Tony Robbins

The Life Delicious’ 21 Favourite TED Talks

What you'll learn from this collection of passionate experts is incredible, and all of their insight is packed into less than 25 minutes per video. I hope you'll find these talks inspiring, informative and thought-provoking! They're arranged in alphabetical order by speakers first name because I could never pick my absolute favourite, they're all so good!

Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are

Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how "power posing" -- standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don't feel confident -- can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.

 

Arianna Huffington: How to succeed? Get more sleep

http://www.ted.com In this short talk, Arianna Huffington shares a small idea that can awaken much bigger ones: the power of a good night's sleep. Instead of bragging about our sleep deficits, she urges us to shut our eyes and see the big picture: We can sleep our way to increased productivity and happiness -- and smarter decision-making.

 

Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes

When is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes? Not texting, talking or even thinking? Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just that: Refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment.

 

Angela Lee Duckworth: The key to success? Grit

Leaving a high-flying job in consulting, Angela Lee Duckworth took a job teaching math to seventh graders in a New York public school. She quickly realized that IQ wasn't the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. Here, she explains her theory of "grit" as a predictor of success.

 

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability

http://www.ted.com Brene Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk at TEDxHouston, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share.

 

Daniel Amen: Change your brain, change your life

Change your Brain, Change your Life. Revelations based on studying 63,000 brain images across 90 countries over 20 years. How Brain imaging can change paradigms and our understanding of healthy life, no matter where we live. Physician, psychiatrist, and teacher, Daniel Amen, MD, is one of the world's foremost experts on applying brain imaging science to clinical psychiatric practice.

 

Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius

Find an accurate transcript (and subtitles in 46 languages) on ted.com: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius/transcript?language=en "Eat, Pray, Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius.

 

Eric Goodman: The unexpected physical consequences of technology

About Dr. Eric Goodman Dr. Eric Goodman is the Founder and creator of Foundation Training, a body weight based exercise system that is changing what was believed to be proper human movement. Eric has a Bachelors in Physiology and Nutrition, as well as a Doctorate in Chiropractic.

 

Goldie Hawn and Daniel Siegel: The power of mindfulness

Goldie Hawn, along with Dan Siegel, talks about the power of mindfulness to help children focus, battle stress and control negative emotions.

 

Greg Wells: Sleep better, eat better, move better

Greg Wells is a health and high performance expert who inspires better living through better nutrition and better fitness. As a coach, scientist and physiologist Dr. Wells has amassed more than 20 years of world-class experience with the extremes of human health and performance.

 

Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight

http://www.ted.com Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment.

 

John Ratey: The importance of movement

While exercise in good for the body, Dr. John J. Ratey, MD, argues it is more important for the brain, especially when it comes to students in the classroom. Citing scientific studies and real world examples, this internationally recognized expert in the brain-exercise connection demonstrates how we can raise test scores, lower behavioral problems, and help the overall well-being of today's students with fitness based physical education.

 

Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

http://www.ted.com Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes -- including speakers such as Jill Bolte Taylor, Sir Ken Robinson, Hans Rosling, Al Gore and Arthur Benjamin.

 

Lissa Rankin: Is there scientific proof we can heal ourselves?

Never miss a talk! SUBSCRIBE to the TEDx channel: http://bit.ly/1FAg8hB About Lissa Rankin, MD: New age gurus suggest that we can heal ourselves by simply changing our minds, but is this concept grounded in cold, hard science?

 

Matthieu Ricard: The habits of happiness

http://www.ted.com What is happiness, and how can we all get some? Buddhist monk, photographer and author Matthieu Ricard has devoted his life to these questions, and his answer is influenced by his faith as well as by his scientific turn of mind: We can train our minds in habits of happiness.

 

Maysoon Zayid: I got 99 problems... palsy is just one

"I have cerebral palsy. I shake all the time," Maysoon Zayid announces at the beginning of this exhilarating, hilarious talk. (Really, it's hilarious.) "I'm like Shakira meets Muhammad Ali." With grace and wit, the Arab-American comedian takes us on a whistle-stop tour of her adventures as an actress, stand-up comic, philanthropist and advocate for the disabled.

 

Rick Hanson: Hardwiring happiness

Hardwiring Happiness : The Hidden Power of Everyday Experiences on the Modern Brain. How to overcome the Brain's Negativity Bias.

 

Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work

http://www.ted.com We believe that we should work to be happy, but could that be backwards? In this fast-moving and entertaining talk from TEDxBloomington, psychologist Shawn Achor argues that actually happiness inspires productivity. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.

