Microphone on stage against an auditorium background
For so many of us, the past two years have prompted us to ask important questions about our lives. Are we in the right jobs or careers? Are we living to our highest potential? Are we spending our time – and our lives – the right way?
I recently took a deep dive into TED and TEDx talks that address these questions. If you’re looking for a reset in your own life or just a spark for self-reflection, these conversations provide it. Whether you want to take control of your time, find your passion, or make a bigger difference to others, these are seven of my favorites.
Check them out for yourself and I hope you, like me, will walk away inspired, energized to see the world in a new way, and ready to take positive action.
We’re almost all too busy these days – and we think we know the reason: too many meetings, emails, and more.
Dorie Clark, Duke University professor and bestselling author The long game— shares research that suggests there may be other factors that keep us trapped in our endless loop of crowds. Clark believes we can only figure it out if we understand these often hidden factors. She gives a powerful conversation that helps us clarify what is important.
Talking about money is one of the last taboos in the workplace in Western society. However, David Burkus, author of Under new managementargues that we need to break through these barriers and discuss pay at work.
Taking this step creates a more transparent and equal workplace and allows us to spend less time worrying about others and more time self-improvement. This speech has even more resonance after the pandemic, in light of “The Great Resignation” and so much job turnover.
From an early age we are asked, “What are you passionate about?” Most don’t realize that passion isn’t a plan; it’s a feeling, and feelings change.
This lecture by author Terri Trespicio, who recently book on the same subject, helps free us from the oppressive belief that we have to find our one overriding passion and can’t do anything meaningful until we do. Instead, she gives us permission to focus on solving the problems that matter in our lives right now – with the knowledge that passion often comes from commitment and mastery.
Here’s the funny thing about our schedules. We all feel pressure. But if there is a calamity, we make time for it. That reality holds something important. We have more control and flexibility than we think; we just don’t practice it.
Time management expert Laura Vanderkam shows us that it’s not that we don’t have enough time, it’s that we don’t prioritize the right things, and we can change that.
What are you the best at in the world? How can you stand out in a world full of noise and competition? That’s a question many of us struggle with.
Entrepreneur and author Mike Michalowicz provides a useful framework. Mike argues that each of us is already the best in the world, provided we lean on our authentic selves and our talents.
It seems such an innocent and kind question, “How can I help?” But author Laura Gassner Otting says it’s the wrong question. Often we are limited in our perspective and driven by our ego.
Instead, she says, we can achieve better results — for ourselves, others, and the world — by no longer asking “How can I help?” to “What needs to be done?”
We’ve probably all been there, right? Someone has a problem and your first inclination is to give advice – whether that’s what they’re looking for or (more often) not. That’s a mistake, says Michael Bungay Stanier, author of The advice trap.
When we give unsolicited advice, we are silently telling someone that they can’t have the answer without us. In the process we lose connection with our humanity, empathy and sense of vulnerability. Instead of giving advice, Bungay Stanier urges us to stay curious a little longer.
Expert voices enable us to process our thinking
It’s always a good idea to step back and think about our lives. Often, however, a thoughtful voice can help us see how we can better align our values with our actions.
The seven conversations mentioned above can be a support point for that reflection. They all offer ideas and techniques that are likely to change how you think about yourself and act in the world. Check out one of them – or all of them! – today and enjoy seeing your perspective shift in real time.
