Laura Fitton: 10 Talks That Will Fascinate You

Laura Fitton knows a thing or two about the transformative power of social media. The author, lecturer, business consultant and entrepreneur was one of the first people to recognize the potential of Twitter a tool that could bring people together to overcome obstacles. She was one of the first Twitter evangelists and used the platform to transform herself into one of the most sought-after voices on how create business value with social media.

Now the Inbound Marketing Evanglist at HubSpot, Fitton is also the co-author of Twitter for Dummies and was the founder of oneforty, the Twitter app store acquired by HubSpot in 2011.

Below are her favorite TEDTalks and why she thinks each should be added to your watch list.

Isabel Allende tells tales of passion

"One of the first TEDTalks I ever saw and fell in love with. Stirring. This sounds so corny, but watching it always brings me to life a little bit more. It's not just her passion, it's her humility and silliness."

Brene Brown on vulnerability

"Incredibly important talk that absolutely hit home for me. I hope we all talk about this more. Fears around vulnerability lead to so many problems in the world. Not to mention, she's so funny and brilliant and real — if I could take one TEDster to lunch, it would have to be Brene."

Helen Fischer: The brain in love

"Maybe because romantic love has been so elusive in my life so far? Maybe just because her research is so fascinating and useful… I found the insights around side-by-side (men) vs face-to-face (women) bonding fascinating."

Jill Bolte Taylor's stroke of insight

"I had a (much more minor than Jill's) stroke in January 2007, so when this talk came out it was absolutely surreal to experience hers second-hand through this talk."

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

"It really bothers me that our entire (shaky) economy has been built on fear, uncertainty, doubt and negativity for so long. That whole 'extend tons of consumer credit and spend billions on advertising that makes people feel terrible about themselves' thing, we thought that would end well, how?

"So, though it's been cliche for decades to 'hate' your job – did we really think we'd get lasting economic productivity from command and control employer/employee relationships? Why is it taking the world so long to catch up to how much more productive work is, how much more lasting, interesting, valuable its results, when it is done from a place of loving what you do?"

Cat Laine: Engineering a better life for all

"Cat is marvelous, and I was lucky enough to not only meet her, but to be present when this was recorded. Watch this to learn how to open our eyes to locally innovated solutions that boost the economies where they originate."

Dan Ariely asks are we in control of our own decisions?

"Dan was wearing a jester hat the first time I saw him, in the lobby on the way into a conference. There's an incredibly human liveliness about his intellect that is so charming and intriguing."

Hans Rosling: New insights on poverty

"I fear that my list has too many of the 'canonical' TEDTalks on it vs. going deeper into the collection, but just in case there are still people out there who haven't seen this talk, stop right now and see this talk. Hans has that rare blend of massive intellect, powerful analytical chops and great storytelling that can pretty quickly poke holes in what you think you already know."

Seth Godin: The tribes we lead

"For a man who turns out tons of great ideas, books and blog posts and is already extremely well known for his compelling talks, it will sound strange to say that there is much more to Seth Godin than meets the eye. But, there is much more to Seth Godin than meets the eye. You should also keep an eye on his sons Alex and Mo as they hit the scene. Categorically: ones to watch."

Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have too few women leaders

"Ugh. Just, ugh. But thank you so much for this, Sheryl."