5 Lessons on Happiness — from Pop Fame to Poisonous Snakes | Mike Posner | TED

Singer-songwriter Mike Posner took a break from his music to take a walk — a very long walk, across the entire United States. He shares five lessons he learned from his epic, eventful trek (snakes might be involved) and how it helped him find the key to happiness. (He also performs two hit songs: “I…

Published

2 years ago

March 20, 2024

CYBER TECH TV

If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas:

Follow TED!
X:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

Watch more:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDTalks #happiness

Related Topics:

44 Comments

@guenfoudsohaib

March 20, 2024 at 9:52 am

From tbe rivers to tge sea Palestine will be freee

Reply
- @trashtvinternational
  
  March 20, 2024 at 9:54 am
  
  Stand with ISREAL ????????✌️☮️☮️????️❤
  
  Reply
- @henrystrauss168
  
  March 20, 2024 at 11:14 am
  
  Stay on point. This is not political. ????
  
  Reply
@AverageWhiteGuy101

March 20, 2024 at 9:58 am

This dude doesn’t even know the difference between venomous and poisonous snakes. ????

Reply
- @XU23
  
  March 20, 2024 at 10:00 am
  
  Ignorance is bliss.
  
  Reply
- @AverageWhiteGuy101
  
  March 20, 2024 at 10:03 am
  
  @@XU23Ignorance is the norm more like.
  
  Reply
- @ATAP...AnotherTime
  
  March 20, 2024 at 10:37 am
  
  He still lives a better life than you, by almost every measure. Except using poisonous correctly, but you go on and focus on that little part of something that makes you better.
  Must be great to be friends with you.
  
  Reply
- @hj656
  
  March 20, 2024 at 11:27 am
  
  What’s the difference?
  
  Reply
- @moonmaiden4197
  
  March 20, 2024 at 11:40 am
  
  Hope you’re happy being average. Genuinely. ❤
  
  Reply
@farhanaabtal8668

March 20, 2024 at 10:05 am

A true Inspiration for me…I will not wait again.

Reply
@dangnguyetthienngan

March 20, 2024 at 10:32 am

My dad also passed away in 2017 when I was just 26 yrs. We did not have a chance to travel together. ???? I almost cried when you had talked about your father. “Papa, I miss you so much”

Reply
@Murilo4800

March 20, 2024 at 10:34 am

l ????????????

Reply
@Murilo4800

March 20, 2024 at 10:38 am

Happy

Reply
@karlareyes4688

March 20, 2024 at 10:39 am

Very inspirational ???? great lessons for life

Reply
@dondoodat

March 20, 2024 at 10:56 am

Too many people miss out on contentment in a futile search for happiness.

Reply
@TrueCrimeQueen

March 20, 2024 at 11:05 am

So inspiring!!

Reply
@gothicboy9467

March 20, 2024 at 11:05 am

I did this in 2019 may I walked cross ks

Reply
- @gothicboy9467
  
  March 20, 2024 at 11:23 am
  
  I missed that snake on the highway thank God it missed me.
  
  Reply
@timkiemdautu

March 20, 2024 at 11:33 am

❤I really like this video. Thank you❤????

Reply
@thutrangnguyen9290

March 20, 2024 at 11:37 am

His story makes me cry ????????????

Reply
@muhammadilham3662

March 20, 2024 at 11:46 am

Such an inspiring story,

Reply
@Slippyslope_

March 20, 2024 at 11:53 am

Lessons he talks about …

1.) Not all crazy ideas are great, but all great ideas are crazy.
2.) Take one step.
3.) Reasons to not do something are excuses in disguise.
4.) True happiness comes from inside growth.
5.) Do not wait.

Reply
@pvtpain66k

March 20, 2024 at 12:05 pm

For anyone freaked out by the Rattlesnake bite.
“Rattlesnake bites are rarely fatal with less than 1 in 600 resulting in death, and approximately 33 percent not containing injection of venom at all.”

Reply
@Mruiiiz

March 20, 2024 at 12:58 pm

This was amazing. Truly a push and a reminder to do what makes YOU happy. Love the message.

