For the Love of TED
For those unfamiliar, TED is a conference that brings together leaders in their field - any field, really, as long as they have an idea worth sharing. A speaker gets 10-20 minutes to share their thing - their nugget of truth they have learned in their work or life. Originally conferences held twice a year, they have spread around the world and the internet and many are available on TED's main website.
I LOVE TED talks. It is not uncommon for me to spend an afternoon with crochet in my lap watching and rewatching some of my favourites. From learning about hyberbolic shapes to Wii remote hacks to spoken word poetry, TED is a wonderfully rich way to spend some of my working time (before going on to watch bad Canadian Sci-Fi)
And so, I give you my TED playlist - 5 talks you need to see (if you haven't already).
1. Brene Brown - The Power of Vulnerability. If you haven't seen this, stop what you are doing now and see it. Brene has an amazing way of telling her story and talking about her work around shame, vulnerability and worthiness. There are so many things I could say about this, but just go watch.
2. Amy Cuddy - Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are. Amy's research is fascinating - looking at how simple changes to body language can change the way our hormones work and in turn change how others perceive us and also how we see ourselves (make sure you watch to the end - it resonates powerfully for all of those with impostor syndrome).
3. Phil Hansen - Embrace the Shake. As a person who finds tight deadlines the most important element of creativity, Phil's talk about the power of limitations on creativity really spoke to me. Part of yesterday's problem with the shawl is that the possibilities were too endless - too many ways to construct it that it refused to be made.
4. Toni Powell - The Power of Words: Kat shared this last week and I have thought of it constantly since. Toni's basic premise is that what we say about people - to their faces or behind their backs shapes, who they become and how others see them. While she speaks specifically about her marriage, the idea holds in many aspects of our lives - our family, our children, our friends, even blogging. The stories we choose to tell shape our world.
5. Elizabeth Gilbert - The Elusive Creative Genius: Elizabeth explores the idea of creative blocks and the importance of turning up and doing the work.
Honorable mention: Ken Robinson's talk on Schools Kill Creativity. As a mother to 3 incredibly spirited children and as a creative person who was told throughout my life that I wasn't - this spoke to me deeply and I found myself nodding along.
TED is coming to Edinburgh in just over a week's time. What I wouldn't give to attend, but sadly the $6,000 membership is beyond me. Who knows, maybe one day I will be able to give my TED talk entitled "Life is Too Short to Match Socks".
What would yours be?
