Ken Robinson on Passion
We made our way to Conway Hall in Holborn yesterday to listen to the School of Life's secular Sunday Sermon by the wonderful Sir Ken Robinson.
We first came across him a few years back thanks to his brilliant and hilarious TED talk: Schools Kill Creativity; so we were really looking forward to catching him in person, and he didn't disappoint. His talk, based on his new book The Element, focused on passion. He very clearly and wittily explained his belief that everyone is full of extraordinary potential, but that that potential is often unrealised. Our education and upbringing often fails to locate the magic place where our talents and passion combine - the place where we're truly in our element. You might be doing something you're good at, but if you don't enjoy it, then you're not really fulfilling your potential.
It was a great talk in itself, and much enhanced by the School of Life's Sunday Sermon overall vibe. We were greeted at the hall by a man dressed as a devil, and before the talk we were asked to stand and sing the first 'hymn', Eye of the Tiger by Survivor - which could have been awkward and laboured, but was actually just damn good fun, mainly thanks to the leadership of Marie Benton from The Choir With No Name. At the end of the sermon, we stood again to sing Don't Stop Me Now by Queen. Fantastic.
Check out some of the previous sermons on the School of Life's Vimeo page.