Be Who You Want To Be: 5 TED Talks That Build You Up
Under the motto “ideas worth spreading”, TED conferences are the place where knowledge, science, technology and humanity get together to make our lives and ourselves a bit better, one short talk at a time. We’re bringing you a selection of some of the talks that influenced us most and that can help you become the persona you want to be – and present yourself as such.
You’re 20? Boy are you lucky!
Don’t let the name of the talk scare you – Why 30 is not the new 20 is a celebration of your twenties, a decade where you can experiment, try new things, try out different jobs and careers for sizes and easily bounce back from every failure. Clinical psychologist Meg Jay uses he provocative talk to show that you can use your youth to your benefit and also plan ahead, and gives 3 pieces of advice on how twenty-somethings can re-claim their adulthood.
It’s all about the posture
We all know body language is important, right? We’ve heard it all before. But it doesn’t just affect how others see us, but also how we see ourselves, according to social psychologist Amy Cuddy. Cuddy demonstrates how just standing in a posture of confidence, even when you don’t feel confident can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on your chances for success.
So you failed. Everybody does.
There’s an old saying that the master has failed more times than the novice has even attempted to do something, and it’s absolutely true. Entrepreneur Jia Jiang tells his story of leaving the corporate life to build his dream company and learning to face rejection and take it as a part of the learning process. Learning to fail and cope with rejection is a crucial step in making it, as his story will show.
Making it through the first 20
It takes many many many hours to learn anything, but the first 20 are crucial. Josh Kaufman, the author of ‘The First 20 Hours: Mastering the Toughest Part of Learning Anything.’ was inspired by his firstborn to approach learning in a whole new way. and will tell you all about why those first 20 hours matter.
It’s a work in progress
In this amazing short talk – open, candid with no sugar-coating or empty phrases – Richard St. John shows that success is not a destination or a one-way street. In just five short minutes he will talk about his business’ rise and fall and convince you that success is a constant journey. There’s one moral to this story- when we stop trying, we fail.
What is your favorite TED talk?
This post is part of Personal Branding for Students and Graduates Campaign.
