10 Quotes From TED Talks You Shouldn’t Miss
If you have a few minutes to spare, you can connect with innovative speakers and learn something new about life — that’s the core premise of TED Talks. These short educational videos introduce viewers to new ideas and ways of thinking through curated presentations from experts and thought leaders. Thousands of TED Talks are freely available online, and have been viewed more than 1 billion times collectively.
This format of quickly transferring knowledge from one inspired individual to the masses evolved out of a 1984 conference centered on technology, entertainment, and design — the inaugural TED event. The nonprofit TED Foundation now offers global and local events, fellowships, awards, programming for educators, mobile apps, a radio show, and more.
But the most famous TED offering remains its free online videos, which garner an average of 17 views every second. The presentations on everything from gardening to physics to self-love have been translated and transcribed into more than 100 languages, and continue to inspire new listeners daily. Here are 10 quotes pulled from some of the most powerful TED Talks through the years.
Brené Brown is a research professor who explores courage, shame, empathy, and other powerful human traits and experiences. In her talk, “The Power of Vulnerability,” she discusses how being vulnerable and authentic is a necessary part of connection, love, and happiness.
“Gangsta Gardener” Ron Finley is an urban farmer who inspired a local fresh food movement in a California food desert. In his talk, “A Guerilla Gardener in South Central LA,” he discusses his love for gardening and how it serves as a solution to food insecurity and social inequity.
Dave Isay is a radio producer and the founder of “StoryCorps,” an initiative to interview and preserve the stories of everyday people. In a talk at TED2015, Isay spoke of the rich value of each human life and voice.
Sir Ken Robinson was an author and educator who gave TED’s most-viewed talk to date, “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” In this presentation, he upholds creativity as an essential trait that schools must do a better job cultivating and supporting.
Susan Cain is the author of the best-selling book “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.” In her TED Talk, she extols the undervalued gifts of quiet and introspective people, and explains how introversion is different from shyness.
Brian Greene is a physicist and mathematician who explores the mysteries of space-time, multiverses, and other existential topics. In his talk — “Is Our Universe the Only Universe?” — he tackles dark energy and theoretical extra dimensions of space, while acknowledging the importance of curiosity and humility in the pursuit of cosmic understanding.
Andy Puddicombe is a former Buddhist monk, a meditation teacher, and the cofounder of the online meditation company Headspace. In his TED Talk, he discusses how mindfulness sessions — even very short ones — can have a significant positive effect on our minds and our hectic modern lives.
Psychologist Robert Waldinger is director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, a 75-year research study. In his talk, “What Makes a Good Life? Lessons From the Longest Study on Happiness,” he shares striking findings on the pivotal importance of social connections to our well-being.
Educator and activist Tony Porter cofounded the nonprofit A Call to Men, which works to prevent violence against women and create healthier models of manhood. In his presentation, he discusses the possibility of freeing boys and men from harmful gender norms, which he calls the “man box,” for the benefit of people of all genders.
Buddhist scholar and monk Robert Thurman often speaks and writes about aligning our personal, inner wellness with a larger societal wellness. In his TED Talk on expanding one’s circle of compassion, he provides instructions on how to access empathy and love for other beings, as well as how to act productively on those feelings. 
