Ric Elias: 3 things I learned while my plane crashed

[psychicopus]

34 ghosts pressed thumbs down

[pilotwes]

A minor detail, I'm sure, but Capt. Sullenberger obviously DID NOT "turn off the engines". I find it very disappointing that Mr. Elias's presentation about his revelations didn't include one very important thing: An appreciation for the flight crew.

I'm nothing but sincere when I say that I'm happy Mr. Elias's life was transformed in such positive ways by his experience. Attention to detail in such a public forum, about such an important event would be appreciated, I think.

[Cinqmil]

Three things learned:

1. I no longer want to postpone anything in life.

2. I regret time wasted with things that didn't matter, instead of spending time with people that matter. I no longer try to be right, I chose to be happy.

3. Dying is not scary. I only wish to see my kids grow up.

[mtdeezy]

2:13 The one person who thought she was supposed to laugh, then realized what he said wasn't actually funny.

[gaikwadmeenu]

Best .......

[realpassionlife]

5 minutes of pure wisdom.. and its making me cry! i swear TED videos are like my new movie tear jerkers

[spinedoc18]

How in the world can there be 32 dislikes for this? It could be the most important message any person could hear.

[ReResearcher]

32 people (so far) were born without souls.

[iceicebabys]

I don't get why people don't think like this already o.O. It's obvious.

[zoiberd]

there are any book written by erick to buy? please answer me :)

[RomanianBackUp]

LTR QUOTE RIGHT HERE!!!!

[ngeliatduit]

Hhhmm ... So.. Good!!

[IgnoranceAlliance]

MUST hear BEAUTIFUL song.. (this guy is sampled): LTR - Subconscious

[FreakyGator]

How refreshing. He never mentioned God or Jesus. 

[atheist382]

so true...

[andreeaweed]

None but ourselves can free our minds.

[becksundgras]

@andreeaweed and weed

[nayahamjt]

Do watch this...I thought it was VERY thought-provoking!

jt

[letitbe2000]

Fantastic

[MomoTheBellyDancer]

So he almost dies, and thinks about the most stereotypical, inane crap. That's fine, I guess, since looking death in the eye is never a good way to get profound insights. But why the heck does he spout that during a TED talk?

[JasonJarred]

I agree... great that he had an eye opening experience, but how completely irrelevent and inaccessable to those who haven't had a near-death experience. 

[peiphy]

what was the three words?

[mosalg]

@peiphy Brace for impact

[peiphy]

@mosalg oh~thank you for answering a non-native English speaker :)

[b1gbudda]

@peiphy i collect bad whines? i think, not sure :P

[Jammed9000]

I don't want children and I have no motivation in life so most of his (very moving) talk was for moot.

[MrAmerica99997]

google " US Airways Flight 1549 " and click on the first link. Thumbs up so people can see.

[Salsaman66]

I love this post, I can't help but feeling 30 years ago my dad should of been on a plane crash. Max Random

[marbleblur]

Amazing, Just Amazing.



[CymroGoch]

TED videos are the new Wikipedia; every time I watch one, I end up four hours later on a completely different subject.

[subbtopp]

@CymroGoch I know right thank the babby jesus for you tube

[sondano]

the problem with plane crashes is not that you may die non-existence is nothing and nothing by its very definition cannot be tragic but that you may die horribly like burning alive or actually survive without limbs or eyes or completely paralized. I would be thinking about those possibilities not death before impact and wish for a speedy transfer to non-existence

[abi894]

Seriously who sits there and thinks "I actually don't like this, I'm going to 'dislike' it."

[klwarmack]

This made me think wide and long especially about eliminating the negative energy people from your life.

[StephanieLikesTea]

I am a collector of bad wine.

[ChewyBees]

This was a good view, it's always a positive to hear of someone else's choice to live in the positive & how that came about, though hopefully most would not have to be this dramatic. As a sidenote, there's always the negative commenter, look 5 posts away & you'll see one that claims 5 mins wasted. Who watches something to completion they don't appreciate? & then why comment? This isn't porn, they don't save what you want to see til the end. Switch over to something else & take your ego W/U.

[rocketplumber]

Old skydiving saying: you keep pulling handles until your goggles fill with blood. Deep thoughts only come _after_ the crisis is over. That's what I learned from being in freefall at 800 feet.

[xjaskix]

that's it, i'm going to try and be a better boyfriend. my girl doesn't deserve my bullshit.

[TheVoiiceBox]

@xjaskix How are you holding up with this? 7 months later.

[eliassos]

@xjaskix and how did it end up no<w after 8 months?

[aphyd2]

I'm happy. But I'm still happier when I'm right.

[SunbeltRyders]

Are motivational speakers all cut from the same cheesy cloth?

