Mainstream career advice tells us to “follow our passion”, but this advice is dead wrong. Research shows that people who take this approach are ultimately no more likely to enjoy or excel at their jobs. Instead, if you’re looking for a fulfilling career, here’s a new slogan to live by: Do what’s valuable.

Benjamin Todd is the co-founder and Executive Director of 80,000 Hours, an Oxford-based charity dedicated to helping people find fulfilling careers that make a real difference. In three years, 80,000 Hours has grown from a student society to a thriving charity featured on the BBC, the Washington Post, NPR and more, and whose online careers guide has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.

Benjamin Todd on heategevusorganisatsiooni 80 000 Hours kaasasutaja, nende eesmärk on aidata inimesi, kes tahavad suurendada oma karjääri positiivset mõju maailmale. Ben on juhtinud 80 000 Hoursi kasvu kolme aasta jooksul tudengiorganisatsioonist Oxfordi heategevusorganisatsiooniks, mida on mainitud nii BBC, Washington Post ja NPR jt.meediaväljaannetes. Ben on õppinud Oxfordis füüsikat ja filosoofiat, avaldanud kirjutisi kliimafüüsika teemal ja räägib hiina keelt.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

Lauren is an Environmental Studies graduate from NYU and former Sustainability Manager at the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, and the amount of trash that she has produced over the past three years can fit inside of a 16 oz. mason jar.

Lauren Singer is author of the Zero Waste blog, Trash is for Tossers and founder of organic cleaning product company, The Simply Co.

Through her blog, she has empowered millions of readers to produce less waste by shopping package-free, making their own products and refusing plastic and single-use items.

Her work has been profiled by New York Magazine, MSNBC, NBC, AOL, CNN, Yahoo, Fox Business, BBC and NPR, among others.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Khadija Gbla grew up in Sierra Leone. As a young girl, she was subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). As a woman, she lives with the consequences of FGM everyday. She is determined that this form of abuse against young girls will end, and she wants to end it in her lifetime.

Khadija Gbla was born in Sierra Leone. Her family sought refuge in Australia in 2001 after enduring a thirteen-year civil war within her homeland.

Khadija strives to combine her African and Australian heritage and values in order to advocate acceptance and equality within the community. Khadija’s passion for her community and for giving young people a voice in our community continues to motivate her involvement in diverse community projects. Khadija has represented Australia in the international arena at the Harvard National Model United Nations, Commonwealth Youth Forum and Australian and Africa Dialogue.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Take the first step towards mastering the art of public speaking by checking out TED Masterclass, TED’s newest mobile app: bit.ly/TEDMasterclassApp

— At TED, we’re passionate about public speaking. Whether from a stage, over a podcast, in a classroom or at your workplace — learning how to effectively share your best ideas creates opportunities for both you and your audience. TED Masterclass features a beautifully animated 11-lesson course, choice TED Talks that model the concepts covered in each lesson, and a continuous flow of exclusive insights from TED’s speaker coaching team. Learn how to identify, develop and share your best ideas in the form of TED-style Talks.

If you’re on a smartphone, you can download the mobile app and preview every lesson in the course for free. And if you decide to purchase the full course, all proceeds will support the work of TED’s global education initiative, TED-Ed.

Dr Lucy Hone is a resilience expert who thought she found her calling supporting people to recover following the Christchurch earthquake. She had no idea that her personal journey was about to take her to a far darker place. In this powerful and courageous talk, she shares the three strategies that got her through an unimaginable tragedy⁠—and offers a profound insight on human suffering. Dr Lucy Hone is a director of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing

Every organ and even every cell in our body has circadian or 24 h clock. Circadian clocks turn on and off thousands of genes at the right time of the day or night. These rhythms work together to maintain healthy balance of brain chemicals, hormones, and nutrients. When our rhythms break down we are more likely to suffer from a wide range of diseases from depression to cancer. We can tune our daily habits of eating, sleeping or getting the right amount of light to sustain our circadian rhythms. Healthy rhythms nurture healthy body and healthy mind. Dr. Satchidananda Panda, a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. Satchin’s work deals specifically with the timing of food and it’s relationship with our biological clocks governed by circadian rhythm and also the circadian rhythm in general.

