Discovering new perspectives: Ted Talks

Hello guys,

Today I just want to talk to you about of a global and online community that is, in my opinion, not sufficiently know: I'm talking about Ted Talks.

Maybe some of you already know the concept but I'm always surprised when I meet people who do know it at all. I discovered it during a school lesson like we have to choose the best video for us, and then make a little presentation about it. And now, after longer researches and viewings, I am truly addicted to this stuff! I can spend evenings watching their videos, taking notes,... Most of these videos are truly inspiring and really worth watching!

What is Ted Talks?

Ted is a nonprofit organization which is devoted to diffused new ideas, new perspectives, in general in the form of short and powerful videos. According to them, they last always less than 18 minutes, and their most successful ones last only for five minutes! They welcome people from every discipline and culture through the world. These people have always a strong opinion on very various things. These talks have the power to make you rethink about certain things that you thought acquired. You can always find what you want in those videos: you can find some on lifestyle, health, psychology, but also on technological, scientific questions.

Their website ted.com contains both Ted Talks and Ted x Talks: the difference between both is that the first one is about the videos diffused by the original Ted Talk organization. The others are independently organized by local groups. For example, you can find some organized by local universities all around the world! In that way, you can hear various points of view from quite different people, and that is what makes the wealth of Ted Talks.

And if you don't arrive to choose the one you want to watch, they create a tool to make this easier to you: with the tab "surprise me", you can choose both the duration of the video that you want, and the style: "beautiful", "courageous", "jaw-dropping", "funny", "ingenious", "persuasive", and so on. It is also a great way of discovering a video that you cannot find easily on their website, on which the new videos are put in front.

My favorite Ted Talks

As you know, I can leave you here without giving you the Ted Talks that I have most enjoyed.

#1 "The magic of not giving a fuck"

This one was presented by Sarah Knight for "TedxCoconutGroove". You can easily find it on Youtube. I explain quickly her ideas: for her, "fucks" = time, energy and money. And in her opinion (which is quite logical), if you don't care about something, you should stop giving your fucks to it! In that way, you will have more time to do what you really want to do. You will then be on your best behavior, because you do what you really want to do, and you have nothing to apologize for because, in reality, you are not really sorry to not coming to this after work party with your colleagues.

#2 "Why you should define your fears instead of your goals"

This one was presented by Tim Ferriss for Ted Talk. The basis of this idea is that you have to distinguish what you can control and what you cannot control. Then, you have to work only on what you can change! After that, he explains a written exercise that you can do to better understand how to make that in practice: in the first column, you have to define what you fear (a particular situation, an event,... could be anything!), in the second you have to think about what might be the benefits of an attempt or partial success, and in the last you have to weigh the cost of inaction (because of your fear). It can be a cost in emotions, money, physically,...). I invite you to watch his video because he explains each step and why, and that can really help you relativize some things in your life.

"Easy choices, hard life.
Hard choices, easy life"

I hope you have enjoyed this article and really, take the time to watch other TedTalks!