These 9 Motivational TED Talks Will Change Your Life

Sarah

There’s no time like the start of summer for making major changes to your life and the way you think. We all have those intentions every year right?

Most of the time though, finding the motivation to put these changes into action can be a bit difficult. Everyone needs a lil pep talk now and again, and these nine TED talks from a whole host of amazing speakers do the trick perfectly.

In need of a kickstart to some positivity? Take twenty minutes and watch any one (or all!) of these videos:

1. Viktor Frankl: Why believe in others

In this rare clip from 1972, legendary psychiatrist and Holocaust-survivor Viktor Frankl delivers a powerful message about the human search for meaning — and the most important gift we can give others.

2. Steve Jobs: How to live before you die

At his Stanford University commencement speech, Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple and Pixar, urges us to pursue our dreams and see the opportunities in life’s setbacks — including death itself.

3. Caroline Casey: Looking past limits

Activist Caroline Casey tells the story of her extraordinary life, starting with a revelation (no spoilers!), in a talk that challenges perceptions. Casey asks us all to move beyond the limits we may think we have. Amazing.

4. Emilie Wapnick: Why some of us don’t have one true calling

What do you want to be when you grow up? Well, if you’re not sure you want to do just one thing for the rest of your life, you’re not alone. In this illuminating talk, writer and artist Emilie Wapnick describes the kind of people she calls “multipotentialites” — who have a range of interests and jobs over one lifetime. Are you one?

5. Gary Vaynerchuk: Do what you love (no excuses!)

At the Web 2.0 Expo, entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk gives a shot in the arm to dreamers and up-and-comers who face self-doubt. The Internet has made the formula for success simpler than ever, he argues. So there’s now no excuse not to do what makes you happy! One to watch if you’re having a career crisis.

6. JK Rowling: The fringe benefits of failure

At her Harvard commencement speech, “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling offers some powerful, heartening advice to dreamers and overachievers, including one hard-won lesson that she deems “worth more than any qualification I ever earned.”

7. Matt Cutts: Try something new for 30 days

Is there something you’ve always meant to do, wanted to do, but just … haven’t? Matt Cutts suggests: Try it for 30 days. This short, lighthearted talk offers a handy way to think about setting and achieving goals.

8. David Steindl-Rast: Want to be happy? Be grateful

The one thing all humans have in common is that each of us wants to be happy, says Brother David Steindl-Rast, a monk and interfaith scholar. And happiness, he suggests, is born from gratitude. An inspiring lesson in slowing down, looking where you’re going, and above all, being grateful.

9. Amanda Palmer: The art of asking

Don’t make people pay for music, says Amanda Palmer: Let them. In a passionate talk that begins in her days as a street performer, she examines the new relationship between artist and fan. Watch this and understand the mutual benefit of asking other people for help, without guilt.