So what is "the element" and how can you find yours? To truly be in your element, both passion and skill need to come together. People in their element find that time is experienced differently and energy levels are transformed; creating an environment in which people work in their element is likely to lead to far greater individual contribution, more employee engagement and, ultimately, a more productive economy. Yet, our education system (and many of our corporate environments) are locked into obsolete ideas of intelligence, stifling creativity and keeping people from their best selves. We can learn from the paths of individuals-both famous and unknown-who have found their element and thus create the learning and working conditions that allow us to live lives full of confidence and achievement.