The best inspirational speeches can change your entire outlook and motivate you in new ways. Articles and posts are wonderful, but the quality of a living, breathing person communicating to you has its own unique power.
It’s so much more immediate and visceral than the written word, and it can result in a much more immediate response from the viewer.
But, like, duh, right?
We’re in the social media age. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is, well, lots of pictures. Usually about 24 per second.
A morning ritual revived.
My morning ritual had devolved into waking up nonchalantly with coffee and Netflix. No meditation, no inspiration, no incense. My schedule and mood had taken a hit, which always throws my mornings off. Which then further sends my day into the doldrums.
For some reason, one day I decided to check out an inspirational talk on YouTube instead of delving into whatever I usually did. Somehow I found my way to a Mindvalley video (which I’ve listed below) and not only was it completely delightful and engaging, but it also turned my entire day around. And then it turned my entire life around. Day after day I continued getting up and watching more and more inspiring speeches, with more hopeful insights, practical tips, and groundbreaking ideas.
Morning ritual?
I know that not everyone has the leisure and time to do this every day. And I know how annoying it looks to have some chick on the internet say (in full vocal fry), “Oh my GOD, you guys, you HAVE to watch these motivational speecheuhs once you get uuuuhp! It will CHANGE YOUR LIIIIFE. K byeeee I’m off to meditate.”
But if it’s something that excites you and doesn’t stress you out, I highly suggest adding inspirational speeches to your morning. When your mind is fresh, the hope of a new day is fertile ground for planting new ideas and banishing old, toxic beliefs.
Whatever you do, I suggest staying off of social media and any news sources, at least first thing in the morning. You can get caught up soon enough.
Of course, the absolute best time for any one person to soak up inspiration is when that inspiration is needed. So whether in the morning when you wake up, or after the kids have gone to bed, or during the train ride home, here are five of the best inspirational speeches that will turn your day—and your life—around.
Best inspirational speech when you can’t figure out what’s wrong with you.
Marisa Peer – Crash Course in Phenomenal Success.
So, THIS was the speech that I found that day when I wandered over to YouTube. Marisa Peer is simply amazing. She’s a celebrity therapist with decades of experience and stories to show for it. She has a calm, reassuring, matter-of-fact demeanor, accented with touches of droll humor and a posh British accent. You get the feeling that she could fix just about anything that’s wrong with you. And fast.
If you watch just one Mindvalley talk, choose this one. Mindvalley is a newish organization, and a new force on the YouTube inspirational talk scene (if that’s a scene? I don’t know). They host a yearly event called A-Fest, geared towards entrepreneurs, “change-makers and visionaries,” to use their own words. Most, if not all, of their speeches, are from these events.
Unlike TED talks, which have a strict scientific bent, these will veer into topics like manifestation, metaphysics, Reiki, and other more New Agey concepts.
There are also loads more of Marisa’s videos on YouTube, from other A-Fests, other events, and her own channel. She’s spectacular.
The best inspirational speech for being the best you that you can be.
Brene Brown – The Power of Vulnerability
I’m sure you’ve heard of Brene Brown, and if you haven’t—are you under a rock?—you need to check her out ASAP. She’s kind of a self-help celebrity right now—and without any side-eye from the usual skeptics.
First of all, she’s immensely down-to-earth, charming, and hilarious. You feel right at home with her quick, Texas wit. To accompany that, she often goes into her own shortcomings and vulnerabilities because, well, that’s what it’s about: How you need vulnerability for a vibrant life, and yet you never want to get near it.
She also talks a lot about shame, which always sends a wave of relief over me. No one ever talks about shame. I mean, we’re all ashamed, so we’re even more ashamed to talk about shame, right?
She calls herself a researcher and storyteller, and this, I think, is why she’s so effective. Balancing helpful, comforting and inspirational ideas with mountains of research means she isn’t all talk.
But she talks a really great talk.
Also, check out her Netflix special, and really anything she does.
Best inspirational speech for manifesting your perfect future.
Regan Hillyer – Manifest Your Ideal Reality.
I’m ashamed to admit it since I like to champion women, but I avoided watching Regan’s video for a while because of her video thumbnail. She’s young and beautiful and has a sexy, clingy yellow dress on as she expounds upon manifesting your ideal life. I thought she would be shallow. I was dead wrong.
