1. Afterword
1.1. The core principles of the element are rooted in a wider, organic conception of human growth and development
1.2. Current view is mechanistic
1.3. Human organisations are more organic
1.4. Climate crisis
1.5. The other climate crisis
1.5.1. Self inflicted physical illness from bad nutrition and eating disorders
1.5.2. Over medication
1.5.3. Suicides
1.5.4. Growth of cities
1.6. Aiming high
1.6.1. Death Valley
1.6.1.1. Flowers
1.6.1.2. Rain
1.6.2. Michaelangelo - "The greatest danger for most of us is not that we aim too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it"
2. 11
2.1. Making the grade
2.1.1. Too many think they are not good at anything
2.1.2. Branson
2.1.3. Finding our element is essential for us as individuals and for the well being of our communities
2.1.4. Education should be one of the processes to take us towards the Element
2.1.5. Too often it serves the opposite function
2.1.6. What are we going to do about this?
2.1.7. This looked-down-upon thing
2.1.7.1. Rails against
2.1.7.1.1. Hierarchy of disciplines
2.1.7.1.2. Conformity has a higher value than diversity
2.1.7.2. Conformity or creativity
2.1.7.2.1. Public education puts relentless pressure on students to conform
2.1.7.2.2. Created in the image of industrialism
2.1.7.2.3. Factory culture
2.1.7.2.4. Standard units
2.1.7.2.5. Bells
2.1.7.2.6. Batched by age
2.1.7.2.7. Standardised tests
2.1.7.2.8. Benefits and successes
2.1.7.2.9. Drawbacks
2.1.7.2.10. The rise of the graduate
2.1.7.2.11. Reforming education
3. 10
3.1. For love or money
3.1.1. For the love of it
3.1.1.1. Amateur
3.1.1.1.1. Not necessarily amateurish
3.1.1.1.2. The Pro-Am revolution
3.1.1.1.3. Professional
3.1.1.2. Transformation
3.1.1.2.1. If we're not in our element at work it becomes even more important to discover that element somewhere else
3.1.1.2.2. Finding the Element is essential to a balanced and fulfilled life
3.1.1.2.3. The kite runner
3.1.1.2.4. Room to read
3.1.1.3. Beyond leisure
3.1.1.3.1. Leisure is a break
3.1.1.3.2. Recreation
3.1.1.3.3. Scientific study of happiness
3.1.1.3.4. The element won't make you rich
4. 8
4.1. Somebody help me
4.1.1. Polio
4.1.2. The life-changing connection
4.1.3. Mentors
4.1.3.1. Roles
4.1.3.1.1. 1
4.1.3.1.2. 2
4.1.3.1.3. 3
4.1.3.1.4. 4
4.1.3.2. More than heros
4.1.3.2.1. They show us the next steps and encourage us to take them
5. 7
5.1. Do you feel lucky?
5.1.1. The element is also a matter of attitude
5.1.2. It's not what happens to us that determines our lives-it's what we make of what happens
5.1.3. Attitude and aptitude
5.1.3.1. Luck
5.1.3.2. All the people have taken an active role in "getting lucky"
5.1.3.3. Luck Factor
5.1.3.4. One way of opening ourselves up to new opportunities is to make conscious efforts to look differently at out ordinary situations
