Rory Sutherland: Perspective is everything

www.ted.com The circumstances of our lives may matter less than how we see them, says Rory Sutherland. At TEDxAthens, he makes a compelling case for how reframing is the key to happiness.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com/translate
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[@jeffsergeant]

"Things are not what they are, they are what we think they are" very Zen :)

[@syddiallo]

He has a british accent, so i believe he's smart and knows what he's talking about.

[@jeff7775]

Pre-Brexit perception. Now I hear a Brit accent and fear isolationist cluelessness and mass grumpy irrationality (and we return to perception: deep philosopher or friendless idiot?)

[@nathantomaneng7259]

jeff7775 well your perspective on Britain's situation and of the EU might have been influenced by mainstream media :P

[@mrsandman4397]

This damn Brexit fiasco threatens how us Brits are ever likely to be seen as we ought but now we are seen as isolationist racists, incapable of resolving political differences.

[@Medietos]

@@mrsandman4397 :I have been too mobbed by authorities, withheld the assistence and treatment I need and have the right to, they broke my bad health down and gave me new illnesses, and even took my humble home and life savings, tiny sick pension , so I haven't been able to learn big politics. Seen that, I still find it good that some countries have the courage and independence to say yes to nations' supremacy and self-rule. Ppl are always thinking all sorts of things, whether we do as some want or not, and we can't please everyone. And ppl often have opinions without first gaining knowledge and foundation for it. Truth and goodness is not held by the majority, just saying. Stay courageous!

[@stephensersha647]

@@mrsandman4397 Brexit shows that there are still a great number of people in your country that still retain value for an individual identity and control as a country instead of submitting to a EU hive mind. It's ok to recognize that whats good for the UK isn't necessarily what's good for France, Italy, etc... The EU robs you of much of that decision making, and it's very understandable that your country's decisions should ultimately be decided by no one else other than by people of your own country. Only the main stream media rhetoric pushes the narrative that Brexit isolationist, racist, or otherwise. I would like to think that most people are rational enough that they aren't negatively judging you over Brexit, unless they buy into the false narrative.

[@kentpartybus1590]

Really enjoyed this. One of those rare Ted Talks you wish we're twice as long, points well backed up too

[@sarahbaybordi711]

I wasn't ready for it to be over. I have a feeling he knows how to improve and virtually fix most of the things.

[@ernestoppetit7638]

He's got a book out now called Alchemy

[@bruno_nwogu]

Jeez! I literally said “there has to be more of this”

[@KevinWallis-Eade]

I have met Rory and seen him speak live. He is a powerhouse of creative thought. This and other videos of his are well worth watching for anyone interested in creating great customer relationships.

[@richardpointer]

I wish I could give this talk two thumbs up!

[@michaelinglis8516]

Great points, it was really interesting to see them incorporated into our daily lives/decisions. Very well put together talk.

[@LionElAton]

One of the greatest TED talks of all time. Excellent.

[@jannickbreunis]

11 years ago.. Great video.

[@nofood1]

Its like reading a book in 18 minutes. Legendary TedTalk this one!!

[@aprilhisey4794]

you are right

[@vishaalnarayan123]

learned a great deal from this video. Perspective so powerful wow

[@SuperHeroINTJ]

This video is one of my favourites videos in You Tube. Rory's presentation is amazing. Love to watch it. I've watched it over 10 times. Every time I watch it I pick new things I hadn't pick before. I'm glad he mentioned Ludwig von Mises. I see everyone talking on Mises lately, Peter Thiel also talked about him. I'm happy about the attention the classical economists are getting. It is well deserved.

[@ramnathan1683]

One of the amazing TED talks, I have watched this over and over again, and every time I pick up some new nuances.

[@_LoFi_Mania_]

Has it helped you with real life things and if so could give some examples?

[@skylardavis9000]

I agree! I've noticed this is why I love unconventional life hacks. I have pride in the way I do things, not only because it may be slightly more fast (a "technicality"), but simply because I am doing it differently. For instance I came up with a unique way to sort cloths that need to be ironed vs. those not wrinkled. I put all wrinkled cloths hung up one way and all others hooked up the other way. It makes it (slightly) easier to find witch cloths to ignore when picking cloths for the day and which to grab when ironing. However I love this, not because it saves me 10 seconds a week, but because it is a different way of doing things that I can take pride in; I probably wouldn't care about this technique if this was simply taught to me by my parents.

[@fudge90]

new life hack: don't bother ironing? save you a few days a year?

[@chrispark6497]

Extremely underated, people all over the world will hopefully keep this in mind for eons.

[@markcooper7212]

Absolutely brilliant talk on perception v reality. Incredibly thought provoking

[@leonhind5565]

i liked the bit about smoking at the window ( philosipher ? )

[@syrop26]

Do you really need to listen to an idiot promoting smoking and encouraging torturing dogs with electric shocks?

