Ted talks what makes a hero

Is it something attainable for ordinary humans? Would you call yourself one? Step One: Call to Adventure. Here, our hero is asked to leave her status quo and embark upon a new journey.

Step Two: Assistance. Our hero meets a mentor; someone equipped to help her along the way. Obiwan Kenobi. Step Three: Departure. Our hero sets out on her journey, and effectively crosses the realm from her ordinary world into the unknown.

Step Four: Trials. Step Five: Approach. The enemy is met. Step Six: Crisis. This is the high point of the story, where our hero undergoes her deepest crisis. Essentially, this is where she fights and defeats her dragon. Step Seven: Treasure. Samantha Power tells a story of a complicated hero, Sergio Vieira de Mello. This UN diplomat walked a thin moral line, negotiating with the world's worst dictators to help their people survive crisis.

It's a compelling story told with a fiery passion. In , Martin Luther King Jr. None of it would have been possible without the march's chief organizer — a man named Bayard Rustin. Christina Greer details his life of advocacy as a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, and the challenges he face As chief investment officer of Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, Hiro Mizuno led substantial transitions in the portfolio's asset allocation, marked by a strong environmental, social, and governance mentality.

Singer-songwriter Dawn Landes tells the story of Tori Murden McClure, who dreamed of rowing across the Atlantic in a small boat -- but whose dream was almost capsized by waves the size of a seven-story building.

Through video, story and song, Landes imagines the mindset of a woman alone in the midst of the vast ocean. This talk was part of a se Volunteer firefighter Mark Bezos tells a story of an act of heroism that didn't go quite as expected -- but that taught him a big lesson: Don't wait to be a hero.

Trans actress, model and writer Hari Nef scrutinizes the concept of passing as a transgender woman and using feminization as a survival tactic. Or survivors? Poets and doctors both save lives, just in different ways. World-champion slam poet Harry Baker shares the heartache of forfeiting the path of medicine for a self-guided career in poetry and writing. This talk is an ode to choosing to be different, woven through two poems that sing with universal truth.

While he won't help the world by becoming Why is there something rather than nothing? Why does so much interesting stuff exist in the universe? Despite the best efforts of scientists and the help of the biggest machine on the pl At MIT, Hugh Herr builds prosthetic knees, legs and ankles that fuse biomechanics with microprocessors to restore and perhaps enhance normal gait, balance and speed.

At 18, Natalie Warne's work with the Invisible Children movement made her a hero for young activists. She uses her inspiring story to remind us that no one is too young to change the world. In a moving talk, journalist Johann Hari shares fresh insights on the causes of depression and anxiety from experts around the world -- as well as some exciting emerging solutions.

Revolutionary achievements, important discoveries and astounding leaps of progress that have fundamentally transformed the scientific world. What makes a hero? What trials unite not only Harry Potter or Frodo Baggins but many of literature's most interesting heroes? And what do ordinary people have in common with these literary heroes?

Matthew Winkler takes us step-by-step through the crucial events that make or break a hero. Learn More. Additional Resources for you to Explore. Find a comparable story from another continent. Challenge the paradigm.