7 TED Talks Advisors Recommend: 2021

2. Want to Be Happy? Be Grateful | David Steindl-Rast

“This is not a recent TED talk but it is my all-time favorite one. I listen to it every Thanksgiving. It’s super relevant for today’s realities of COVID-19. It’s all about the importance of being grateful.” (13 minutes)

Charles L. Failla, CFP, Sovereign Financial Group, New York, New York

3. The Advantage of Adversity | Blake Haxton

“Blake Haxton is a double-amputee from the flesh-eating disease, gave this talk ~3 years after he got out of the hospital. Maybe the best part about this [presentation] is that — two years after he gave this speech — he represented the USA para team in the World Championship of rowing. Blake has been a US Paralympic rower every year since (he rows a single scull boat) including in the Olympics in Rio. He's truly the most amazing person I've ever met.” (13 minutes)

Michael R Caligiuri, CFP, Caligiuri Financial, New Albany, Ohio

4. How I Learned to Read — and Trade Stocks — in Prison | Curtis Carroll

“I love this TED talk from Curtis Carrol on how he learned how to read in prison and dedicated his life to teaching financial literacy. Through his own journey to educate himself about money management, he discovered the significance that financial literacy played in the trajectory of those in his community's lives.

My favorite quote is: "Our access to justice, our social status, living conditions, transportation, and food are all dependent on money that most people can't manage ... it's an epidemic and a bigger danger to public safety than any other issue."

This talk makes a powerful point to how empowering financial literacy can be, and the urgent need to educate people about managing their personal finances on a much more extensive and universal basis.” (11 minutes)

Ryan Moore, CFP, Jato Wealth Advisory, Swainsboro, Georgia

5. Preparing for a Good End of Life | Judy MacDonald Johnson

“I remember this video being very impactful. Thinking about life from this perspective does have implications for money and financial planning, and reference to this video and the concepts introduced has come up a few times in my engagements with clients.” (6 minutes)

David Wattenbarger, CFP, DRW Financial, Chattanooga, Tennessee

6. The Happy Secret to Better Work | Shawn Achor

“Most clients don’t so much want to ‘retire’ as much as they want to enjoy their work. If you enjoy your work and love getting up in the morning, retirement becomes a fun, new open-minded experience that doesn’t necessarily mean zero ‘work.’ That’s why this TED Talk [back by popular demand] is so much fun to share and talk through with clients. (12 minutes)

Kaleb Paddock, CFP, Ten Talents Financial Planning, Parker, Colorado

7. Leading With Laughter: The Power of Humor in Leadership | Paul Osincup

Paddock also recommends this TED Talk by Paul Osincup, stating, “All of my clients are leaders: of families, of teams, of companies, of churches, of communities. Leaders need to use humor in their work or they have a difficult time leading others.” (12 minutes)