If you are an entrepreneur, of course you want to be successful. For some, success is measured strictly in dollars and cents. But for the majority of small business owners, success means that and much more. It also means healthy relationships, fulfilling work, and giving back.
If you’re striving for business and personal success, check out these 10 popular TED Talks. They’ll provide you with insights and strategies that can help you become a better entrepreneur.
1. Kelly McGonigal: How to make stress your friend
There’s no question that launching a business means you’ll experience stress, and likely lots of it. Juggling everything from marketing to administration to financing your business is stressful, and you may find that the more stressed you become, the more you worry about stress. (And if you’re not worried about it, your family members probably are.)
Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal offers a fresh take on stress and how to use it to your advantage. This popular TED Talk is not really focused on how to reduce stress—which will be a relief to many of us who feel it’s unavoidable—but McGonigal does offer a tangible stress reduction tool you can use when it feels like you’re reaching your limit.
Insight: “…the harmful effects of stress on your health are not inevitable. How you think and how you act can transform your experience of stress.”
RELATED: 6 Daily Life Hacks Entrepreneurs Can Try to Overcome Stress
2. Bill Gross: The single biggest reason why startups succeed
It’s tempting to think that money (or marketing) will ensure the success of your entrepreneurial venture. Bill Gross, founder of multiple businesses including IdeaLab, studied 200 businesses that succeeded or failed, and identified the most important factors correlated with success. In this TED talk, he highlights the one factor that you will want to consider whenever you are considering starting a new business, or a new direction or product for your current business. (Here are more strategies for succeeding in your startup.)
Insight: “…Be really, really honest about it, not be in denial about any results that you see, because if you have something you love, you want to push it forward, but you have to be very, very honest about that factor…”
3. Amy Cuddy: Your body image may shape who you are
Few entrepreneurs don’t feel at times like they are out of their league. As their business grows, their sense of being an “imposter” may grow. Here, social psychologist Amy Cuddy suggests simple changes to our body language that can increase our confidence and also change how others perceive us. After watching this Top 25 TED Talk, next time you go into an important meeting you may first want to find a bathroom stall or elevator where you can practice your “power pose.”
Insight: “Don’t fake it till you make it. Fake it till you become it. Do it enough until you actually become it and internalize.”
4. Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action
It doesn’t matter if your team currently consists of just one person: you. Leadership expert Simon Sinek will help you understand how to inspire your customers, your network, and your future team by showing that it’s not the “what” but the “why” that makes individuals and companies great leaders. After all no one wants to be a terrible leader, but it’s easy to do. When I queried my colleagues at Nav about which TED Talks they’d recommend entrepreneurs watch, this one was the most recommended. Not surprisingly it’s been watched almost 39 million times so far!