ritual to get the creative juices flowing and these rituals, don't always work!
- You sometimes have to overcome extraordinary barriers to find your 'passion'; sometimes there are 'circles of constraint' - personal ones, social ones and cultural ones.... but don't give up on your dream! Overcoming our own demons and thinking, is the toughest battle.
- The Element is about transforming your life - a roadmap if you like - encouraging stories of how other ordinary folk have changed their lives by following their passion.
- Finally, it's never too late! Be inspired! Be committed! Follow through!
- FOLLOW YOUR PASSION!
Maybe reading books is not your thing, but this is one book everyone should read. If you want to be inspired, with a healthy helping of humour, with strategies to meet the challenge of inertia or self doubt; if you want to find your real passion or 'your element', then this is the book for you.
Or for the 'time poor' or those of you lacking motivation, try watching the youtube clip on my blog site. It's like the 'reader's digest' version of the full story.... maybe enough to tempt you to discover your own passion, or if you have discovered your own passion, to follow that dream and do something about it!
Good Luck!
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