5.1.3.5. Ability to reframe
5.1.3.5.1. Vidal Sassoon
5.1.3.5.2. Brad Zdanivsky
6. 9
6.1. Is it too late?
6.1.1. Susan Jeffers
6.1.1.1. Floating hospital
6.1.1.2. Wrote book
6.1.2. Paul Potts
6.1.3. Extra middle age
6.1.3.1. 35-50
6.1.4. One of the most basic reasons for thinking that it's too late to be who you are truly capable of being is the belief that life is linear
6.1.4.1. Ridley Scott
6.1.4.1.1. Commercials
6.1.4.1.2. TV
6.1.4.1.3. Cinema
6.1.5. Human lives are organic and cyclical
6.1.5.1. Multiple opportunities for new growth and development
6.1.5.2. Benjamin Franklin developed bifocals at 78
6.1.6. Look after yourself physically
6.1.6.1. exercise
6.1.6.2. nutrition
6.1.7. Keeping things plastic
6.1.7.1. Multiple languages
6.1.7.2. Keep your brain active
6.1.7.3. Insight arrives with age
6.1.8. Engaged forever
6.1.8.1. Grace Living Centres
6.1.8.1.1. Kindergarten
6.1.8.1.2. Home
6.1.8.2. Western idea of keeping generations apart is a failure
6.1.9. There's time
7. 2
7.1. Think differently
7.1.1. Mick Fleetwood
7.1.1.1. "my parents saw that the light in this funny little creature certainly wasn't academics"
7.1.2. Taking it all for granted
7.1.2.1. Key element
7.1.2.1.1. We need to challenge what we take for granted about our abilities and the abilities of other people
7.1.2.2. Senses
7.1.2.2.1. An enemy of creativity and innovation is common sense
7.1.2.2.2. 5 regular
7.1.2.2.3. Intuition
7.1.2.2.4. Balance
7.1.2.2.5. Temperature
7.1.2.2.6. Pain
7.1.2.2.7. Vestibular sense
7.1.2.2.8. Kinesthetic
7.1.2.3. Athletes
7.1.2.4. Gymnasts
7.1.3. How intelligent are you?
7.1.3.1. 1-10 scale
7.1.3.1.1. Survey of hands
7.1.3.2. Common sense view
7.1.3.2.1. Fixed intelligence
7.1.3.2.2. At the heart of the education system
7.1.3.2.3. Underpins testing industry
7.1.3.2.4. Dominates college entrance exams
7.1.3.2.5. Foundation of IQ concept
7.1.3.2.6. Back to greece
7.1.3.3. History of IQ
7.1.3.3.1. Binet
7.1.3.3.2. Terman
7.1.3.3.3. Stanford
7.1.3.3.4. IQ matter of life and death
7.1.3.4. Standardised tests
7.1.3.4.1. SATs
7.1.4. How are you intelligent
7.1.4.1. The right question
7.1.4.2. There are a variety of ways to express intelligence and no one scale could ever measure this
7.1.4.3. Three features of human intelligence
7.1.4.3.1. It is extraordinarily diverse
7.1.4.3.2. It is tremendously dynamic
7.1.4.3.3. It is entirely distinctive
7.1.4.4. Discovering the element is about allowing yourself access to all of the ways in which you experience the world and discovering where your own true strengths lie
