I finally realized how cool TED Talks are.
I had finished midterm exams earlier in the day, wrote my blog on COVID-19, and just got into bed after my post-gym shower. I was about to mindlessly relax by watching “Hot Ones” on YouTube, where host Sean Evans eats chicken wings of various spice levels with famous people. But I got a suggested video, a TED Talk, that was too interesting to pass up. And then I got stuck in a TED Talk rabbit hole.
The following are the 5 TED Talks I watched, in the order in which I watched them. Below, I summarize each one, and while completely unrelated, they all have one common theme.
This was a pretty powerful one. Aaron Stark grew up in a household full of drugs and violence, and he said that he attended roughly 30-40 schools growing up, moving from place to place in order to dodge the police. Always being “the new kid,” having a weight problem, and showing up in dirty and torn clothes made him a prime target of bullies, putting him in an extraordinarily dark place. His bullying at school and at home hurt him so much that he felt he had “nothing to lose,” which is why he wanted to cause as much damage as possible in something like a school shooting. However, Stark had one friend that stuck by him no matter what, treating him with kindness and showing him that someone cared about him. Now, Stark is a happy father of four, and his life was saved along with those of many others.
The coolest part about Kid Cudi’s TED Talk was how nervous he was. As a world-famous rapper that has likely performed in front of crowds of over 100,000 people, Cudi was visibly uncomfortable giving a TED Talk to his former high school. These nerves removed Cudi’s filter, and that’s what made his presentation so strong. After dropping out of college and moving to New York City to pursue music, his message was clear: “if you want it, and if you work hard enough for it, it can be so, because there’s no difference between you and me.”
Out of the 5 TED Talks I watched, Cole Bennett’s was easily my favorite. As a fellow hip-hop fan and 20-something year-old creative, I identify closest with Bennett, but I was also blown away by how well-spoken and comfortable he was in such a foreign and intimidating situation.
Discussing the success of his hip-hop coverage and events company, Lyrical Lemonade, Bennett centered his speech around a “glass half-full,” or positive mindset, versus a “glass half-empty,” or negative mindset. While not a new concept, Bennett’s presentation of numerous examples where his “glass half-full” mindset helped him rebound from a negative situation and continue on an upward trajectory was so convincing that I couldn’t help but watch it and think: “you can really do anything you want to do if you’re persistent, set realistic goals, and stay positive.”
It’s really awesome to see a guy who’s experienced as much success as Joseph Gordon-Levitt be so humble. After starring in all-time classic movies like Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Gordon-Levitt gave this TED Talk in September 2019 centered around paying attention versus getting attention. As an actor and creator, he says that the more he pays attention, the happier he is; but the more he creates to get attention, the more unhappy he is: “if your creativity is driven by a desire to get attention, you’re never going to be creatively fulfilled.” He then goes on to discuss seeing other actors as collaborators rather than competitors, and cites the science behind flow as evidence to how effective a person can be at creating when he or she focuses on just one thing. So it’s this focus, paying attention, that stimulates his happiness and positive thinking.
This one was pretty eye-opening too. Shaun Attwood grew up and went to college in the U.K., but he moved to Arizona with hopes of becoming a millionaire in the stock market. While he achieved this goal, Attwood also threw massive parties at his house and provided Ecstasy there, which is what landed him in prison. Spending six years incarcerated, Attwood experienced beatings, cockroaches in his bed, moldy food that sometimes included dead rats, and scorching hot temperatures preventing him from sleeping. But through this experience, he learned to appreciate the little things in life, and that “happiness is in your heart and what your thoughts make it.” Like Bennett’s TED Talk says, “mindset is everything.”
The common theme: everything depends on your mindset
Stark became the man he is today because his friend maintained a positive mindset regarding him, which turned Stark’s entire life around. Kid Cudi became one of the most influential hip-hop artists of all time because he believed in himself enough to keep chasing his dream until he realized it. Even when he experienced setbacks with Lyrical Lemonade, Bennett sustained his “glass half-full” mindset and continues to do so as his company becomes even more successful. Gordon-Levitt prioritizes paying attention in order to create rather than creating to get attention, which has made his acting better and himself happier. And finally, Shaun went to Hell and back to discover that material things don’t matter: what makes you happy depends on your perception of life.
While Bennett’s TED Talk was based on mindsets, something else he said stuck with me the most: “I think that there are truly two types of people. Like I said, we have our [glass] half-full and our [glass] half-empty, but I also think that there are people who like to be understood, and there are people who like to understand.”
I didn’t start Mitch Rose Blog to be understood, and I definitely didn’t start it to get attention. The reason Bennett’s TED Talk resonated with me so much is that it helped me discover that I started this blog to understand, to pay attention. When I write these posts, especially thought-provoking ones about topics like how to perceive change, reflecting vs. dwelling, and goal-setting, it helps me comprehend my own thoughts, while also providing me with more opportunities to learn by consuming extra information from books, articles, videos, songs, or other blogs. Through this research, I gain new perspectives, which helps me to improve my blog and myself so that I grow into a better person than I was before.
That’s the best part of creating. For me, that creation is writing. Writing gives me a release and an avenue to express my thoughts: whenever I feel like I need to get something out, I write it down, whether that be a blog or something else that I’m working on (stay tuned).
In other words, creating helps me stay positive and see the glass half-full rather than half empty. With that mindset, you can do anything. Maybe you won’t be a famous rapper, actor, or pop culture icon, but like Stark and Attwood demonstrated in their TED Talks, you’ll definitely be happy. And that’s all that matters.