Reply
@WilliamRobert-ys3rx

March 20, 2024 at 1:27 pm

I’m so inspired This just reminded of myself I was homeless, I had nothing to offer, always sleeping on the street, until Jesus sent me a friend who helped me… I got a job & was managing till I met a friend who helped me introduce me to LARRY FRED on YouTube ????… he changed my life and now I have a home, a wife, a lovely daughter and a new identity… HALLELUJAH

Reply
- @LilNaz-vj8uw
  
  March 20, 2024 at 1:27 pm
  
  I know “LUCAS ERICK”
  
  Reply
- @LilNaz-vj8uw
  
  March 20, 2024 at 1:27 pm
  
  Awesome place to view out on YouTube for successful deeds!!!
  
  Reply
- @alibabajtr
  
  March 20, 2024 at 1:28 pm
  
  Thanks I just searched, I saw his videos. I’m really impressed with his credentials.
  
  Reply
- @henrystrauss168
  
  March 20, 2024 at 2:15 pm
  
  How do you know it was jesus and not Mohammad, or Shiva, or Zeus, Posiden, Ares, Dyonyses, or one of the other 6,000 man made gods?
  
  Reply
- @halfhourhegelian
  
  March 20, 2024 at 7:09 pm
  
  @@henrystrauss168 These are bots bro
  
  Reply
@andycordy5190

March 20, 2024 at 2:06 pm

Ever seen a great preacher?

Reply
@user-en8mc3ec7x

March 20, 2024 at 4:41 pm

S

Reply
@Ribberflavenous

March 20, 2024 at 4:41 pm

I agree on the lessons/rules – they are vital and the presentation was indeed great. Please forgive me for not understanding the coast to coast walk, I see these kinds of events done to bring attention to a cause pretty effectively, but I don’t see how this was needed for his personal happiness. Was it just to overcome a seemingly insurmountable goal on a 6 month obstacle course? I am not trying to be glib, truly, this seemed to have meant a great deal to him. I just don’t know if it is like the Harley thing – “if you don’t understand, I can’t explain it to you”.

Reply
- @Rnue
  
  March 20, 2024 at 7:20 pm
  
  Don’t really understand it myself.
  
  Seems humans throughout time do things because they can and for no other reason then that.
  
  They climb mountains, cross oceans and deserts and get into all kinds of shenanigans simply because the opportunity is there.
  
  Maybe there’s no definitive or more profound answer beyond ‘because I can’.
  
  Reply
@BoudiceaG

March 20, 2024 at 4:49 pm

I am absolutely touched by this story, touched to my tears…????, first, thank you so much for sharing your valuable experience, your sincerity and your personal growth and your wonderful songs..I hope they can shoot a movie based on your story❤.

Reply
@dipin6744

March 20, 2024 at 5:29 pm

I’m so inspired by Mike Posner

Reply
@omidafrasiabi5336

March 20, 2024 at 6:54 pm

I like that????
How awesome speech????

Reply
@lilgnomey

March 20, 2024 at 8:18 pm

I only know one song from Mike Posner (This is what a sad song sounds like), but does he rap? I kept getting caught up in how he builds up the important moments and it reminded me of a rap song ????

Reply
@peymanbouye8426

March 20, 2024 at 10:18 pm

amazing!

Reply
@rashidabaakza8554

March 21, 2024 at 2:53 am

????✌️????????????

Reply
@user-in5gp2hu6r

March 21, 2024 at 4:53 am

ENTIRE TALK IS FAKE ASF!

Reply
@kevintunstall6418

March 21, 2024 at 4:40 pm

Hugely inspiring for all the right reasons. Happiness is intrinsically achieved and cannot be found through ‘things’ plus we can’t expect anyone else to make us happy as apart from being an unrealistic expectation it’s only going to create more unhappiness. I’ll watch this talk again. Huge fan of Mike.

Reply
@zell6108

March 21, 2024 at 6:37 pm

I started bawling after he said #5. So inspiring. Thank you so much Mike.

Reply

Science & Technology

Investors Are Asking AI About Your Startup

What does ChatGPT say about your startup? Dr. Eike Gerhardt explains why founders should think about what LLMs will find when investors use AI to research their companies. Watch the full episode of Build Mode with Eike and Nephrogen founder Demetri Maxim for more advice on building a stronger investor pitch.

Published

1 day ago

September 3, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

What does ChatGPT say about your startup?

Dr. Eike Gerhardt explains why founders should think about what LLMs will find when investors use AI to research their companies.

