Brian Johnson explores Ken Robinson's concept of the element: where your passion meets your talent. Robinson's TED talk popularized this idea, which builds on Frederick Buechner's thinking about callings. Johnson asks you to identify your own element and someone else's, arguing it matters for your life and for the future.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. A couple plus ones ago we pondered Frederick Buchner's wisdom on callings. Recall that he once wrote, the kind of work God usually calls you to do is the kind of work A, that you need most to do and B that the world most needs to have done. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and and the world's deep hunger meet. Did you plus one your clarity on that place where God's calling you? Now, that wisdom reminds me of Sir Ken Robinson's book the Element. We actually talked about it a year ago in the context of you and your genius, but I think it's worth coming back to. So here we are. As you may know, Sir Ken is one of the world's leading thinkers on creativity and education. He has one of the most popular TED talks ever. In fact, over 50 million people have watched his talk. Do Schools Kill Creativity? We've got that linked in the plus one. Now. Ken tells us that he wants to offer a richer version of human ability and creativity and of the benefits to us all of connecting properly with our individual talents and passions. He coined the phrase the element to describe the place where the things we love to do and the things we are good at come together. And he tells us that he believes it is essential that each of us finds his or her element, not simply because it will make us more fulfilled, but because as the world evolves, the very future of our communities and institutions will depend on it. That's today's one. Time for some more reflection. Two parts. Part one. Let's start with you. What do you love to do and what are you good at? Where do they come together? Are you in it? If yes, high fives. And go deeper. If not quite, how can you get a little more in it? That's part one. Part two. Let's move on to a loved one. What do they love to do and what are they good at? Where do they come together? That's their element. Are they in it? If yes, high fives and encourage them to go deeper. If not quite, how can you encourage them to get a little more in it? Let's remember I quote again. It is essential that each of us find his or her element, not simply because it will make us more fulfilled, but because as the world evolves, the very future of our communities and institutions will depend on it.
