Ones To Watch...
With all the extraordinary events of 2020, a year of cancelled plans and staying home, we’ve all put in more hours in front of the screen. Nothing wrong with a little escapism - it has never been more needed - but to save you from the guilt of binge watching your favourite soaps, we’ve put together a list of talks, documentaries and films that we think are worth watching.
So turn-on and tune-out, with a selection of must-see material that will entertain, inform, and inspire you.
Happy - This inspiring documentary takes us on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy. Combining real life stories from around the world and powerful interviews with leading scientists in happiness research, HAPPY explores the secrets behind our most valued emotion. If you want to "rewire your brain" for greater happiness, better health and a more fulfilling life, watch it for the simple lifestyle principles contained in it.
Freakonomics: The Movie is Chad Troutwine’s documentary film adaptation of the phenomenally bestselling book about incentives-based thinking by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. The film examines human behavior through consistently provocative and often hilarious case studies. (available on Netflix and Hulu)
Fight Mediocrity - YouTube Malkhaz Geldiashvili’s YouTube channel, Fight Mediocrity distills best-selling self-help and business books into short hand-drawn, animated sketch videos. He breaks down business books by Tim Ferris, Malcolm Gladwell, Robert Ciadini and many others. At nearly 457,000 subscribers, Fight Mediocrity’s success lies in choosing exceptional books and focusing on three to four key points by illustrating it.
Rising Phoenix Featuring nine Paralympians from across the world, this cutting-edge Netflix documentary tells the remarkable story of the Paralympic Games from the rubble of World War II until becoming the third biggest sporting event on the planet.. ‘Rising Phoenix’ examines how the Paralympics have sparked a global movement throughout the decades and shows how it continues to change the way the world thinks about disability, excellence, diversity and human potential. (Netflix)
Dragons’ Den /Shark Tank. A global success story, this business-related reality TV show features investment-seeking entrepreneurs making business presentations to a panel of five investors aka “Dragons” or “Sharks” who then choose whether to invest in their company as business partners. Shark Tank is the US version of the international format Dragons’ Den which originated in Japan in 2001, where the series was called The Tigers of Money. Local versions of the show have been produced in over 30 countries. To get a feel for the show and its unique format, watch a few pitches on the official Dragons’ Den YouTube channel.
What Fear can teach us - Ted Talk. Karen Thompson Walker. How often does irrational fear force us to make bad decisions? How often do we make choices based on the scariest outcome we can imagine, even though that possibility has terrifically small odds of actually happening? Karen simply reminds us to listen to the stories we’re telling ourselves.
A life on our planet or any other David Attenborough documentary In his 93 years, Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of the planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder. But during his lifetime, Attenborough has also seen first-hand the monumental scale of humanity's impact on nature.
Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates This three-part docuseries takes you into the life of one of the wealthiest people in the world and Microsoft co-founder – Bill Gates. From his childhood and education to his Microsoft stewardship and his charitable foundation, you’ll learn about what formed him, what kept him going while juggling multiple complex projects, and what motivated him to succeed.
Life Hacks on You Tube YouTube has hand-picked some of the best content from these TED Talks and compiled them into a 9-part “Life Hack” series. If you’re looking for a crash course in business education that you can fit into a weekend of binge watching — definitely check out these TED Talks on YouTube.
I am Greta tells the story of Greta Thunberg’s global impact and how she built her reputation and sparked other protests and school strikes all over the globe. In the doco we follow Greta from her very first school strike back in August 2018 all the way to her attendance at the United Nations climate summit in September 2019. A warm and intimate film sharing footage of Greta as she fights for the environment and as she struggles with being a teenager in a global spotlight. (Hulu, Docplay YouTube)
The surprising science of happiness - Ted Talk. Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert says our beliefs about what will make us happy are often wrong -- a premise he supports with intriguing research. He shows that the way our brains process the world around us is the key to happiness, and challenges the idea that we'll be miserable if we don't get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don't go as planned.
American Factory Award winning documentary “American Factory”, is a sobering, eye-opening documentary in which a Chinese billionaire steps in to save the victims of US manufacturing’s decline. Although it brings home how automation is likely to replace many of jobs currently done by humans it shows that there’s always a human side to the story.
The Minimalists: Less Is Now (2020) or their earlier production Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things There’s no better time to take a moment to reflect and learn how to live a more fulfilling, meaningful life during these uncertain times. Ppular simple-living duo, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, explore the benefits of living a minimalist lifestyle while explaining why clearing all that clutter can help you to make more room for your passion.
If you enjoy this, make sure you give their earlier production a watch. People from all walks of life and all industries—from journalists to scientists and even a Wall Street broker—make their case for why less truly is more. Watch it to discover why sometimes it's in the littlest things that are the source of true happiness.
“The Happy Secret to Better Work” - Ted Talk. In this fast-moving and funny talk, psychologist Shawn Achor tells us how to nurture the "happiness advantage" in our work and home. Shawn argues that, actually, 90 percent of your long-term happiness is predicted not by the external world, but by the way your brain views the world that shapes your reality. And by changing the lens through which your brain sees the world, not only can we change your happiness, we can change every single educational and business outcome at the same time.
If you’ve enjoyed this blog, check out our top business books and favourite podcasts.
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