[@221b-Maker-Street]

@@syrop26 - Clearly you didn't watch the rest of the talk, you might have learned something to your advantage... Also, I'd check your dictionary for a decent definition of the word 'promoting'.

[@medievalpepper1832]

@@221b-Maker-Street don’t bother explaining, this guy most certainly has the wrong *perspective* (pun intended)

[@Simply_told]

He went through some stuff. Sad for him. But learnt a lot from you dear sir. Thank you.

[@Plant_Parenthood]

He has a fantastic voice. He should narrate audiobooks!

[@Crakenull]

Best TED talk in a while IMO!

[@bryansmith113]

Was looking for a good talk on perspective. Instantly a favorite. Even brought up the Austrian school and praxeology!

[@Larry21924]

This is sheer brilliance. I found something with a similar message, and it was beyond words. "Your Body Your Temple" by Sophia Wintergreen

[@MTLDYLAN]

“If you stand and stare out of the window, on your own, you’re an antisocial friendless idiot. ... If you stand and stare out of the window, on your own with a cigarette, you’re a fucking philosopher.”

[@dogdriver70]

if you stand and stare into the window, you're a stalker and she calls the cops.......

[@UrbanLetsPlay]

"If you quote the opening statement of a youtube video, below the video, you are a fucking idiot"

[@kawasakitakashi5634]

Rory Sutherland7s presentation is really great. This makes me better.

[@enlaotrapuntadelmund]

Kudos Funny, clever, interesting data with sense of humour to embrace the information , a.pure Ted talk to reach and teach the listeners.

[@AncientWisdom222]

Fantastically enlightening.

[@TrevorAcy]

I believe Rory's point was in line with his "year off" comment instead of calling it unemployed. He didn't mean the unemployed Thai people in Thailand; he meant an English person travelling abroad by choice (to Thailand) instead of being unemployed in England.

[@ligiabuzan9998]

absolutely brilliant man!

[@TheLifeTrekker]

I love that he uses the ideas so brilliantly put forth by Ludwig von Mises. Rory just focuses on the perception/marketing knowledge. Powerful ideas.

[@samuelgochhayat661]

Thank you so much Ted 😊

[@FloweyG]

absolutely brilliant!

[@rm5291]

great point.

[@namesurname2968]

thx Mr Rory Sutherland , i learned a lot from this lesson.thx for uploading

[@raghunandshamarayar1297]

why doesn't this have a million views!

[@damonthemoney93]

improving the three situations you mentioned

[@thegoodlydragon7452]

Fascinating.

[@FindingVickie]

Great talk! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[@GluttonForSex]

Now we're talking. Excellent material.

[@hajime6939]

Indeed perspective is everything. &he explained it in such ways it amazing work.

[@DaRealFiberOptix]

all around amazing ted talk, I honestly think this might be the very best 1 I have seen. this is why i watch ted, vids like these

[@M1kaTck]

one of the best talks !

[@MauriceGucci]

his points about value and frame of reference are still very important and still way too under appreciated. we are a species of emotional perceivers who have built a society of logic.

[@azona3633]

amazing

[@rajeshgadda2824]

Awesome session. Very enlightening. Thank you for posting sir !

[@Donutman-ln4ju]

THE BEST TED TALK

[@rogy2431]

Best ted talk show ever

[@OrthodoxAtheist]

One of the most enjoyable TED presentations for some time. Bravo. :D

[@ttanizawa901]

Well said.

[@EphemeraAeterna]

Absolutely brilliant.

[@TheScaryfluff]

Amazing talk

[@zufwithanf]

''you're a fucking philosopher...'' I love this guy :)

[@ryanweng3295]

One of the most brilliant TED TALKS I have ever seen!

[@amorphusensanity]

I feel like I already saw this one uploaded to youtube before. Deja vu.

[@mrpetermjohnston]

Aaaahh my eyes have been opened by your eloquent argument! I shall immediately put down human action straight away and suckle from the teat of the state run economy

[@hishamwadiwadi8765]

I LOVE TED TALKS THEY´RE SO INSPIRING TO ME...I CAN DO WITHOUT THEM THEY HAVE BEEN LEADING ME TO BE MORE INTELLECTUAL ON MANY STUFFS I DID NOT HAVE THE SLIGHTEST ABOUT...SEE YA GUYS

[@Life_moreabundantly]

Brilliant!

[@diamondslashranch]

Amazing talk.

[@tahyihpin5834]

absolute kingslayer

[@heyJordanParker]

That was excellent. It's still as relevant as it was 10 years ago. I genuinely forgot how amazing some TED talks are!

[@jesseleighgordon33]

wow... just wow!