Professor Panda explores the genes, molecules and cells that keep the whole body on the same circadian clock. A section of the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) lies at the center of the body’s master clock and gets input directly from light sensors in the eyes, keeping the rest of the body on schedule. Panda discovered how these light sensors work, as well as how cellular timekeepers in other parts of the body function. He also uncovered a novel blue light sensor in the retina that measures ambient light level and sets the time to go to sleep and wake up every day.

In the process of exploring how the liver’s daily cycles work, Panda found that mice which eat within a set amount of time (12 hours) resulted in slimmer, healthier mice than those who ate the same number of calories in a larger window of time, showing that when one eats may be as important as what one eats. If the benefits of this “12-hour diet” hold true in humans, it could have profound impacts on treating overeating disorders, diabetes and obesity.

The circadian clock, he found, even mediates the immune system. Mice with a crucial circadian molecule missing had higher levels of inflammation in their bodies than other mice, suggesting that genes and molecules involved in the circadian clock could be drug targets for conditions linked to inflammation, such as infections or cancer. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Narda Pitkethly created a system that profoundly simplifies learning how to read. Watch how her system reduces illiteracy and many of its negative consequences. Narda Pitkethly moved to Japan after college and discovered the Japanese had created a simple method of learning to read, called Hiragana. Through their method, Narda learned to read Japanese in a week. Within three months, her comprehension allowed her to communicate freely in her home city of Fukuoka.
In 1988 Narda moved from Japan to Sun Valley because the small community and year-round outdoor activities enticed her. An accomplished glassblower, she often travels to Boise to create works of art.
When her daughter was identified as a challenged reader in the first grade, Narda discovered that English is one of the hardest languages in the world to learn to read, even for native speakers. Narda analyzed the English alphabet to understand why it is so difficult (1 in 4 children grow up without learning to read). She organized the letters in the same way the Japanese organized their Hiragana characters. Narda reveals an approach to the English language you have never seen before. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Dans ce talk en Anglais, Edouard Jacqmin nous parle de son expérience de voyager à travers lEurope sans argent pendant 21 jours, et les conséquences que ce voyage a eu sur sa manière de voir les relations humaines.

La plupart d’entre nous rêvons de voyager. Mais beaucoup d’entre nous croient que nous ne pouvons pas à cause du manque d’argent. À 24 ans, j’ai voyagé en Europe de l’Est pendant 21 jours sans dépenser un seul centime. Un jour, j’ai vidé mon portefeuille et j’ai décidé de prendre la route. Traversant 5 pays différents, j’ai appris au cours de cette aventure incroyable 4 leçons que nous pouvons tous appliquer dans notre vie quotidienne.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

With an appreciation of flow and motion Peggys life has been always been driven by passion. From surfing and skateboarding to the intimate appreciation what she calls the Cetacean Nation. Discovering the transformative force of participation artwork through her Origami Whales project was the first step to realising that passion could be harnessed, amplified and ultimately inspire for a deeper purpose.

Surfer, Skateboarder, Artist and Activist.

Once the only female member of the famous Zephyr Skateboard team from documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys: Peggy’s love of the outdoors inspires her to travel worldwide in search of good surf. In 2004, she founded the Origami Whales Project to raise awareness about commercial whaling. She has also developed the Whales and Dolphins Ambassador Program and led campaigns such as ‘Let’s Face It’, which petitions to save New Zealand’s critically endangered Maui’s dolphins and Hector’s dolphins.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

Music works a lot like language does — except instead of words and ideas, it expresses emotions and intent. It also gives us an oxytocin boost, which plays an important role in increasing bonding and trust between people. The Showhawk Duo bonded TEDxKlagenfurt’s audience with their spectacular approach to playing the guitar. Listen to the magic they created on stage with their version of Insomnia — I cant get no sleep, Tiesto’s Adagio For Strings or the most unexpected thing you can expect on a guitar Bohemian Rhapsody. Young British guitarists Mikhail Asanovic and Jake Wright, together known as The Showhawk Duo, started out as buskers and have since gone on to play all over the globe. They have appeared on BBC Radio 1 on the Nick Grimshaw’s Breakfast Show, they performed for the LAD Bible and BBC Radio Bristol. They played at the UKs large festivals including the Main Stage at Bestival, Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party, Wilderness, Somersault and more. International performances include F1 Grand Prix in Singapore, Seychelles, club tours in Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands and a 20 — date residency at Pacha in Ibiza. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx