Deconstructing A 49-Million View Talk

Case Study Lessons: 9 Years in Review

By Devin D. Marks | Published Jan. 14, 2025

This year I'm fortunate to celebrate a number of career milestones.

A nifty one, tied to the first week of January is the tally of one million views of a TEDx Talk by Dr. Robert Waldinger.

It was nine years ago this week when his talk released on YouTube (Nov. 2015). The TED headquarters team then re-edited and shared it on their website, the night before Christmas. By New Years...

Dr. Waldinger was one of my 1st TEDx clients, back in the day. He was also the very, very first to reach those astoundingly rare, 7-digit heights.

It kicked off a season of juggling media inquiries and paid speaking invitations, on his behalf, from around the globe. (That sort of thing happens when someone clocks 1M views!)

You've heard a bit of the story before (here and here and elsewhere).

Now What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness is approaching another good round number: 50M views — a milestone likely to be passed by year's end.

What's more, it is nose-to-nose with another Top 25 Talk (by Sam Burns), vying to advance from the #8 slot to the all-time 7th most viewed talk of all time!

Wow.

To say I expected ALL of that back in the day would be silly. Most of it was all thrilling and surprising.

That said, I did tell Dr. Robert Waldinger, nine years ago this week, that one day his talk *may* even hit 20 million views! He thought that prediction was "wild fantasy." Turns out, I was woefully underestimating things.

To understand it all, would require a MasterClass in TED Talk design and prep. But THAT would put us all to sleep! So instead, here's a link to a story-driven CASE STUDY that explores the who what, when of it all.

Hope you enjoy it. Also hope that it sparks some insights and hacks for you as you pursue spreading your own big idea one day!

And remember:

"The good life is built with good relationships."

DEVIN D. MARKS is known as The TED Talk Whisperer. His firm, CONNECT to COMPEL, has served 100s of TED, TEDx, and short-talk speakers — including Harvard’s Dr. Robert Waldinger for his all-time Top 10 TEDx Talk. The result: 100s of millions of views for clients. He helps niche experts, authors, and leaders spread world-changing ideas. 

You can reach Devin at 617.804.6020, or DM him here. His newsletters are here.

LET THE WORLD LIVE YOUR MESSAGE™