 

Susan Cain: The power of introverts

http://www.ted.com In a culture where being social and outgoing are prized above all else, it can be difficult, even shameful, to be an introvert. But, as Susan Cain argues in this passionate talk, introverts bring extraordinary talents and abilities to the world, and should be encouraged and celebrated.

 

Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds

http://www.ted.com Autism activist Temple Grandin talks about how her mind works -- sharing her ability to "think in pictures," which helps her solve problems that neurotypical brains might miss. She makes the case that the world needs people on the autism spectrum: visual thinkers, pattern thinkers, verbal thinkers, and all kinds of smart geeky kids.

 

Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do

Tony Robbins discusses the "invisible forces" that make us do what we do -- and high-fives Al Gore in the front row. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.

 

 

Did I miss any of your favourite TED Talks? Tweet me @LifeDelish!

Direct Your Feet to the Sunny Side of the Street

Charlie the Labradoodle has all four feet directed to the sunny side of the street. I think that brain chemistry and mental health are fascinating subjects.  And, I think that the power of diet, exercise and intention to affect brain chemistry and mental health are sometimes lost on people (including myself).

Here are some interesting tidbits (or bits of tid, as my hysterically funny friends Ryan and Lisa would say) on the subject that I hope you’ll find intruiging too.

Martin Seligman

A recent Globe and Mail article, The wedding's over. Now what?, mentions a new book by University of Pennsylvania researcher Martin Seligman about positive psychology.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“In his new book, Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being, bestselling author Martin Seligman even goes so far as to say that we should teach positive psychology exercises in schools. He moved into the study of positive psychology after 30 years in traditional psychology, which “had been almost exclusively about removing the disabling conditions rather than creating the enabling conditions for people to flourish.” One of Dr. Seligman’s top exercises is the What-Went-Well practice. (It’s also called the Three Blessings.) In order to overcome the brain’s “natural catastrophic bent” – our sky-is-falling tendency to dwell on bad things that could happen – we have to learn the skill of thinking about what went well. From an evolutionary point of view, catastrophic thinking is a survival tool. The Neanderthal who focused on how cool his cave was, but neglected to worry about food, did not survive.”

Read the whole Globe and Mail article here.

Gretchen Rubin

Two of my amazing girlfriends recently gave me a copy of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (which I mentioned in a recent post is one of the books on my nightstand) and it has a great accompanying website. A recent post about re-evaluating your mantras caught my eye and made me think about one of my favourite self-help authors, who I’ll mention in a minute.

Rubin  says,  mantras “can have an enormous influence on the way that you act and the way that you think.” See the video below for more.

Tony Robbins

Tony Robbins, one of my favourite self-help authors, gave a talk to students at the Harvard Business School which was recapped in the student newspaper called The Harbus.

Robbins described a “four-step framework that he says anyone can use to create an absolute competitive edge for themselves”. Those four steps (which you can read about in more detail in The Harbus here) are:

  1. Raise your standards
  2. Create a unique identity and consistently live it
  3. The power of state
  4. Give more

Regarding step three, “the power of state”, which is similar to Rubin’s mantras, Robbins said this:

“Living life the way you want is rooted in understanding that the body tells the brain how to feel. He noted that once you understand how to efficiently adjust your physiology – by studying and learning your physiological habits – you will always have the power to ensure you are in the best state to deal with work, academics, or family.”

Also echoing Rubin’s mantras and Seligman's "What-Went-Well practice" is chapter eight of Robbins’ book, Awaken the Giant Within, titled “Questions are the Answer.” Robbins says that by asking the “right” questions we can change our mental state and improve our quality of life. What are the right questions? Robbins states that “our questions determine our thoughts” and therefore “a genuine quality of life comes from consistent, quality questions.”

Don’t roll your eyes until you’ve tried asking yourself some quality questions! I have a little piece of paper in my nightstand that has morning questions and evening questions to being and end the day. I challenge you to try asking yourself these questions regularly and see what happens!

From Awaken the Giant Within:

Morning Power Questions

  • What am I happy about in my life now?
  • What am I excited about in my life now?
  • What am I proud about in my life now?
  • What am I grateful about in my life now?
  • What am I enjoying most in my life right now?
  • What am I committed to in my life right now?
  • Who do I love?
  • Who loves me?

Evening Power Questions

  • What have I given today?
  • What did I learn today?
  • How has today added to the quality of my life or how can I use today as an investment in my future?