The Element

In an interview to El Pais, Lang Lang, the Chinese piano player, told to the interviewer that when he was in his early teens he failed in a piano contest and his father told him “…you have two options: you can jump through the window right now, or can take some poison.” He said he never talked to his father since.

When you learn about Lang Lang’s career, and all his success and contribution to the musical world, you can only feel amazed and show respect. Despite such proposal coming from his own father, and many other adversities, he trusted his own talent and pursued his dream.

Many people wouldn’t have had the strength and motivation to keep going after such remark coming from their own father. But Lang Lang did, and succeeded.

The question is: “what makes people to keep going under such adversities, and where do they find the strength?”

As per Steven Jobs: "Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle."

In the other hand, Sir Ken Robison, in his book The Element, explains that we have to find our Element in order to find true happiness and fulfillment in life. He says, “The Element is the meeting point between natural aptitude and personal passion. When people are in their Element, they connect with something fundamental to their sense of identity, purpose, and well-being.” And he adds, “…many people have not found their Element because they don’t understand their own powers; they don’t understand their true organic nature; they don’t understand their constant potential for renewal.”

It is clear that Lang Lang understood them all, and from an early age. And so Steven Jobs, and all those people who faced so many adversities in their lives and not only kept going but excelled in whatever they decided to pursue.

Finding your Element sometimes means breaking rules imposed by your own personal, social and cultural environments. Therefore, I believe that what brings us to our Element is passion!

When you do something with passion, no matter how hard it could be, instead of taking away your energy it fuels you with it; even when you are physically exhausted. It is when there is no distinction between work and pleasure; they blend in such a powerful way that the more you give in, the more you get back.

It is only when you find your passion and love what you do that you find the strength to stand up every time, and any time, you fall. Finding your Element is to transcend this physical world, it is when miracles happen.

I leave you here with Lang Lang at his Element!