I disagree. TED Talks have and are changing my life. I am exercising, drinking water, going out in the sun. I no longer spend countless hours in front of my phone playing games. All of my games have been deleted. I have bought a bathing suit for exercise three times a week. I have decided that there is hope. I have decided to live and not die. I have decided to reinvent my life. I have decided to be positive and not negative. TED Talks have already made me a different and better person. I look forward to what is happening and what is going to happen. I started listening to TED Talks because my nineteen year old daughter told me that I should give a TED Talk. I looked them up and started listening. I am honoured that my daughter compliminted me on such a grand scale.

"Information doesn'st move us. Desire moves us. And desire is ignited and grows on our most potent, personal truth - our identity. The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Who we think we are is why we do what we do."

I watch TED for a year now, and this year gave more for my personality than 5 years of University. A single TED can't fundamentally change you, but it changes you step by step, talk by talk.

I agree with what he is saying, but it wont change my behavior.

watched this talk, agreed with his points, changed nothing.

My personal advice for anyone trying to break out of these behaviors: don't stick to an identity. What you do defines you, nothing more. If your not doing it, your just telling yourself a story.

"Who we THINK we ARE, is why WE DO what we do."

I am currently reading a book about awakening kindness, and one of the concepts it teaches is the 3 step process to implementing behavior. It’s actually kind of interesting how I read that earlier today and then stumbled upon this video. I hope this helps someone. The first step is: Obtaining the information. The second: developing convictions through deep contemplation and interpretation. The third: meditating on what it is you learned and creating habits that emulate the behaviors you wish to adopt. Learn, think, practice. :)

This is the best TED Talk I've ever watched. I can't believe it took me almost 5 years to find it.

Watching all these ted talks have very much changed my life and I try to live by them daily. Being creative, vulnerable and striking power poses before i present. This is the reason i still listen to talks. It is not alway easy but you can try if it applies to you so much.

The time that information enters a persons life is also a factor in retention, acceptance. The formative years in our youth, form us and many of our beliefs, our truths, stay with us for a long time. Until the moment when something shatters our truth. Then the adult changes.

Actually, listening to ted talks is great when you have different idea from the ones around you. And you listen to someone with a similar mind frame, it makes me feel soo much better.

A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities. J.R.R. Tolkien - thank you Tom for the thoughts expressed, and while your thoughts might not change my behavior immediately, your thoughts still have me stop for few moments to think. Thanks.

There have been a few ted talks that made a difference in my life, then again I applied what I learned unlike most people.

"we're not rational thinking machine who deals with facts. we're amazing passionate creatures who are moved by personal truths."

This has been the single most helpful video I have seen in my journey of striving to find the answer for success and motivation. The answer had been inside me all along. It is time to stop setting it aside to look outward and begin looking inward.

Because words alone do not change our behaviour.

I keeping watching TEDx everyday to practic my listening for about 1 months more now. The moment what I got moved me much, but after it disappear little by little. Just like Tom said. When I found this fact, I began to take some note at once after watching every time. I'll try to strength my desire to last it. Thank you Tom

This talk, was an amazing description of "how we live our stories"

I use TED to learn English :V

This one should have millions of views.

We're all waiting for someone else to fix stuff. Truth.

i agree with that he said to an extent- i think even with a desire to become a certain version of our selves, we are not able to accomplish whatever we imagine without actually processing our environmental inputs into outputs, meaning the most important aspect of becoming who we visualize isn’t exactly desire, but action. both are complementary and necessary but they must coexist to be effective.

Live lessons must be learned in life by experiencing them. That's why. Love and hugs everybody xxx

One of the best talks i've seen and one of the BEST speakers! I wish he had other talks or at least a book :D

I'm an introvert. An introvert that's awake all night, works and sleeps all day. Naturally, I have a lot of time to think. I use this time to reflect and reteach myself lessons I'm forgetting. I think about the TEDx talks I've watched, and I attempt to apply them every chance I get. I recently got over my fear of public speaking, and all it took was a few talented speakers, and a night to reflect. The knowledge has helped me in so many situations, I've found confidence in situations that used to only bring me anxiety. You have the power to do whatever you'd like with the information you've been given, provided you make the effort to use it.

great talk! and inspiring and easy to understand message

one of great clip, i have ever watched, tks u so much.

