A great, free Internet resource for anyone who loves to learn online is the website www.TED.com (Technology, Entertainment, Design). TED provides fascinating discussions and lectures about important and interesting topics – for free. TED offers us many wonderful opportunities to expand our knowledge base and change our lives. Below are five TED talks in a broad range of topics that we think are truly life changing, and are, in the words of TED, ideas worth spreading.

SteveJobs: HowtoLiveBeforeYouDie: At a commencement address he gave at Stanford University in 2005, Steve Jobs urged graduates to pursue their dreams, and to view the setbacks that we have in life as new opportunities for advancement. This even includes death itself. This brilliant talk by Jobs will change your life because you learn a bit of how Jobs took some serious challenges thrown at him by life, and still become one of the most influential businessmen and innovators of the last 50 years. DaphneKoller: WhatWe’reLearningFromOnlineEducation: Daphne Koller gives a fascinating talk about the future of online education. She believes that in the near future, many universities will begin to place much of their best courses online at no cost. This will serve not only as a service to millions of people who could not otherwise access such education. It also will serve as a great tool to learn how people learn. Every keystroke, quiz and discussion conducted online can be mined to discover how people process knowledge and learn. JillBolteTaylor’sStrokeofInsight: Brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor had a highly unusual and amazing opportunity in the world of science: She got to study her own stroke as it occurred in her own body. As the aftermath of the stroke progressed, she had a ringside seat as her brain functions ceased one by one: speech, motion, memory and self-awareness. Taylor spent eight long years learning how to think, walk and talk again. NeilPasricha: The 3 A’sofAwesome: Neil Pasricha’s has a blog called 1000 Awesome Things, which encourages us to enjoy some of the most simple pleasures of life. These can include clean sheets, free refills, and much much more. In this talk, Pasricha talks about the three secrets of life that lead to an awesome life. He began his blog about five years ago to just provide small reminders to people of the many free, simple joys of life that make it worth living. Today his blog has millions of readers from all over the globe. RandyPausch: ReallyAchievingYourChildhoodDreams: Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch was dying of pancreatic cancer in 2007 when he delivered this legendary lecture about how you can truly achieve your dreams from your childhood. This is one talk that you really should not miss. Millions of people around the planet have been inspired by The Last Lecture.

Hopefully these five jaw-dropping TED talks left you feeling inspired and a bit more knowledgeable about our world.

Joseph Pickett is a freelance writer for MPHProgramsList.com, where he enjoys writing about science and the art of protecting and improving the health of communities through education and smart healthy lifestyles. More recently he highlighted 10 Public Health Careers sure to address upcoming shortage of public health workers. He invites feedback on this and his other articles.