Regan is young, but she’s definitely experienced at manifestation, which she’s honed through rigorous coaching and practice. She’s unbelievably inspiring. You feel like you could literally do anything after watching her.
This is another Mindvalley video, and this one gets way more into metaphysics and manifestation. And while you can’t call these topics science-based, Regan lays out an extremely concrete blueprint for adjusting your mindset with the intention to create whatever you want via the Law of Attraction. The last 45 minutes are an in-depth meditation leading you through it, so make sure you either have the full hour and twenty minutes to watch this or plan ahead to cut it into two uninterrupted chunks.
I still go back and do her process and it never fails to put my day on a completely different, elevated level.
The best inspirational speech for taking risks and forging ahead.
Denzel Washington – Fall Forward Commencement Speech at the University of Pennsylvania
Now, Denzel Washington you know. He’s a lauded actor of screen and stage, and he deserves every ounce of recognition. But being a great actor is a different skill than public speaking, which Denzel himself explains. He has a little ramble about how nervous he is as he warms up to a crowd of recent graduates at UPenn.
He then goes on to give one of the most inspirational commencement speeches… well, of YouTube time. Maybe of all time. He talks mostly about failure, and how important it is to fall forward so you can pick yourself up and learn for the next time. He’s inspiring and reassuring, but also, somehow on our level, despite his status as the lecturer or one of the biggest celebrities of our time.
The best inspirational speech for getting sh** done.
Mel Robbins – How to Beat Self-Doubt in 5 Seconds
If you haven’t heard of Mel Robbins yet, you will. She has a new talk show coming out, and lots of books and amazing talks, but this one is the one I first saw, and it’s my absolute favorite.
Of course, the irony is right there in the title: a 45-minute video on how to beat self-doubt… in five seconds?
The solution sounds too stupid to be true, but it works, and it’s created a revolution of people getting sh*t done. And it’s all delivered in a mildly frenetic and spontaneous delivery with a huge wallop of realness. She’s hilarious and exciting. You don’t ever quite know what she’s going to say or do next, and yet it’s all solidly grounded in remarkable practicality.
The best inspirational speech for believing in yourself.
Lisa Nichols – Build a Brand
Yes, YES! I loooove Lisa Nichols. She is as warm and inviting as apple pie.
This speech is also at Mindvalley’s A-Fest, and while the title is about building a brand, I think it’s more about believing in yourself and your potential, despite all odds. Lisa talks a lot about her own journey, starting out as an academically challenged student, to a mom on welfare, to a multi-millionaire with a public company. “From welfare to Wall Street,” she often says.
One of Lisa’s most impressive skills is the ease with which she connects to an audience. She can deliver truths, even harsh ones, with a burst of positivity and brightness. Her ability to change and elevate the emotional temperature of a room is unprecedented.
She also has a channel that she regularly adds content to. (She’s also lost a lot of weight over the years, which is why you might not recognize her from the thumbnails!)
Summing it up.
These five inspirational speeches are my favorites, and I revisit them constantly. Just writing this post made my mood, like, three notches higher.
Motivational speeches are meant to motivate. For that reason, I think the most important takeaway from any speech is how much it lifts you up and inspires you to move forward. The person giving the speech can’t pick up the phone or start that website. Only you can.
So whether or not you utilize the 5-second rule or read Brene’s book, feeling better is a goal unto itself. It really, really is. Action without inspiration will fill you with anxiety and dread. Action with inspiration is exciting and groundbreaking—even alongside doubt and fear.
Other sources.
There are loads of motivational and inspirational talks online. TED Talks and TEDx Talks are two of the most renowned and widely known channels, and get this: None of their speeches are over 20 minutes. Speaking of which, I’m going to give a shout-out to one of my favorite TED Talks of all time: Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity?. It’s not inspirational as much as informational and progressive, which is why I didn’t add it to this list, but it’s thoroughly engaging. It was the first TED Talk I ever saw, and one that catapulted TED on the world stage.
Of course, Mindvalley Talks is another great channel. They aren’t as extensive as TED, who must have thousands of videos by now, but they are wide-ranging, exciting and inspirational.