Best TED Talks

This month, The Lenore Blog is featuring a few great TED talks. We hope that you get the chance to listen to one or two in your apartment or on your way to work in Baltimore, MD. TED talks are a great way to start your day and get inspired — listen to one of them today!

Sarah Kay: If I should ever have a daughter…

Sarah Kay is a spoken word poet who travels around the world teaching poetry with her organization, Project V.O.I.C.E. Kay teaches the value of trying to interpret the world and write down our stories in this inspiring TED talk.

“Now, I know that the number one rule to being cool is to seem unfazed, to never admit that anything scares you or impresses you or excites you. Somebody once told me it's like walking through life like this. You protect yourself from all the unexpected miseries or hurt that might show up. But I try to walk through life like this. And yes, that means catching all of those miseries and hurt, but it also means that when beautiful, amazing things just fall out of the sky, I'm ready to catch them. I use spoken word to help my students rediscover wonder, to fight their instincts to be cool and unfazed and, instead, actively pursue being engaged with what goes on around them, so that they can reinterpret and create something from it.”

Lux Narayan: What I learned from 2,000 obituaries

Lux Narayan read thousands of obituaries hoping to learn what makes a successful life. This TED talk details the lessons he’s learned.

“We uncovered, many lessons from lives well-led, and what those people immortalized in print could teach us. The exercise was a fascinating testament to the kaleidoscope that is life, and even more fascinating was the fact that the overwhelming majority of obituaries featured people famous and non-famous, who did seemingly extraordinary things. They made a positive dent in the fabric of life. They helped.”

Jia Jiang: What I learned from 100 days of rejection

Jia Jiang decided to combat his fear of failure with rejection. He spent a hundred days getting rejected and discovered the power of asking for what you want.

“When you get rejected in life, when you are facing the next obstacle or next failure, consider the possibilities. Don't run. If you just embrace them, they might become your gifts as well.”

What are your favorite TED talks? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading our post!