Ted Talk Tuesday: Never, ever give up

Caroline Gaynor talked about the rewards of hard work, training, and persistence, and all of the good things that athletics can bring to your life as an adult. Long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad embodies the rewards of setting lofty goals and persistently pursuing them. In this talk, she talks about her swim 100-mile swim from Cuba to Key West in 2013.

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Ted Talk Tuesday: A Hilarious Celebration of Lifelong Female Friendship

Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin star in the Netlix show Grace and Frankie as somewhat reluctant friends/roommates, but they've actually been friends since they made the movie 9 to 5 back in 1980. In 2015, they talked about how important friendship with other women has been in their lives- and about becoming fast friends with each other and costar Dolly Parton working on 9 to 5. It's funny (obviously) and sweet with a few stats to back up just why having close friendships is good for your health!

(h/t to Merin and the Kit newsletter for putting this talk on my radar!)

Ted Talk: Every Kid Needs a Champion

Janelle Bynum talked about passing opportunity on- from one generation to the next, and within a community- and she sees educational equality and educational opportunity as the key to passing opportunity on to the next generation. She is passionate about education and about pushing for policies that will help minority kids with the understanding that what lifts minority kids will lift everyone...

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Ted Talk Tuesday: Your Elusive Creative Genius

Teresa Brazen talked about the critical role creativity has played in her life, from art class as a kid, to her work as a visual artist, to leading professional education at Cooper. Teresa tells us that creativity is like a muscle that you can develop and make stronger with frequent practice. She says, "creativity is something that you can bring into any kind of work, and in a large part it’s really up to you to do that. Creativity in a way is just a mindset that you have to bring to your own work."

Elizabeth Gilbert gave a terrific TED talk a few years ago about creativity, and I think her approach dovetails with Teresa's. Gilbert shares Teresa's belief that creativity isn't just for some special few, but is something everyone can tap into.