TEDx inspires me. TEDx is changing my behavior. This isnt big. This isnt fast. But there are parts of my behavior that I want to change.

I'm sure the speaker watched some "how your shirt should fit" videos, agreed with their points and still chose the shirt in this video.

The ancestor also learned that everyone is insane , the ones who do not know it are dangerous. To know your insane , you've solved all your problems. You are now harmless to yourself. , and others.

Very strong , inspiring talk ! it may not change all the peoples life but ıts clear that it changes someone's. Thank you !

I trust my subconscious self-image over force of will to move me forward. It's more fulfilling to internally associate actual effort with the feeling of joy and pleasure & THEN follow through with action with the promise of feeling satisfied (or, at least, contented) during the process than just doing it because my ego nudged me to and expecting my end result to make me happy.

Pursuit of personal legend, as mentioned in the alchemist book

Basic "Truths"! One of the best 'Ted's' I've watched!

Tom Asacker's ideas are always fresh, interesting and provocative ... and that's certainly evident here. Tom always helps me realize that what we believe, and how we see ourselves, has a more profound influence on what we do and how we act than "facts" ever could. What we believe is our truth. I don't understand the comment from Roman Duran ... this talk is in no way "old school."

We push hard to perfect So new behaviors appear But there's a disconnect From what we know and what we call near Imagine and construct Your new journey in life Optimize and instruct Who you want to be like Desires to go far Are not determined by facts Who we think we are Establishes how one acts

After reading this you will belive that improving you life is possible and you will go and find the steps needed to do so efficiently. Good luck

Ted talks changed my life so much.

OMG spot on, you know you hear so many things in so many ways, but this really got through to me and I have realised that for the last 10 years I have been thinking I'm getting old and past my peak.......wow today is major changing point ....Thanks Tom....PERFECT.... :-)

2:45 "So why don't we do what we know we should do?" I have found that the common denominator is always that "the experts'" proposed solutions take too much time, too much effort, and too much risk.

How does this not have more views?!

Think it, act it, become IT.............

Great talk.. thanks Tom..

I was pretty inspired. If you don't want to do a thing, you gonna find thousands of excuses, but is you want to do something, there is just one excuse that: I WANT TO DO IT. there are a lot of things in this lecture could be expanded and worth thinking deeply about. thank you Tom Asacker.

Brilliant observations...its your Self Perception/Identity. How you see yourself....

it's an amazing TEDx Talk that can change anyone's life.

this is really good because i also believe the vast majority of the ted talks are a waste of time

Great Ted talk introduction!! Loved it, let's see the rest

You are honest with yourself, because so many people know but like yourself don't take action to change yourself. So do one thing that can make a change...I did

SIR WITH DUE RESPECT, WHAT I KNOW IS...MERELY LISTENING THINGS ALONE CANOT BRING ANY CHANGE...OFCOURSE TILL WE LEARN AND DEVLOPE IT THROUGH PRACTICING IT IN OUR LIFE...AND INCLUDE IT IN OUR BEHAVIOUR...THUS WHAT I CONCLUDE IS...TED AND SUCH OTHER WONDERFULL PLATFORM BRINGS CHANGES BUT HOW MUCH... IT DEPENDS...

This one may be the last Ted Talk I watch. 😂 But the guy has good points. It's REALLY HARD to make changes - ask any aspiring chess player. 🙂 But, on a positive note, we must note that we, after listening to these types of talks, slowly change our perspective and evolving. The changes may not be immediate, but the message has a chance of catching up some time down the line. And that already is infinitely better than nothing. ✌️

Tom Asacker, how do you account for the people that do change. In my experience, it may be only one change at a time... changing my posture as per Amy Cuddy's recommendations, but one change becomes 2, then three, etc. Any thoughts on this. I look forward to your feedback, Thanks

It changed mine many times! But I will listen to this lecture.

Absolutely AMAZING!🙌🏽💪🏽THANK YOU

He's right. We are gods who have the ability to project and create our own realities. Don't waste your time thinking about what is possible and what's not.

