When you’re tired of listening to the voices in your head that are doubting your entrepreneurial abilities, it’s probably a good time to listen to someone else’s voice, an uplifting voice. Delivered by speakers from all over the world and from all walks of life, these are the best TED talks give you just the boost you need. Here are 7 Ted Talks that will grab you by the collar and shake you up a little—in a good way.
1.) Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action
Passion is at the core of a creative entrepreneur’s life—you have an inherent passion for photography or design or crafting and you just want to share it with the world. It is the reason you do what you do. And that’s exactly what Simon Sinek, marketing consultant, and motivational speaker, reveals to his audience: “People don’t buy what you do; they buy WHY you do it.” Any doubts you may have had about your business will disappear after this uplifting and insightful talk. If you’re hooked on Sinek’s thinking, he’s also written three books.
2.) Sarah Lewis: Embrace the near win
Centered around mastery and failure, both important themes for the creative entrepreneur, art historian, and critic Sarah Lewis discusses “pursuing excellence in obscurity” and turns the definition of success on its head by referring to it as “an event.” This is a talk that will keep your wheels turning long after it’s over. For more from Lewis, check out her book, The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery.
3.) Steven Johnson: Where good ideas come from
Experiencing a lack of inspiration? Sometimes, it’s the place. Writer and innovator Steven Johnson talks about his quest to find shared patterns in the spaces and environments that inspire heightened creativity and innovation. What he realized was that “an idea is a network,” and we stitch together pieces from what’s around us to form new ideas. Change the environment, change the level of inspiration.
4.) Emilie Wapnick: Why some of us don’t have one true calling
Got too many ideas for your business and not sure what to do? Maybe it’s because you aren’t meant to just have one business in one industry. In Emilie Wapnick’s eye-opening speech, she describes the “multipotentialite;” someone with many talents and interests, who should, like everyone else, “embrace your inner wiring.” Find Wapnick’s multipotentiality blog and community here.
5.) Tim Ferriss: Smash fear, learn anything
As you probably already know, Tim Ferriss is the guy who wrote The 4-Hour Workweek (and several other books), a productivity guru and also one of our very own Money and Life instructors here at CreativeLive. But what you probably don’t know is that until the age of 31, Ferriss had a deathly fear of swimming. Ferriss’s no-nonsense talk will show you how to feel like the Incredible Hulk and overcome your fears in life and in work.
6.) Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes
Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe opens his talk by asking a surprisingly difficult question: When was the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 minutes? Being present and aware in your everyday life helps you combat stress and perform at your best in all aspects of your life, including how your approach. No need to become a monk in the Himalayas like Puddicombe did for awhile—all it takes is 10 mindful minutes a day to live in the here and now.
7.) David Brooks: Should you live for your resume…or your eulogy?
There are two, constantly battling sides to our nature: one side wants to be a truly good person in life, while the other wants to enjoy a successful career. But in a time when business success is lauded over high moral standards, cultural commentator and New York Times columnist David Brooks describes how to create more of a balance within ourselves by fighting our weaknesses and building on our strengths.
What are the best TED talks that you’ve seen? Share with us!
