I was first introduced to TED about a month ago. In the span of one week, 5 separate people mentioned “TED” to me. I thought I knew what it was…

“Isn’t it that no-frills airline from United?, I said.

Nope. It’s hardly that. It’s a non-profit organization passionate about “Ideas Worth Spreading”.  It started off as an annual conference that brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers who have 18 minutes to give the talk of their lives.

So, the next time you have twenty minutes of idle time (I know that’s a long shot) take a minute to watch a TED video.  Watch a video once a day, once a week, or once a month and you’ll come away inspired and a have something to talk about at your next conference, meeting or cocktail party.

www.ted.com

P.S. If you are a TED lover, what is your favorite video?

Here are a few of my favorite books and resources on entrepreneurship, social media and business leadership.  What are yours?

Groundswell: In my opinion, one of the best books out there. Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff talk all things social media and more.  As Twitter users, three years ago, they knew something was going to happen there.  Prescient, don’t you think?

The Art of Possibility: A terrific book on “Presenting twelve breakthrough practices for bringing creativity into all human endeavors”. Written by the former conductor of the Boston Philarmonic, it weaves personal and musical stories  into themes of possibility and positive energy.

The New Influencers: Published in 2007, by Paul Gillin. Like Groundswell, ahead of the times when he wrote it.

Me 2.0: Ok, so I’ve read most of it, but author Dan Schwabel illustrates how to build a powerful brand to achieve Career Success. It has recevied rave reviews from the mainstream press as well- and Dan (at the writing of this post) is only 25!

Marketing to the Social Web: Larry Weber, CEO of the W2 Group wrote this. An excellent overview with personal insight.

Getting Things Done: I can’t believe it took me until 2009 to hear about and read this book- a terrific dive into personal productivity, and organizing your life thematically, instead of by just lists..