Ken Robinson echoes one of the biggest take home messages I learned from my 20% project. He devotes a whole chapter to the idea of "finding your tribe"--the group of people who have the same passions as you, who inspire you to continue with your Element. Robinson describes the tribe very simply:
"Tribe members can be collaborators or competitors. They can share the same vision or have utterly different ones. They can be of a similar age or from different generations. What connects a tribe is a common commitment to the thing that they feel born to do" (105)
This quote really spoke to me because of one of the lessons we learned in our learning and technology class. We were supposed to become part of a community to help us with our 20% project, in a way beginning a relationship with our tribe. Even before we had talked about this in class, I had found a harmonica club online. When I looked at the members page, I saw that people came from all over the world to share resources and bond over the harmonica. While I have yet to actually join the club out of fear, I have used the website (harmonicaclub.com) for sheet music and lessons. It has been a wonderful resource that really carried me throughout my 20% project. It was fascinating to see how people came together to share a common interest. Without the internet, these people would never have met and connected. Technology has made so many things possible that probably would never have happened before.
Robinson's chapter about finding your tribe is full of examples of people who lived in their Element with the help of a tribe, showing just how influential collaborating and helping each other can really be. Meg Ryan found her tribe with a group of actors, setting her onto her career in acting. Finding that community can really change your life, as Meg Ryan found. There are many more examples of people who had similar experiences as Ryan and found those who could help them focus on their Element perfect it. Sometimes, it is just plain difficult to go it alone and it is necessary to be around others who inspire and encourage your passions. This is exactly what a tribe does. I find it interesting that Robinson says a tribe can competitors. We usually think of competitors trying to bring us down, lose sight of our passion. However, if we fight through it, the competitors have done the exact opposite--made us realize just how important our passion is to us and they make us better for it. So, from this chapter, besides all of the great examples Robinson gave, I learned that a tribe can actually be closer than you think. It is never impossible to find those people who will push you to be the best version of yourself, whatever your Element is.
"Tribe members can be collaborators or competitors. They can share the same vision or have utterly different ones. They can be of a similar age or from different generations. What connects a tribe is a common commitment to the thing that they feel born to do" (105)
This quote really spoke to me because of one of the lessons we learned in our learning and technology class. We were supposed to become part of a community to help us with our 20% project, in a way beginning a relationship with our tribe. Even before we had talked about this in class, I had found a harmonica club online. When I looked at the members page, I saw that people came from all over the world to share resources and bond over the harmonica. While I have yet to actually join the club out of fear, I have used the website (harmonicaclub.com) for sheet music and lessons. It has been a wonderful resource that really carried me throughout my 20% project. It was fascinating to see how people came together to share a common interest. Without the internet, these people would never have met and connected. Technology has made so many things possible that probably would never have happened before.
Robinson's chapter about finding your tribe is full of examples of people who lived in their Element with the help of a tribe, showing just how influential collaborating and helping each other can really be. Meg Ryan found her tribe with a group of actors, setting her onto her career in acting. Finding that community can really change your life, as Meg Ryan found. There are many more examples of people who had similar experiences as Ryan and found those who could help them focus on their Element perfect it. Sometimes, it is just plain difficult to go it alone and it is necessary to be around others who inspire and encourage your passions. This is exactly what a tribe does. I find it interesting that Robinson says a tribe can competitors. We usually think of competitors trying to bring us down, lose sight of our passion. However, if we fight through it, the competitors have done the exact opposite--made us realize just how important our passion is to us and they make us better for it. So, from this chapter, besides all of the great examples Robinson gave, I learned that a tribe can actually be closer than you think. It is never impossible to find those people who will push you to be the best version of yourself, whatever your Element is.