TED talks are a great source of inspiration, a platform to hear ideas from across the globe. Though there’s so many it’s difficult to know where to start. Here’s my list of favourites.
Why There’s Too Few Women in Leadership — Sheryl Sandberg.

I’ve watched this at least 10 times, this talk helped me negotiate my first salary — it gave me the permission to understand that it was okay to do so. It made me reflect on the compliments I pay my niece and other women and why there could be a better choice.

Why Ordinary People Need to Understand Power - Eric Lieu
How power works and why it’s important, if you’ve ever felt cynical or disempowered with the current state of affairs - this talk is for you.

The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong - Dan Pallotta 
This talk made me reflect on why I judge non profits executives on high salaries and not investment bankers. It made me realise that we put so much pressure on the NFP sector to be altruistic and essentially volunteer to solve the world’s most pressing problems.

Why Social Media Likes Say More Than You Think - Jennifer Goldbeck An eye opening talk about how much you know about the people who like ‘curly fries’ on Facebook. The power of data.

Success, Failure and The Drive to Keep Creating - Elizabeth Gilbert
A beautiful talk by the ever so elegant and honest Elizabeth Gilbert who has helped me to undertand the importance of creating, despite the outcome.

The Paradox of Choice - Barry Shwartz
Is choice really healthy? In a world where more choices = freedom, why are we so unhappy? It made me reflect on all the choices I’m privileged to have, and how they affect my ability to make decisions.

Okay I’m going to be cheeky, here’s one I watched today that I loved. It’s not a TED Talk.
Ego and Altruism - Leila Janah

I’m a huge fan of Leila’s work at Samasource, they employ over 2000 people in developing countries - empowering them through work. This talk is a beautiful insight into how we deal with ego and what we expect from do-gooders. From this I felt a burden lift around ‘always doing the right thing’ to just being human and to keep going.