[prodrivebrasil]

Wow!! It blowed my mind. Thank YOU, very much, for those beautiful words.

[axelaael09]

NO, thank you! :)

[arlpainbringer]

wasted 5 minutes :/

[ssgrandberry]

If we learn from any experience, it is wise to verbalize it to keep it and make it ours forever. Thank you for sharing this...I made notes and will share it with my staff.

[rakxzo]

very inspirational.

[ltmsm]

These are things he thought about afterward - not during the crash. During that short period of time I am sure there was not much more than shear panic. I know having been in a war. Things come afterward..lessons come forth..but the moment is nothing more than survival.

[tvswnet]

@ltmsm Sure, but the difference is that in a plane crash, what can one do, other than hope for the best? It's not like a war in which a choice you make defines the outcome...survival appears far more in the possible control of the soldier than the airplane passenger, no? You're probably right in that some of his thoughts came afterward, but his is actually not an uncommon story: We hear similar non-panic stories from people who have been in disasters, accidents, near-death experiences, etc.

[samueljcarlson]

another awesome talk from this year. god, every one has been nothing but amazing! :)

[deeptracy23]

What's to dislike about this?

[saadlulu]

am not trying to be right anymore, i just want to be happy.

thats going to be my motto from here on.

[StitchTheDamned]

This made me tear up a little when he talked about being a Dad.

[Tipdujour]

It is unfortunate that all the small things that we take for granted in life have another perspective when something unfortunate hapen. We don't have to learn the hard way, we just have to listen. 

[peterygina]

I went to high school with this guy. good for you! and I share the emotions of a second chance...

[leonidasx666]

"I don't try be right, I try to be happy." - words to live by.

[MrAudiovideodisco]

You can call me a freak but whenever I fly I like to imagine the plane crashing.

I like to imagine what thoughts would race though my mind as I plummet towards the groud, my heart pounding in my chest, the sound of people screaming all around me transformed into a meaningless hum.

I love my life, but as tears for fears put it "The dreams in which I'm dying

Are the best I've ever had"...

I guess it's because I know how much I take for granted, and I long for a moment of pure clarity.

[Icemario87]

@MrAudiovideodisco Best post.

[pramodmeee]

There is one thing I do not understand. HOW COULD SOMEONE DISLIKE THIS KIND OF A VIDEO? Someone Please HELP..

[Icemario87]

@pramodmeee Relax. It'll be ok. You have a feelngs-reality mismatch. Try to adjust to reality slowly. No need to rush.

[hymcwtmc]

Truly touching and inspirational!

[DimitriRytsk]

Yah. Multiply and consume. What else an American can dream of ?

He actually touched him self when saying - 'I want to be a good dad', and repeated few times. Sure sign of lying. Hypocritical arsehole.

[Icemario87]

@DimitriRytsk lol, ur dumb, it's kinda cute

[carpediematlas]

~carpe diem~

[philhersh]

Beautiful. Short and sweet

[profjaykay]

he touches well on the behavioral aspects of natural selection. good anecdote.

[wolmartito]

you got it right that is the sence of living,,,,,,,

[Jotto999]

I say be happy and correct, I think it's doable.

[sukablianah2]

No sound on the plane is one of scariest possibilities i thought of... I shit myself eve when the plane is landing and pilot swithes the engine to lower gear...

[sdrawkcabgnipytmi]

When he said "I no longer want to postpone anything in my life," I half expected him to whip it out and start jerking it...

[Axol]

@sdrawkcabgnipytmi expecting or really hoping?... either way you're a cunt.

[sdrawkcabgnipytmi]

@Axol

Take a chill pill man.

[JoeOf91]

everyone needs to be in a plane accident lol jk

[anasgameel]

"i no longer trying to be right i chosed to be happy"

[AtomicSushi92130]

1:12 Didn't understand what he say, "brace" for impact" ??

[SocialDissimulation]

@AtomicSushi92130 Yes, brace for impact. We used that in the Navy too.

[seraphinapandora]

@AtomicSushi92130 - Yeah, "brace for impact." As in, "get ready, because we're going to crash."

[oontgrad]

@AtomicSushi92130 "brace", as he used it, just means to get ready, or prepare yourself.

[AtomicSushi92130]

@oontgrad Thx, i was unable to find it in any dictionnary ;)

[guivo0000]

todo cambia en un instante, no intento estar en lo correcto...escojo ser feliz, lo unico que importa al final es ser una persona buena ... grandes pensamientos

[Shadowstray]

I'm not trying to deminish the message of the video, but as someone with a psychological disorder that keeps one constantly aware of the possibility of sudden death, my list of priorities would be somewhat different.

Being at the front of the plane, I'd inquire if it's too late to change my seat for something in the back. Followed shortly by a question of whether alcohol is still being served.

