Stefana Broadbent: How the Internet enables intimacy >>

Devdutt Pattanaik: East vs. west -- the myths that mystify >>

Cameron Carpenter's dizzying improv on the organ >>

Itay Talgam: Lead like the great conductors >>

Magnus Larsson: Turning sand dunes into architecture >>

Beau Lotto: Optical illusions show how we see >>

Robert Thurman: Expanding your circle of compassion >>

James Forbes: Compassion at the dinner table >>

Daniel Pink: The surprising science of motivation >>

Stefan Sagmeister: The power of time off >>

These are TED's recommendations, not mine. I've seen only two of these during the year. But those two make me think the rest are worth a look.

5) Do not place yourself below anyone. No matter how much fame, money, freedom, and material resources someone else may have, accept that you deserve to have the same, and take your own path as seriously as they do. What you do is just as valid and real. Which means that what everyone else does is also valid and real. Calm down.

19) Learn to work alone, in a vacuum. Be able to keep talking even when no one is listening. The initial process of creation has to come from a place of wonder and curiosity. You have to be viscerally fascinated by coming up with ideas, whether or not anyone else cares.

22) Do not seek approval or encouragement from others. Approve and encourage yourself. Give yourself permission to achieve your goals, simply because you want to.

33) Learn the difference between an idea and a plan. Then learn the difference between a plan and the execution of that plan. Many ideas are best left as ideas. Many plans will be abandoned. That is OK. Enjoy them for what they are, and then go ahead and invent new ideas and plans. You may find that you are executing only a small number of plans that will bring you the most success.

38) Do not draw a hard line in your mind between “you” and “people who are successful.” VERY IMPORTANT: Do not let a small-town mentality infect your mind.

46) Money is not what the universe is made of. Recognize its use as one tool for exchanging energy in a society, but realize that there are other ways of exchanging creative energy. Don’t get locked into only one economic system. Not everything can be measured in dollars, euros, pesos, or whatever type of colorful paper or metal you and billions of your friends are hypnotized by.

73) Learn to sit and do nothing. Find a comfortable chair and do not watch television, do not listen to music, do not read a magazine. Turn off your cellphone, get away from Myspace / Flickr / Facebook and your friends or pets. Do not keep bombarding your mind with external stimulation and cramming things in from all directions. Just enjoy your own mind and realize that nothing bad is going to happen to you if you sit by yourself and shut off to the world. Look inward and see what you can find.

75) Make mistakes and then learn from them. Lose money. Lose friends. Get fired from your job. Go broke. Once you hit bottom a few times, you will not make such scared decisions. You will find out that you can start over again and again, with more knowledge and less fear. Many great people throughout history have done this repeatedly. You will also find out who your real friends are.

Can't find the original blog post, but these excerpts by Roger Von Oech sure make it look like it's worth tracking down.

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

"One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

"The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

A remarkable story.

Just checked Kate's Voice, a blog mentioned in Denise Graveline's year-end wrapup. This one is a "blog about voices: using them, freeing them…and hearing them." The posts look pretty good. If you're interested in developing your voice, you may want to visit, too.

My appreciation for Christmas tradition does not generally include Christmas carols. Most arrangements tend to the soppy, sentimental, and syrupy. I tend to go for Cyndi Lauper, Jimi Hendrix doing Little Drummer Boy, Five Pound Box of Money, and Santa Claus Goes First to the Ghetto. Here's a treatment of 12 Days of Christmas that gets my stamp of approval.