who + what + how = a better world
Someone, sometime back told me the difference between an Optimist and a Pessimist's view of an event.
“An Optimist is never surprised and always disappointed. Whereas, a Pessimist is never disappointed and always surprised.”
That definition bugs the heck out of me. It makes being an Optimist feel like a sorry state of being. Why? Because of that word "Surprise."
Who doesn't love a surprise?
Who doesn't like to be surprised?
I can not tell you how many times I've pondered it, wondering if being one or the other is wiser. My conclusion: Even if I am sometimes disappointed, I would rather be optimistic. To that end, I'd like to share with you one of the most inspiring things I do for myself each day.
TED Talk
TED Talks are short--15ish minute long--presentations by dynamic doers, thinkers, speakers sharing ideas on a huge range of topics of global interest. Contrary to most other talking we hear, Ted Talks are informative, interesting and almost always positive. Those I have listened to feature people trying to make our world through science, social interaction, literature & art, better. I've listed a few of my favorites below. For a complete list of talks click here: TED Talk Topics
Parents, Teacher, Librarians:There are also TED Talks for Kids!
TED Talks are FREE!
You can watch TED Talks on your phone, Ipad, Computer, or listen to them on your commute (although I must mention that many include visuals worth seeing, so some things do get lost with audio-only.)
What is TED?
“TED is a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world.”
Get this! There is even a TED Prize! (I just learned about this incredible Million Dollar prize!) "The TED Prize is awarded annually to a leader with a creative, bold wish to spark global change. By investing $1 million in a powerful idea every year, the TED Prize accelerates progress toward solving some of the world's most pressing problems."
YOU COULD WIN A TED PRIZE!
YOU COULD NOMINATE SOMEONE FOR A TED PRIZE!
Like me, YOU CAN LEARN HOW OPTIMISTS ARE WORKING TO MAKE OUR WORLD A BETTER PLACE.
“The heart of the TED Prize is the wish. It’s worth investing time to refine it and push it further. At its most basic, a wish is: who + what + how = a better world. Who are you going to engage? On what issue, and in what way? For what kind of impact?”
Winner of the 2017 TED Prize is Dr. Raj Panjabi, Founder and CEO of Last Mile Health, most notable for his work on the ebola virus. Dr. Panjabi's wish is to train locals to provide heathcare in remote communities. I couldn't find a TED Talk by Dr. Panjabi yet, but he will be revealing his plans for fulfilling his wish at a TED conference in April.
And, to hear past winners of the TED Prize and be inspired and excited by them and their WISH, click!
It begins with a Wish! Don't you love that? A Wish for our planet! A Wish for humanity! A Wish for a cure! For a solution! A Wish for the future!
That "difference" between Optimists and Pessimists noted above, might be true. Maybe Pessimists are surprised more often--surprised by what Optimists dare to WISH!
Cue Jiminy Cricket: "For when you wish upon a star your dreams come true..."
A Better World Playlist:
- Ryan Gravel, "How An Old Loop Of Railroad..."
- Elizabeth Gilbert, "Your Elusive Creative Genius."
- Shane Koyzcan, "To This Day...for the bullied and the beautiful."
- 31 Days of Ideas from TED
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Need a Little Snappy Happy-Ever After, Too?
My hands-down favorite stick-in-my head musical number goes, "We need a little music/need a little laughter/need a little snappy happy-ever-after...
That's what I need right now, and I'm thinking with the news swirl and holidays upon us you do too. In truth, I didn't post last week because I couldn't think of anything Pollyanna-ish to say that didn't sound phoney-baloney.
(For those of you unfamiliar with the term "Pollyanna", according to my old-standard go-to, Merriam-Webster (since 1828), A "Pollyanna" is someone "irrepressibly optimistic who tends to find the good in everything.")
I first learned the term "Pollyanna" as the title of the Disney movie starring the embodiment of Pollyanna, Haley Mills (yes, I wanted to be her when I was little. And no, I was not her age when the movie came out--I saw it in reruns, too.) Longing for a feel good afternoon, treat yourself! Here's the Pollyanna trailer.
(Note: "Phoney-Baloney" is nonsense, foolishness, deceptive talk; a phoney-baloney is one who spouts such bull! The terms usage dates back to 1936. Pollyanna is no phoney-baloney!)
But wait, there's more! Feeling a bit like Kathryn Hepburn in Desk Set, I did some digging beyond the movie and whooppeee! Music to my writer's ears, turns out the term, Pollyanna, like Hayley Mill's character, came from a book!
“Origin and Etymology of pollyanna
Pollyanna, heroine of the novel Pollyanna (1913) by Eleanor Porter †1920 American fiction writer
First Known Use: 1921”
BTW: Pollyanna, was published in 1913, when Eleanor H. Porter was 44.
Pollyanna ranked eighth among best-selling novels in the United States during 1913, second during 1914, and fourth during 1915 (with 47 printings between 1915 and 1920).
Why would a "sappy" book about an orphan who always looking on the bright side have gained such popularity? Consider the times: World War One began July 28th, 1914...
Another Pollyanna-ish Orphan bounced onto the scene in 1924. Harold Gray's comic strip heroine, Little Orphan Annie. What else was happening in 1924 U.S.?
- Johnny Weissmuller--Tarzan!--won three gold medals at the Paris Summer Olympics
- First Round The World Flight completed in 175 days by a Chicago based US Army Air Service team
- J. Edgar Hoover appointed Director of the Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Prohibition (1920-1933)
This is the cover of my "Annie" book.
Gray's Little Orphan Annie comic strip ran continuously through prohibition, the Depression, World War Two, the Korean Conflict, most of the Vietnam War and Cold War...even past Gray's death in 1968. (To be revived after Annie's Broadway debut in 1976.)
FYI: Gray's Orphan Annie was an original. He didn't conjure her, he kidnapped the little orphan from an 1885 poem. Here are the first few lines:
“LITTLE Orphant Annie ’s come to our house to stay,
An’ wash the cups and saucers up, an’ brush the crumbs away,
An’ shoo the chickens off the porch, an’ dust the hearth, an’ sweep,
An’ make the fire, an’ bake the bread, an’ earn her board-an’-keep;
An’ all us other children, when the supper things is done, 5
We set around the kitchen fire an’ has the mostest fun
A-list’nin’ to the witch-tales ’at Annie tells about,
An’ the Gobble-uns ’at gits you
Ef you
Don’t 10
Watch
Out!”
What to read more? Little Orphant Annie by James Witcomb Riley
What with all these Pollyannas, you might be asking? Historically speaking, what these Pollyanna's show me can be summed up in one paraphrase. When the going gets tough, Writers get writing. What do readers want? What does every Pollyanna ooze?
HEART! Miles and miles and miles of heart...
Or, to quote another Pollyanna, "Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down...."
Cause if we need a little snappy, everyone else might me craving one, too.
Need A Little Snappy Playlist:
- Need A Little Christmas from MAME!
- Tomorrow from Annie!
- Spoon Full of Sugar from Mary Poppins
- Ya Gotta Have Heart from Damn Yankees