Finding Your Element
Ken Robinson made his name arguing that education systems train children out of the creative capacities they were born with, and this book turns that critique into a practical guide for adults. He defines the Element as the meeting point of talent and passion, the place where doing something well and loving it coincide, and lays out exercises to help readers locate it. The chapters work through recognizing aptitudes, distinguishing them from passing interests, understanding the difference between attitude and circumstance, and navigating the tribes and mentors that pull the Element into focus. Robinson draws on interviews with people across creative and technical fields, from musicians and mathematicians to firefighters and chefs, to show that the Element is not the same as being famously talented. The book is meant as a companion to The Element and works equally well on its own as a slower, exercise-driven read.
What you might want to know about Finding Your Element
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Sir Ken Robinson turns his TED talk on schools killing creativity into a workbook for finding the intersection of what you love and what you are good at.
Shetty has cited Robinson and this book in his coaching and in On Purpose interviews as one of the clearest practical frameworks for the purpose-and-passion work that runs through his own writing.
No. Finding Your Element is written to stand on its own, and readers often start here for the workbook structure and then move to The Element for the underlying argument.
Finding Your Element was written by Ken Robinson, published in 2013 by Viking.
Finding Your Element is 288 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Finding Your Element takes most readers 4 to 6 hours to finish.
Finding Your Element is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.