TED Talks have become transcendent. They inspire people in tech, the arts, business, politics and science; they speak to people stuck in desk jobs or starting their own company; they tell us stories with uplifting endings and horrific details. TED stands for “technology, entertainment and design,” but the talks cover much more.

The best ones are often the motivational ones because they shoot beyond industry specifics and speak to what the human race is really like. They’re motivational speeches without the sales pitch. So if you want to get inspired, scroll down, click a few and enjoy.

Dan Pink: The puzzle of motivation

What motivates us? That’s the question at the heart of Dan Pink’s talk, in which he asks why rewards-based motivation only sometimes works. Rewards, he argues, only work when the problem is straightforward. Creative problems, on the other hand, have oblique circumstances and non-obvious answers. Those kinds of problems aren’t solved faster by rewards—in fact, complex cognitive problems are solved at a slower pace when a reward is offered.

Dan himself is a fantastic speaker, getting riled up and passionately arguing for a better way to motivate workers, particularly in the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse. A must-watch for any manager or small business owner.

Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability

Shame is a powerful emotion. Brené Brown, who deals with social science as a hands-on researcher, equates this feeling with what she calls “excruciating vulnerability.” In her sometimes funny, often poignant personal story, she dives into her own misconceptions about shame, the origins of the word “courage” (hint: it has to do with emotions) and how our society has grown to numb itself vulnerability. Rejection and hard decisions make us feel shame, and we tend not to talk about these things—but it would make us stronger, more competent and more human if we did.

Majora Carter: 3 stories of local eco-entrepreneurship

There’s no better way to get inspired than by hearing inspiring stories. Majora Carter lays out three entrepreneurial success stories, all of which deal with local businesspeople and environmental protection. The bulk of her TED Talk isn’t as sexy or emotional as some of the topics above, but it’s hard-hitting: she uses real data and case studies that prove ecologically-minded entrepreneurs are making a difference in their communities, from beekeeping to cultivation of green spaces.

Tim Urban: Inside the mind of a master procrastinator

If you’ve ever knowingly procrastinated on a project, this talk will resonate with you. And if you don’t think of yourself as a procrastinator, this talk may surprise you: many of us, in fact, are procrastinators in some way or another. Tim Urban is great at laying out all the ways people put off major life decisions because there are no looming deadlines to kick us into high gear, and it’s this terrifyingly profound ending that will make you want to turn off the computer and get to work. But the big revelation comes after 10 minutes of hilarious psychological setup, making it well worth the full viewing time.

Adam Grant: The surprising habits of original thinkers

If you’re feeling bad about procrastination after that talk, this one will make you feel a bit better. A sort of complementary piece to the above video, Adam Grant’s talk adopts the vantage point of someone who gets things done early, and analyzes why they might be less original thinkers. This sets up the idea of the brain as an incubator that needs time to generate creative ideas—not necessarily until the deadline, but after a period of time. As he puts it: “Procrastinating is a vice when it comes to productivity, but it can be a virtue for creativity.”

Margaret Heffernan: Why it’s time to forget the pecking order at work

The story that kicks off this talk is a simple one: a man grew two distinct groups of chickens for six generations. One group was normal for the chicken farm, while the other was handpicked from the onset to only feature the best-performing chickens. After six generations, the average group was excelling; the super-chickens were mostly dead. “The individually productive chickens had only achieved their success by suppressing the productivity of the rest,” Margaret Heffernan says. The system most countries and companies rely on is to hire only the best, to fire the worst, the self-select our groups and educational systems, and to cultivate that class system. This inspiring talk dives deep into the psychology of productivity and the power of social cohesion.

So next time you’re feeling uninspired or unproductive, listen to one of these talks (or one of the hundreds of others) to reignite that entrepreneurial spark.