The 10 TED Talks I’m Saving For My 6 Year Old Son
My son is only a first grader.
He has probably been exposed to more things at 6 than I was exposed to at 16.
And that’s okay.
It’s the world we live in.
When I was in management consulting, a well respected Partner in the Firm sent out a TED Talk to the entire practice. It’s been long ago and shame on me for not remembering exactly WHAT the talk was about. All I remember is that it resonated with me and forever had me hooked. I’ve been watching TED Talks as part of a weekly routine for over a decade.
(I’m kidding about not remembering. The talk was Ken Robinson’s Do Schools Kill Creativity?)
Fast forward to me being a father and trying to be the best one that I can.
Parenting is not easy. You have to be protective, yet teach your child to be resilient. You don’t want your child to suffer, yet you have to teach them how to persevere through adversity. On top of that, your only playbook will be the mental notes you took from your own upbringing which will almost always be completely different than what your child will experience.
Being a parent is the one job where “I’m doing the best that I can,” is a valid phrase in a self-assessment if there was a performance review form that had to be filled out.
Because TED Talks have had such an impact on shaping how I think about certain things and in some cases have shaped how I work, manage, lead, and contribute to this world— I’m saving these 10 for my son in hopes that one, two, or maybe all of them resonate with him one day.
Feel free to add more or even create your own list.
We don’t seek the painful experiences that hew our identities, but we seek our identities in the wake of painful experiences.
2. Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability
Because when we work from a place, I believe, that says, “I’m enough” … then we stop screaming and start listening, we’re kinder and gentler to the people around us, and we’re kinder and gentler to ourselves.
3. Dan Pink: The puzzle of motivation
Intrinsic motivators versus extrinsic motivators. Autonomy, mastery and purpose, versus carrot and sticks, and who wins? Intrinsic motivation, autonomy, mastery and purpose, in a knockout.
4. Shawn Achor: The secret to better work
In just a two-minute span of time done for 21 days in a row, we can actually rewire your brain, allowing your brain to actually work more optimistically and more successfully.
5. Angela Lee Duckworth: Grit: The power of passion and perseverance
Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
6. Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are
And so I want to say to you, don’t fake it till you make it. Fake it till you become it. Do it enough until you actually become it and internalize.
7. John Wooden: The difference between winning and suceeding
From those things, and one other perhaps, I coined my own definition of success, which is: Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you’re capable.
8. Adam Grant: The surprising habits of original thinkers
Procrastinating is a vice when it comes to productivity, but it can be a virtue for creativity. What you see with a lot of great originals is that they are quick to start but they’re slow to finish.
9. Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action
When we can communicate from the inside out, we’re talking directly to the part of the brain that controls behavior, and then we allow people to rationalize it with the tangible things we say and do.
10. Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes
I think the present moment is so underrated. It sounds so ordinary, and yet we spend so little time in the present moment that it’s anything but ordinary.
That’s the list.
Instead of letting my son binge watch his shows on Netflix, or at some point down the road playing a video game — I am going to insert one of these talks, let him roll his eyes, and hope for the best.
After all, “I’m doing the best that I can.”
Thank you for reading.
(As a bonus talk, I would also add Carol Dweck: The power of believing that you can improve.)
