For a bit of inspiration  in 2017, here's my top 5 pick of TEDx talks in 2016. It's the end of the year. Sad though it is I'm not going to dwell on the number of famous and talented deceased. We're all going to die one day, and I don't mean to be morbid. If anything it's a reminder to me to get busy, make a mark and do good work.

Tim Urban: Inside the mind of a master procrastinator

“You call it procrastination, I call it thinking.” once said Aaron Sorkin. Tim Urban has a great blog and I even have his grim but refreshing life calendar. Here he explains why people tend to put things off until the last minute, and why that's sometimes ok. Inspiration.

Mike Rowe: Learning from dirty jobs

I chanced upon Mike Rowe as I was listening to loads of podcasts and prepping to launch my own . As well being funny and shocking there's a valuable lesson about 'doing it the right way', Aristotle and goats testicles.

Dave Morris: The Way of Improvisation

Dave Morris's seven steps to improvising is a great refresher as to why improv is such a valuable learning tool. Play, listening, allowing failure as part of the process.

Susan Greenfield: Technology & the human mind

Are our attention spans getting shorter? Susan Greenfield gives a great talk about how children's minds develop and the effect technology. The effect social media is having on our ability to engage and have quality interactions, i.e. Texting is bad. This is stuff that comes up in some of my training workshops, when we talk about the value of unspoken communication. I do draw issue with one point. Being a gamer I'd argue there are some role playing games which engage at an emotional level in a way that books cannot, and it's an unfair comparison, as the engagement level is different. All good points to bring up though.

Diana Nyad: Never, ever give up

I watched this on a flight to the USA at a time I was feeling pretty down and feeling old. Listening to Diana Nyad's was akin to a hand come out the screen and slap me across the face. Good health intact, age is relative and pretty irrelevant. Every year is a year to build and improve. Swimming with jellyfish and sharks at 64?

Thanks for reading my blog, and Happy New Year.

John Cooper. Inspiration for 2017. My top 5 TED Talks of 2016.