Watch the full episode of Build Mode with Eike and Nephrogen founder Demetri Maxim for more advice on building a stronger investor pitch.

Science & Technology

A PhD in Pitching Breaks Down a Startup Battlefield Pitch l Build Mode

There is no such thing as the perfect pitch. But you can get close by implementing a few research-backed methods to your delivery, deck, and message. In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Dr. Eike Gerhardt, who has aPhD in pitching and spent nearly a decade studying the science of…

Published

1 day ago

September 3, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

There is no such thing as the perfect pitch. But you can get close by implementing a few research-backed methods to your delivery, deck, and message.

In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Dr. Eike Gerhardt, who has aPhD in pitching and spent nearly a decade studying the science of startup pitching before starting Autopoiesis Sciences. And he’s joined by Demetri Maxim, co-founder and CEO of Nephrogen, who came in second at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2025.

Together, they break down Demetri’s actual Startup Battlefield pitch to unpack what worked, what could be improved, and what research tells us about how investors respond to founders. Eike explains why credibility signals matter, how technical founders can simplify without oversimplifying, and why Q&A should be treated as a second pitch. Demetri shares how he learned to explain complex biotech to generalist investors, how redesigning his deck changed his confidence onstage, and what he would do differently today.
They also explore how body language and authenticity affect a pitch, how investor questions can reveal bias, and how founders can use AI to prepare for difficult Q&A.

Here are the studies mentioned in the episode:
Kanze, D., Huang, L., Conley, M. A., & Higgins, E. T. (2018). “We Ask Men to Win and Women Not to Lose: Closing the Gender Gap in Startup Funding.” Academy of Management Journal
Figge, P., Graf-Vlachy, L., König, A., Demann, F., & Diessner, M. (2025). “Shades of Grey or Black and White? How Entrepreneurs’ Use of Cognitively Complex Language Affects Investor Funding.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
Clarke, J. S., Cornelissen, J. P., & Healey, M. P. (2019). “Actions Speak Louder than Words: How Figurative Language and Gesturing in Entrepreneurial Pitches Influences Investment Judgments.” Academy of Management Journal
Jiang, L., Yin, D., & Liu, D. (2019). “Can Joy Buy You Money? The Impact of the Strength, Duration, and Phases of an Entrepreneur’s Peak Displayed Joy on Funding Performance.” Academy of Management Journal.
Chen, X.-P., Yao, X., & Kotha, S. (2009). “Entrepreneur Passion and Preparedness in Business Plan Presentations: A Persuasion Analysis of Venture Capitalists’ Funding Decisions.” Academy of Management Journal
Zhu, L. Y., Young, M. J., & Bauman, C. W. (2024). “Linking Anxiety to Passion: Emotion Regulation and Entrepreneurs’ Pitch Performance.” Journal of Business Venturing
Allison, T. H., Davis, B. C., Webb, J. W., & Short, J. C. (2017). “Persuasion in Crowdfunding: An Elaboration Likelihood Model of Crowdfunding Performance.” Journal of Business Venturing
Clark, C. (2008). “The Impact of Entrepreneurs’ Oral ‘Pitch’ Presentation Skills on Business Angels’ Initial Screening Investment Decisions.” Venture Capital

Subscribe to Build Mode:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Wherever you like to listen
New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday.

Bloomberg Technology

Uber, Wayve Unleash Supervised Robotaxis in London

Uber now lets you book a robotaxi in London — but you’ll still be joined by a human in the front seat. Olivia Solon explains why. ——– Like this video? Subscribe to Bloomberg Technology on YouTube: Watch the latest full episodes of “Bloomberg Technology” with Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow here: Get the…

Published

1 day ago

September 3, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

Uber now lets you book a robotaxi in London — but you’ll still be joined by a human in the front seat.

Olivia Solon explains why.
——–
Like this video? Subscribe to Bloomberg Technology on YouTube:

Watch the latest full episodes of “Bloomberg Technology” with Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow here:

Get the latest in tech from Silicon Valley and around the world here:

Connect with us on…
X:
Facebook:
Instagram:

Follow Ed Ludlow on X here:
Follow Caroline Hyde on X here:

Listen to the daily Bloomberg Technology podcast here:

More from Bloomberg Business
Connect with us on…
X:
Facebook:
Instagram:
LinkedIn:
TikTok: