Book Review — The Element
A book about finding your Element, which can be defined as something that you’re both good at and like doing. It shows that everyone has at least one Element and helps you find yours.
Name
The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything
Author
Amazon Link
Rating
4/5
Favorite Quote
“And even when we’re doing the thing we love, there can be frustrations, disappointments, and times when it simply doesn’t work or come together.”
Why I Read It
I wanted to know whether I had found my passion or at least what it actually means to “find your passion”. I hear that quote a lot but seldom stop to ask myself: What is my passion? Am I doing what I truly love?
Description
The book is composed of many inspiring stories, mainly the experiences of highly successful people. They make you realize that everyone had to struggle and had his or her own doubts regarding their decisions and circumstances.
After each story the author analyzes what happened and relates the story to the concept of the Element, which he defines as the point where the things you’re good at intersect with the things you like to do.
In that sense the book was very insightful. It taught me that:
- Everyone has at least one Element
- You can have more than one Element
- The Element has to do with doing something creative (and everyone can be creative)
- One of the best ways to find your Element is to surround yourself with people that share your same passions
- It’s OK to work at something other than your Element and cultivate your Element as a hobby
- Even when you have found your Element there will be struggles and frustrations, so don’t expect it to be a perfect paradise. But, unlike other activities, when you’re in your Element you’ll feel fulfilled and happy, even when dealing with problems.
Who Is It For
I think this book is for everyone, but specially for those without a clear purpose in life. It will help you understand how to discover those activities you’re both good at and like doing, and it will convince you to pursue them.
Favorite Lesson Learned
What I liked most of the book is the author’s vision of current education and how it should be approached differently in the future.
He states that modern education is based on post-industrial-revolution-jobs where the main focus was for workers to learn to communicate (language) and to reason (math). All other forms of knowledge (music, arts, philosophy, etc.) were secondary.
This, he argues, has become obsolete, since the most important skills required for current jobs are problem solving and creativity, which can be developed in conjunction with almost any form of knowledge. He states that education should better encourage the development of those abilities.
In order to achieve this, he advocates a more personalized kind of education where students are taught in a way that encourages their unique interests and capabilities, instead of the very rigid curricula that dominate current educational systems.
Length
288 pages
