The Element

I completed reading the wonderful book by Sir Ken Robinson The Element. I loved the insights presented in this book and wanted to record them before the experience goes far into my memory database. I quickly pulled out few statements and thoughts from the book and have listed them down below.

• Being in element doesn't consume energy, instead generates it. This is the perfect attribute to identify the element for a person.
• The education system was designed by industries, so we have a school day defined within fixed time periods. The learning through cannot be confined into predefined periods, it is quite free flowing.  
• Questioning ourselves, our abilities, questioning for granted beliefs is a key thing to discover your element.  
• Our body has many more senses other than common five - sense of balance, temperature, kinesthetic, ... 
• Intelligence is much more than just IQ - linguistic, musical, mathematical, spatial, kinesthetic, interpersonal, knowledge of self, some are dormant and others dominant.  
• If you don't embrace the fact that you think about the world on diverse ways, you severely limit your chances of finding the person that you were meant to be.  
• Three main attributes of intelligence: it is diverse, dynamic and distinct.  
• Discovering your element is all about allowing yourself access to all of the ways in which you experience the world and discovering where your own true strengths lie. 
• Intelligence and creativity are very tightly coupled. You can't be creative without being intelligent.  
• Imagination. Through imagination we not only bring to mind things that we have experienced but things that we have never experienced. We have something else of profound and unique significance - we can create.  
• Creativity : the process of having original ideas that have value. To be creative you actually need to do something.  
• Your tribe: being with people with same interests or likings enhances your tribe.  
• Book: organizing genius: the secrets of creative collaboration warren benis 
• Being is your tribe and being in a crowd are two very similar experiences but very different.  
• Fear is the most common obstacle to finding your element.  
• Doing something for your own good is rarely for your own good if it causes you to be less than who you really are.  
• We put such a premium on being approved of, we become reluctant to take risks.  
• It's not what happens to us that makes the difference in our lives, what makes the difference is our attitude toward what happens.  
• Mastering a combination of attitudes and behavior leads to opportunities and give confidence to take them.  
• Meditation is a way to boost our intuitive abilities. 
• Mentors roles:
• 1. Recognition
• 2. Encouragement
• 3. Facilitating
• 4. Stretching
• Book: self reliance - Ralph Waldo
• Book: feel the fear and do it anyway - Susan Jeffers
• It may not be necessary to be in your element and earn your living or earn your living thru your element. You may be doing it off your primary work areas as an amateur.
• Public education puts tremendous pressure on students to confirm to certain predefined things.
• The fundamental theme of this book is that we urgently need to make fuller use of our own natural resources.

 
There are a few book reviews also, which I loved and want to save them.
http://coolinsights.blogspot.sg/2012/03/element-by-sir-ken-robinson-book-review.html