Ever want to be a superhero and do the impossible? Dan Meyer believes no matter how extreme our fears or how wild our dreams, we each have the potential to be superheroes, do the impossible and change the world. Director of a humanitarian aid agency serving orphans in Kazakhstan, Dan shares how he overcame a childhood of extreme fears, social anxiety disorder and bullying to do superhuman feats, become a finalist on America's Got Talent, win the 2007 Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine at Harvard, and become a 39x world record holder and leading expert in one of the world's oldest and most dangerous arts - Sword Swallowing - and passionate about inspiring people to do the impossible in THEIR lives.

In his first TED talk, Dan takes the audience on his long walk from extreme fears to extreme feats, wimp to world record holder, loser to Ig Nobel Prize winner and quitter to finalist on America's Got Talent. Dan reveals the science behind the ancient art of sword swallowing, and describes his quest to perform superhuman feats, overcome failure and the boundaries of the human body to do the impossible and change the world. And he shares tips on how you can cut through fear to do the impossible in YOUR life!

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.