[@sNICKer1103]

Ok, tnx for your reply ;)

[@dooooods]

woe woe woe, i could have listened to this another 30 minutes

[@salaheldinabusin]

Fantastic Video !!

[@marieclairexan]

Athinaaaa!! Ted kai stin Ellada!!! Yay!!!

[@juanolotgn]

Great talk! Sharing this, hopefully it will get to some spanish politician and wil give him an idea of how to improve things

[@FinallyGotATubeName]

One of the best

[@xxmdogxx1ify1]

love this guy

[@agodinruins]

this is awesome.

[@benevolentdictator2315]

Very enlightening. This may be the inspiration I needed to rebrand my business using psychology. The overlapping Venn diagrams creates the ideal subset that most wholistically satisfies the the objective. Many times the problem can not be solved by economics or technology, but a spin on perception, the psychological component, may do the trick; cheap. Think of the possibilities of rebranding your business, accordingly, especially if it is in harmony or synergistically improved with the other Venn components. The French are masters at this as they took spoiled grape juice, tree and soil fungus, slimy mollusk slithering about the ground, milk-gone-bad products and dozens of other items that most of us would have classified as disgusting and the French reclassified them as works of culinary art for which we gladly over pay under the guise of increasing the quality of our lives. The De Beers family comes to mind as the consummate capitalist as they created the perceived need while delving the perceived solution while being the sole harvester and purveyor of some geological curiosity with maybe only one logical utility..

[@ChristopherJManess]

Great Presentation

[@i3atuk484]

I could spend days and months only listening to him talking. Guy is amazing

[@221b-Maker-Street]

I agree. I was thinking the same...

[@DaRealFiberOptix]

genius talk, this is why I watch ted

[@nascentnaomie]

Insightful and interesting

[@angyw.4599]

Fun and informative.. I like it a lot.

[@Arghira]

Great talk. He reminded me about Christopher Hitchens.

[@MarketingOnepager]

thanks Rory, this is still a classic. I've linked to this on the playlists for both my Strategy and Marketing Metrics courses.

[@drewpasttenseofdraw]

Information is good. Good information. Me thanks you for sharing.

[@thasneemish]

underrated talk

[@yoppindia]

Most useful video i have seen in some time.

[@blaice7365]

This dude has so many obvious, yet mindbogglingly smart suggestions-it is crazy. I hope no pharma company hears his pill idea though...

[@NathanBall18]

Blaice people would get their pills mixed up and probably OD and die. Would need to have all the same colour with numbers on them or something.

[@Kite037]

Why? He’s not insisting that the final pills are any different apart from the color. It’s very important to finish a round of antibiotics prescribed to you and many people don’t. The idea presented is a very simple, ingenious way to get people to finish them. Of course, the idea would be reckless if it were to be applied to say oxycontin, but for antibiotics it’s a great idea.

[@syrop26]

Is one of the suggestion torturing two dogs with electric shocks at 3:13?

[@studiobencivengamarcusbenc5272]

Blaice he promotes placebos so no harm in that

[@SAURABHKUMAR-hn3qe]

Absolutely brilliant talk on perception v reality.

[@AngilasGuy]

Brilliant.

[@Mifoi]

Genius is an understatement! :)

[@DannyGodlewski]

This was fantastic. Very clear, well organized, & easy to comprehend. His metaphors were spot on as well. Anybody else have an idea of why it was such a good Ted talk besides the reasons I mentioned? I’m trying to figure out ways to Better information, and I was glued to the screen for the whole clip.

[@orenkoz10]

great!

[@robertkelliher938]

Been lucky to have attended a few of his talks in Dublin, he's excellent and from talking afterwards a true gent!

[@LogInfinity]

Amazing

[@danielfoxes]

good talk ol chap

[@lgrisotto]

brilliant

[@ekutrip]

Such an amazing mind..

[@mike28110]

Oddly enough, I enjoyed his talk thoroughly. Smart man.

[@riddler251]

I love this guy. He has my personality, is I was British.

[@iamfrancisittv]

@13:12 Finally someone got it!

[@dreamclassics2507]

One of the best videos KZbin recommended to me 😁🙌🏼

[@matthewjay660]

Bravo Mr. Sutherland!

[@andrewtenorio]

u could tell by the title that this talk was going to be good

[@sgordon8123]

I would love a conversation with this guy. It does scare me though when ad guys know psychology so well!!

[@sgordon8123]

Hi

[@chapinero017]

This TED talk is what is going to move us forward from this what feels eternal quarantine!

[@Archimagus]

Brilliant

[@hgcalben8241]

Just read his book In June 2021. Now I'm fascinated with the ideas he's tossing around.

[@user-ey4rc5tu4t]

Choose your frame of reference and the perceived value, 17:09 and therefore, the actual value is completely transformed.

[@Buoy2]

THIS is why I subscribed to tedtalks.