7.1.4.5. Just don't take them for granted
8. 3
8.1. beyond imagining
8.1.1. Faith Ringgold
8.1.2. The promise of creativity
8.1.2.1. Creativity
8.1.2.2. Intelligence
8.1.3. Most people have a narrow view of intelligence
8.1.3.1. Academic only
8.1.4. Myths
8.1.4.1. Only special people are creative
8.1.4.1.1. Creativity is like literacy
8.1.4.1.2. Needs to be trained
8.1.4.2. Creativity is about special activities
8.1.4.2.1. Anything that involves your intelligence is creative
8.1.4.3. People are either creative or not
8.1.4.3.1. First critical step
8.1.5. It's all in your imagination
8.1.5.1. Mental images
8.1.5.1.1. Ex: Driving
8.1.6. Does size matter?
8.1.6.1. Bertrand Russell
8.1.6.1.1. "Is man what he seems to the astronomer, a tiny lump of impure carbon and water crawling impotently on a small and unimportant planet"
8.1.6.1.2. Solar system
8.1.6.1.3. Encouragements
8.1.7. The power of creativity
8.1.7.1. Imagination is not the same as creativity
8.1.7.2. Creativity takes the process of imagination to another level
8.1.7.3. Definition
8.1.7.3.1. "the process of having original ideas that have value"
8.1.7.4. To be creative you have to actually do something
8.1.7.4.1. make something new
8.1.7.4.2. come up with new solutions
8.1.7.4.3. think of new problems
8.1.7.4.4. new questions
8.1.7.5. Applied imagination
8.1.7.5.1. Music
8.1.7.5.2. dance
8.1.7.5.3. math
8.1.7.5.4. science
8.1.7.5.5. business
8.1.7.5.6. relationships
8.1.7.6. Creative dynamics
8.1.7.6.1. Personal creativity
8.1.7.6.2. How it works
8.1.7.7. Open your mind
8.1.7.7.1. Involves more of the mind
8.1.7.7.2. Non linear
8.1.7.7.3. Divergent
8.1.7.7.4. Creativity uses much more than our brains
8.1.7.7.5. Creative work also reaches deep into our intuitive and unconscious minds and into our hearts and feelings
8.1.7.7.6. Like letting a cork out of a bottle
8.1.7.7.7. Requires effort
8.1.7.8. Getting it together
8.1.7.8.1. We don't just see the world as it is
8.1.7.8.2. William JAmes "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind.... If you change your mind you can change your life
