Sometimes called the "happiest man in the world," Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk, author and photographer.

Statistician Nic Marks asks why we measure a nation's success by its productivity -- instead of by the happiness and well-being of its people. He introduces the Happy Planet Index, which tracks national well-being against resource use (because a happy life doesn't have to cost the earth). Which countries rank highest in the HPI? You might be sur...

When are humans most happy? To gather data on this question, Matt Killingsworth built an app, Track Your Happiness, that let people report their feelings in real time. Among the surprising results: We're often happiest when we're lost in the moment. And the flip side: The more our mind wanders, the less happy we can be.

Neil Pasricha is one of the world's leading authorities on intentional living.

What keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? If you think it's fame and money, you're not alone – but, according to psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, you're mistaken. As the director of a 75-year-old study on adult development, Waldinger has unprecedented access to data on true happiness and satisfaction. In this talk, he shares three imp...

With a career that fuses rock and roll, corporate identity creation, and impressionistic geography, Paula Scher is a master conjurer of the instantly familiar.

Everyone wants to be happy. But how, exactly, does one go about it? Here, psychologists, journalists, Buddhist monks and more gives answers that may surprise.

Why do we like an original painting better than a forgery? Psychologist Paul Bloom argues that human beings are essentialists -- that our beliefs about the history of an object change how we experience it, not simply as an illusion, but as a deep feature of what pleasure (and pain) is.

In the face of trauma, happiness is resilience: a revolutionary act of thriving despite all odds, rather than wilting or surrendering. Community organizer and activist Miracle Jones offers a heart-to-heart meditation on the role of joy as a form of radical resistance, survival and protection for Black folks in the US and across the world. A warm...

After a week of studying, you feel confident that you'll ace your exam. But when you get your grade back, it's much lower than you expected. You're devastated, and the disappointment is hard to shake. Should you be trying to look on the bright side? And is controlling your emotions even possible? Explore techniques to help you identify, understa...

Have you had your daily dose of fun? It's not just enjoyable, it's also essential for your health and happiness, says science journalist Catherine Price. She proposes a new definition of fun -- what she calls "true fun" -- and shares easy, evidence-backed ways to weave playfulness, flow and connection into your everyday life.

Barry Schwartz studies the link between economics and psychology, offering startling insights into modern life.

Scott Dinsmore founded Live Your Legend, a career and connection platform to inspire people to find their passion.

Guitarist and singer Raul Midon blends flamenco, jazz and R&B to create a category-defying sound. His life story is as inspiring as his musical vision.

Benjamin Wallace is a journalist and author of The Billionaire's Vinegar, the true story of the world's most expensive bottle of (possibly phony?) wine. He's been a contributor to GQ, Details, Salon and The Washington Post.

Ogyen Trinley Dorje is the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, a revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism devoted to preserving and propagating Buddhist teachings.

A simple ode to joy and the light it brings.

Lakshmi Pratury is the host of The INK Conference and was the co-host of TEDIndia 2009.

We tend to think of therapy as an approach to fixing problems — you go if you're not happy, not when everything seems fine. Clinical psychologist Emily Anhalt shares her experiences as both therapist and patient to make a compelling case that therapy isn't just a means to an end. "It'll drastically increase the depth and authenticity of your hap...

We believe we should work hard in order to be happy, but could we be thinking about things backwards? In this fast-moving and very funny talk, psychologist Shawn Achor argues that, actually, happiness inspires us to be more productive.

Stephen Trzeciak was at the top of his game as a research scientist until an unexpected question from his 12-year-old son transformed his life's work. "What is the most pressing problem of our time...do we really know? And what would happen if we actually did?" In this talk, Trzeciak discusses the erosion of compassion in healthcare and how we c...

Daniel Goleman, psychologist and award-winning author of Emotional Intelligence and other books on EI, challenges traditional measures of intelligence as a predictor of life success.

Caleb Chung dreams up toys that interact with children. He's the inventor of Furby, a talking (and listening) robotic furball that sold some 50 million units in the late '90s. His newest plaything: Pleo the adorable robot dinosaur.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi contributed pioneering work to our understanding of happiness, creativity, human fulfillment and the notion of "flow" -- a state of heightened focus and immersion in activities such as art, play and work.

Psychologist Susan David shares how the way we deal with our emotions shapes everything that matters: our actions, careers, relationships, health and happiness. In this deeply moving, humorous and potentially life-changing talk, she challenges a culture that prizes positivity over emotional truth and discusses the powerful strategies of emotiona...

Fascinating, insightful talks on what it means to be human and live a good life.

More and more people worldwide are living in countries not considered their own. Writer Pico Iyer -- who himself has three or four “origins” -- meditates on the meaning of home, the joy of traveling and the serenity of standing still.

Self-described control freak Gabriela Roa thought she had everything under control when her son was born -- little did she know what it was like to live with a toddler. Initially, she tried to fight back against her son's messiness, but learned a surprising lesson when she decided to start embracing it. After studying the way in which chaos can ...

For her social art project, Seize Your Moments, artist Janne Willems approaches strangers and asks them to draw beautiful moments from the past week on postcards. So far, Willems has collected nearly 11,000 drawings from 30 different countries. In her endearing talk, Willems shares a moving selection of intensely personal treasured moments from ...

In this talk from 2003, design critic Don Norman turns his incisive eye toward beauty, fun, pleasure and emotion, as he looks at design that makes people happy. He names the three emotional cues that a well-designed product must hit to succeed.