This is too generalistic. Some people are affected by some events, other aren't, like everything in life. Maybe a person decides to become a doctor or a veterinarian after they witness an accident or something, while most others just go along with their lives, while others develop anxiety, depression, panic attacks, etc. Obviously a 20 minute video of someone speaking has not the impact to changes drastically someone's life immediately, but it may be a seed, or the last drop, in a series of thoughts that do eventually present a reasonable effect on some people. Maybe many people who were struggling to "conform" and give up being a dancer or a musician, had a new spark of motivation after watching Ken Robinson. Of course most people are already immersed and adapted to an environment where it takes more than an advice in order for them to change considerably. Most people are somewhat trapped in a web, they're already a piece of a mechanism that functions in a certain way, and simply "wishing", or even trying to change, will affect that mechanism, and the other "pieces" will force the person to go back to the place where "things work". Adults are organisms who have already been through a long process of adapting through conditioning and trial and error. The "changes" have already happened, and that is the "learning" process. When you're a kid you may try many things, different foods, different sports. The way a person feels in these experiences will mold them. If you hate certain foods, you will adapt, search for what you like, for what makes you feel good. If you fail at certain sports, you will tend to avoid them. Many times the kid does have a talent and a will, a desire to do something, but the parents block it, say it is a waste of time, etc. Other people simply detach from reality, and avoid or ignore other people, for example. Like those singers who are terrible, but thing that all other people are stupid for not recognizing their talent (anyone who has ever watched American Idol first episodes know exactly how that is). Anyway, kids and teenagers are still flexible and curious, and eager to evolve. After a person becomes an adult, they're fully molded, and it's more difficult to change, unless, of course, it's something they REALLY want, and precisely the environment and lack of money they encountered in their younger years is what prevented them from this change. Most people who change a lot after late 20's are people who felt shackled, and then grew apart from family and their hometown and etc., and started having their own money and being able to make their own decisions without being repressed and limited by other people. The best way to change your behavior is obviously not watching TED talks, but getting a hold of considerable amounts of money.

I've been waiting a long time for this ted talk LOL

U choose...your choice. I have one that has really helped me and good. What I find in this world now is that people want an instantaneous solution to their problems. If the problem was a short problem, instantaneous might work. But problems are what happen as we are growing and as we are learning in our relationships with others and all that good stuff. And you can't solve it by a tweet. You can't solve it by a short email. You can't solve it by griping about everything. You have to dig just a little bit underneath your surface and think. And you have to be mindful of what you're thinking. You have to come up with more than one -letter word than what we are generally utter when we are upset. Use your brain for more than a hat rack. Come up with possible new solutions for yourself and sometimes TEDTalks can help you figure out what you can consider in thinking . They are not panaceas...merely an adjunct...

People disagreeing with him with reasons that just prove his point even more. Most People don't follow through on Tedtalks they agree on because they rely on the novelty and quickly forget the talks. If you want to actually follow through, you have to rely on getting "hyped". This means putting the idea of Tedtalks into your mind whether subconciously or not. Judging by the comments, people changed by TedTalks also treat these Talks as a way of life aka they hype themselves into living out the ideas. Is being into these talks life-improving? Probably a yes. But you have accept that you only started doing it regularly because you liked the idea that keeps popping into your brain that you'd like to identify as being a Tedtalk enthusiast.

very inspiring !

The difference between the world we all dream about and the one we actually have is having more people like you Tom Asacker.

Truly amazing..looking at the comments, I can see that it's unfortunately going over many people's heads.

12:50 Desire/Identity is why

His understanding of computers (or what they could be) is simplistic. The metaphor is good and useful. The identity he spoke of is a set of beliefs about ourselves, and these beliefs are rules and could be programmed into a computer.

I honestly was confused about his points and how we can implement them. Is he talking about you are what you think? Not really sure

Change is a choice. You cant change what does not want to change but they can be made aware.

If a TED talk makes you think, it has done its job. There are countless videos on how to lose weight yet there’s a tiny fraction of those viewers who actually follow that advice long term to lose weight. But now they know better even if they did not follow the advice.

I'm interested in understanding precisely what I'm missing when declaring that human beings do not operate in the world like computers. Do computers care what others think of their decisions, and therefore modify their output based on those imagined perceptions? Does the fear of death drive computers to maintain faith in belief systems, often to the detriment of other computers who appear to block their pursuit of their beliefs and goals? Yes, computers are like the brains that created them. Brains, however, are not like computers.