9. 4
9.1. In the zone
9.1.1. Ewa Laurance
9.1.1.1. Billiards
9.1.1.1.1. Geometry
9.1.2. To be in the zone is to be deep in the heart of the element
9.1.2.1. Aaron Sorkin
9.1.2.1.1. Not an actor
9.1.2.1.2. Writer
9.1.3. Are we there yet?
9.1.3.1. One of the strongest signs of being in the zone is the sense of freedom and authenticity
9.1.3.2. When we are in our Element we feel we are doing what we are meant to be doing and being who we are meant to be
9.1.3.3. Time feels different
9.1.3.4. Meta state
9.1.3.4.1. Where ideas come more quickly
9.1.3.4.2. Jochen Rindt
9.1.3.4.3. Eric Clapton
9.1.3.4.4. Wilbur Wright
9.1.3.4.5. Flow
9.1.4. Reaching out
9.1.4.1. When we connect with our own energy, we're more open to the energy of other people
9.1.4.2. The more alive we feel, the more we can contribute to the lives of others
9.1.5. Being yourself
9.1.5.1. When people are in the zone they align naturally with a way of thinking that works best for them.
9.1.5.2. Using a thinking style completely natural to them everything comes more easily
9.1.6. Getting out of the box
9.1.6.1. MBTI
9.1.6.1.1. Issues
9.1.6.2. Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument
9.1.7. Do the math
9.1.7.1. Terence Tao
9.1.7.2. Self taught reading
9.1.7.3. Mozart of math
9.1.8. Questions we need to ask
9.1.8.1. What did their parents do?
9.1.8.2. Left to their own devices what are they drawn to doing?
9.1.8.3. What kinds of activities do they tend to engage in voluntarily?
9.1.8.4. What sorts of aptitudes do they suggest?
9.1.8.5. What absorbs them most?
9.1.8.6. What type of points do they make?
9.1.8.7. What sort of questions do they ask?
9.1.9. We need to understand what puts people in the zone
9.1.10. We need to determine what implications this has for the rest of our lives
10. TED Talk
11. 6
11.1. What will they think
11.1.1. This time it's personal
11.1.1.1. Chuck Close
11.1.1.2. Candoco
11.1.2. Fear is perhaps the most common obstacle to finding your Element
11.1.2.1. Susan Jeffers
11.1.2.1.1. Techniques
12. 5
12.1. Finding your tribe
12.1.1. For most people a primary component of being in their element is connecting with other people who share their passion and a desire to make the most of themselves through it
12.1.2. Meg Ryan
12.1.2.1. Stage fright
12.1.2.2. Hung out with actors
12.1.2.3. Found element
12.1.2.4. Peggy Fury
12.1.2.4.1. Classes
12.1.3. A plan to discover yourself
12.1.3.1. Tribe members can be collaborators or competitors
12.1.4. Domains and fields
12.1.4.1. Domain is the sorts of activities and disciplines that people are engaged in
12.1.4.1.1. Acting
12.1.4.1.2. Rock music
12.1.4.1.3. business
12.1.4.1.4. Ballet
12.1.4.1.5. physics
12.1.4.1.6. rap
12.1.4.2. Field refers to the other people who are engaged in it
12.1.5. It's not just me
12.1.5.1. Debbie Allen
12.1.5.2. Connecting with people who share the same passions affirms that you are not alone
12.1.5.3. Some people are most in their Element when they are working alone
12.1.5.3.1. Mathematicians
12.1.5.3.2. Poets
12.1.5.3.3. Painters
12.1.5.3.4. Athletes
12.1.5.4. Interaction with a field
12.1.5.4.1. "if you don't kick things about with people you you are out of it" John Wheeler
12.1.5.5. Michael Polanyi
12.1.5.5.1. Argues against state control of science
12.1.6. How do they do that
12.1.6.1. Find your scene
12.1.6.1.1. Bob Dylan in NYC
12.1.7. Circles of influence
12.1.8. The alchemy of synergy
12.1.8.1. Kind of Blue
12.1.8.2. Creative teams
12.1.8.2.1. Diverse
12.1.8.2.2. Dynamic
12.1.8.2.3. Distinct
12.1.9. Lost in the crowd
12.1.9.1. Fan behaviour
12.1.9.2. BIRGing
12.1.9.3. deindivdulation
12.1.10. Look, listen, learn
12.1.10.1. Some are skilled critics
12.1.10.2. Billy Connolly
12.1.10.2.1. Watched Chick Murray on TV
12.1.10.2.2. Turning point
12.1.10.2.3. Found his tribe
13. 1
14. The element
14.1. People find high levels of achievement and personal satisfaction upon discovering the things they naturally do well and that also ignites their passions
14.1.1. Examples
14.1.1.1. Matt Groening
14.1.1.2. Paul Samuelson
14.1.1.3. Gillian Lynne
14.2. One size does not fit all
14.2.1. Three features of formal education
14.2.1.1. Preoccupation with certain sorts of academic ability
14.2.1.2. Hierarchy of subjects
14.2.1.3. Growing reliance on particular types of assessment
14.2.2. Result
14.2.2.1. Narrow view of intelligence and capacity
14.2.2.2. Overvalue of particular sorts of talents and ability
14.2.2.3. Neglect of important skills
14.2.2.4. Marginalisation
14.2.3. Dance and drama not taught
14.2.4. Basic flaw
14.2.4.1. Back to basics
14.2.4.2. myth that standardised testing makes a country more competitive
14.2.4.3. Severe underestimation of human capacity
14.2.5. Alienation
14.2.6. Not back to basics enough
14.2.6.1. Concentrates on
14.3. The pace of change
14.3.1. Children retiring today will retire in 2070
14.3.2. Technology lightening change
14.3.3. Population growth
14.3.4. Future predictions are almost impossible
14.3.5. BRIC countries will play increasing role
14.3.6. The only way to prepare for the future is to make the most out of ourselves on the assumption that doing so will make us as flexible and productive as possible
14.3.7. Most people set aside their passions to pursue things they don't care about in the name of financial security
14.3.8. The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different
14.3.9. We need to think very differently about human resources and about how we develop them if we are to face the challenges
14.4. What is the element?
14.4.1. The meeting point between natural aptitude and personal passion
14.4.2. Time passes differently
14.4.2.1. more alive
14.4.2.2. more centred
14.4.2.3. more vibrant
14.4.3. The element is different for everyone
14.4.4. How do we find it?
14.4.5. Not limited to one
14.4.6. Features
14.4.6.1. Aptitude
14.4.6.2. Passion
14.4.7. Conditions
14.4.7.1. Attitude
14.4.7.2. Opportunity
14.4.8. Sequence
14.4.8.1. I get it
14.4.8.2. I love it
14.4.8.3. I want it
14.4.8.4. Where is it?