Having nothing else to do, I'd probably go for my camera. I wonder if it's morally acceptable though.

[willyoldfox]

time for ted to go HD. i mean, seriously..

[gulllars]

@willyoldfox as long as it's not a visual performance about art or something with high detail, i don't really care about the video resolution. As long as the audio is good, and the video is capturing what's going on, i'm happy with it.

[Freigeist20789]

@willyoldfox HD is absolutely overrated ...get the message not the graphics

[TEDxTalks]

@willyoldfox aren't they HD on the iTunes feed?

[LiariWarzone]

@willyoldfox The guy was just talking about wasting energy on negative things...You could see it, hear it, the only thing you have to put hd now is your feelings.

[031Snippe]

Lesson of today: planecrashes make people more authentic. Go crash and be a better person.

[gulllars]

@031Snippe you should change planecrashes to near death experiences. Go almost die (and truely believe you will), and you'll realize what you're doing wrong and what matters to you, unless you're a pure narcissistic hedonist.

[carefulcarpenter]

I love deep authentic people! At 26 I decided to be the best dad I could be. I gave up a dismal life trying to be important to a world that does not reward great dads, but rewards false promisers. My mother granted me the gift of independence and I passed that to my kids. It was the most brilliant achievement as a dad.

[freesk8]

Wow. THAT was a good one.

[securebox]

Awesome..inspiring...awakening­. To be human...is to be conscious of one's own reflections. 

[barrywilliamsmb]

Aye uh, yeah.

Dude says the light. Thank you Ric and TED.

[Kelertasable]

This was really good.

[SarehTehrani]

short, sweet & beautiful!

[Kargoneth]

Given the choice between happiness and being correct, I think I'll take being correct.

[walkerneo]

@Kargoneth A choice between happiness and being correct would imply that you can't have both. The only reason we like being correct is because it makes us happy. If, as in this case, being correct didn't make you happy, then you wouldn't want to be correct.

[Kargoneth]

@walkerneo

Being incorrect makes me unhappy, therefore I should try to minimize my incorrectness.

[AssyrianRebel1]

@Kargoneth Well it appears you're trying to reduce a negative (the realization of being incorrect), which doesn't doesn't in itself being about a positive i.e. happiness.

[ASHBOX86]

very moving.

[StabbyRaccoon]

"only thing that matters is being a great dad" "better to be happy than right". This guy is as human as it gets.

[defaultuser88]

@StabbyRaccoon except it's better to be right than to be happy

[StabbyRaccoon]

@defaultuser88

I agree. Or at least that being right should make one happy and being wrong should make one unhappy. Unfortunately our biology tends to exhort us to deceive ourselves.

[Presenceofguitar]

@defaultuser88 I disagree. Apart from the value of correctness and happiness being immeasurable and furthermore mercurial between individuals, I would contest that being happy is more advantageous. Being right only yields a sense of self-satisfaction and a ego boost of varying magnitude. Whereas being happy increases the quality of your life by definition hahaha

[foureyes99]

Short, to the point, and moving. Great talk.

[supermaucat]

Should have had Sully on, the pilot, not this guy.

[KojakXXX]

Ali G. on TED?

AMAZING!

[griskrossaren]

Hes right, yet it changes nothing.. : ]

[watercup123456]

Immediate gratification is a key to being alive.

[ns88ster]

There is more to life than being "happy".

[Shindai]

That was a very moving, inspiring and thought provoking five minutes.

[doGoNsIylbaborPerehT]

@maxgunn555

Religious persons also instantly marked your comment as spam.

That seems to be their way to handle any criticism at them.

Grow up you people...

*Sigh*

[maxgunn555]

@doGoNsIylbaborPerehT guess you unspammed it cause i can't see it spammed. that infuriates me if they did.

[maxgunn555]

@k4tay a religious person is happy from believing in god blindly without any evidence and is in some sense therefore wrong for doing so yet still happy. inspiring not..

[maxgunn555]

@k4tay a religious person is happy from believing in god blindly without any evidence and is in some sense therefore wrong for doing so yet still happy. inspiring not.

[arvidmann]

I guess we all need a near death experience to understand life.

[MusicStudyMan]

@arvidmann I agree - but on the "list of things to do" after "be born", "death" is next on the list - so it's as close as it can be, why wait? Tomorrow is just a fabrication of anticipation. :o)

[mahatmaBit]

@arvidmann or see "Saw" lol

most westerners are too protected and immature (me too). americans trying to be good but conducting war and revenge all over the place.......... curious

[hogoism]

"I don't choose to be right, I choose to be happy" great and simple words worth dozen of family psychology books. Very inspiring.

[olyfag]

Great speech...

[JMAnimaVoice]

first <3

[MagnusMistro]

derps