It's the best TED Talk so far for me.

Yeah, although I absolutely love Ted talks and watch them a lot and completely agree with a lot of the advice in them, yet I don’t make any moves or changes to follow them through. It’s like I’m too scared to leave my comfort zone. I know that if I put into action the advice from these talks it would change my life, but I don’t. Funnily enough, there’s a Ted talk called “how to get what you want” and the speaker makes the point that even though everyday we have life changing ideas, we just throw them away because we get too comfortable in our comfort zones and don’t leave them enough.

watched this on some molly. Can recommend for those stuck in a rut 👍

Prophetic words! Here we are, 4 years later.....

And after a rousing round of applause, all the audience members went back to the same old lives they'd been living. "Give me a child until he is seven, and I will give you the man." - Jesuit Francis Xavier

Ted is the best thing I discovered

Charles Faulkner talks well about Metaphors of Identity and how he has helped people change them, and how their lives changed due to that. "Metaphors of Identity: Operating Metaphors & Iconic Change"

ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth

The more I drink as I listen, the more sense this guy makes.

i liked it - thank you

Tempting to ask the question what the difference between fact and creativity is. I think it is that fact is more static while creativity is more dynamic and unpredictable.

I've been watching Ted talk leactures over the course of maybe 5 days , I still don't see so much change because I'm totally impatient 🙃and that hangs over my entire life , our substantial problem is patience and it's never gonna be easy if we don't push ourselves and contemplate our recent life , where is it going .... what are we doing in every individual day then we will determine whether ted talks are helping us or are we not getting it in easily

Because they're just entertainment. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Good talk.

most don't give you ways to do stuff ..they only talk ...you are the one who wants to change or not ..if you are not motivated then you won't.

Let me break it down for those who didn't get it. If you want to apply a ted talk to your life you will only succeed if your identity changes in a way to perpetuate that. Requires heavy modification of your inner self to do, that's why so hard.

Many good points in this talk that unfortunately most "scientists" and technocrats seem to forget

GREAT talk!

Best advice I ever got

yes ! yes! yes! Making people WANT to change is the only way to make them change. Art can change the world becuse it has the ability to inspire.Good art affects us because it can touch us in the emotional level.

JESUS! This kinda made me emotional at points. He's pretty good at drawing you in.

I want to sleep early to wake up early and be productive...But . . . . . I can't stop watching Tedx Talks vids.

Essentially, Asacker is talking about what we perceive, as opposed to what we believe. Fact or fiction, we have belief systems that are imprinted by environoment, culture and peers. One person will look at a professional athlete and call them a Neaderthal, while another will call them Chilean Sea Bass.

Very true very true

TV keeps us engaged

The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.....Teach your brain what you want it to think. You only see what you are looking at.

We are an information-dependent and hungry society. Consuming new, current information makes the false promise to us that we can empower ourselves and live richer lives through a sense of control over our lives and environments. More information gives us the sense of being in control, which temporarily brings feelings of engagement, empowerment, passion, and keeps us interested, and zealous. But to keep consuming so much information (or TedX videos) is madness, because we know that we don't actually make our choices (which will effect our lives and our futures and what we want to become) based on the information that we know.

Put they do inform and needs to be put out there much more to communities.

Now there needs to be some ted talks, which either explains how to change ones identity or better does it through the video (but we still have to feel like we are in control + the aestetics of the video and the talk must be great). Hmm... I could do that. I just discovered why I want to go on Ted! Why not? I know a lot about changing my own and others identity and definition of themself. And its true - we act in the way we define ourself. And I know how to redefine yourself. And because people won`t do the work to change their identity if you just say: "Redefine yourself!" Someone like me, must give a talk about a step by step system how to do that + or if its possible do it while the audience is watching. In 18 minutes. So finally there would be a Ted Talk which would change ones life. Now that is an inspiring goal. I really would like to give this talk. I know I can do that. I truly do. -->well, if I do that - wouldn`t I disproove this video? Because if I would do it, this video would have changed my life!

This video goes great with some smoooth jazz

i watch ted talks because i find knowledge interesting