Alain de Botton examines our ideas of success and failure -- and questions the assumptions underlying these two judgments. Is success always earned? Is failure? He makes an eloquent, witty case to move beyond snobbery to find true pleasure in our work.

Here is another one of my favorite TED videos.

Pamelia Kurstin excavates a dusty artifact from the prehistoric strata of electronic music, and demonstrates how to squeeze soul from an instrument you can't even touch.

"Artist Aaron Koblin takes vast amounts of data — and at times vast numbers of people — and weaves them into stunning visualizations. From elegant lines tracing airline flights to landscapes of cell phone data, from a Johnny Cash video assembled from crowd-sourced drawings to the "Wilderness Downtown" video that customizes for the user, his works brilliantly explore how modern technology can make us more human. Watch his TED Talk below." 

This is one of my favorite TED talks. Very inspiring!