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Amy Cuddy's TED Talk is the second most viewed of all time 鈥� and just a taste of what she has to say.聽

Long before Amy Cuddy was a Harvard聽professor and a TED star, she was an聽ambitious college student, the kind who聽would drive 900 miles through the night聽to make morning class in Boulder.

That鈥檚 what she and two friends were聽doing the night their Jeep Cherokee聽rolled over on a Wyoming highway en聽route from a conference in Montana.聽Asleep in the back seat, Cuddy (Psych鈥�98),聽then a 19-year-old sophomore, was ejected.聽Her skull fractured on the road.

The prognosis was grim.聽Her IQ fell聽30 points,聽language baffled her,聽doctors聽said to forget about college.聽But this was an intolerable thought.聽

鈥淚 had a very simple idea of who I was,鈥澛爏he told a Boulder audience earlier this聽year, 鈥渁nd being smart [was] part of that.鈥澛�

Cuddy resumed school, stopped, started聽again. She spent a lot of time at a Boulder聽rehabilitation hospital.聽

The ballerina from rural Pennsylvania聽kept at it.聽

She worked as a rollerskating waitress at聽L.A. Diner on 28th Street, discovered social聽psychology, wrote an honors thesis and,聽four years after her original 蜜糖直播-Boulder聽classmates, graduated 鈥� magna cum laude.聽

She went on to graduate school in psychology聽at Princeton and, in 2008, joined聽the faculty at Harvard Business School,聽where she studies and teaches the psychology聽of persuasion, power and negotiation.聽

Cuddy鈥檚 efforts to overcome her head聽injury provide a moving context for her聽subsequent academic research about how聽the body influences the mind and the implications for everyday life. Aspects of her聽work served as the basis for a massively聽popular TED Talk that has inspired people聽around the world and catapulted Cuddy聽into the front ranks of public intellectuals.聽

Time named her to its 2012 list of聽鈥淕ame Changers鈥� and Business Insider聽to its 2013 list of 鈥�50 Women Who Are聽Changing the World.鈥� Science magazine聽ranked her among the 鈥淭op 100 Most聽Followed Scientists on Twitter.鈥� She鈥檚聽currently one of the World Economic聽Forum鈥檚 鈥淵oung Global Leaders.鈥�

鈥淭he words 鈥榠t can鈥檛 be done鈥� or 鈥榠t聽is too difficult鈥� simply are not in her聽vocabulary,鈥� said Bernadette Park, the聽蜜糖直播-Boulder professor who was Cuddy鈥檚聽honors thesis adviser. 鈥淲hat she has聽accomplished is truly remarkable.鈥�

In the 21-minute TED Talk, 鈥淵our Body聽Shapes Who You Are鈥� 鈥� the second聽most-viewed of all time, with more than聽33 million views on the TED site and millions聽more on YouTube 鈥� Cuddy focused聽on the self-confidence many people generate聽by adopting 鈥減ower poses鈥� before聽stressful situations, such as job interviews,聽negotiations or speeches, and how this聽can influence outcomes in their favor.聽

In high-power poses we expand our聽bodies to occupy lots of space 鈥� assuming聽wide stances with arms on hips聽or extended above the head, maybe in a聽triumphant V, for instance. Cuddy calls聽them 鈥減ostures of victory.鈥澛�

Research by Cuddy and others has shown聽that holding high-power poses for two minutes聽can increase a hormone that induces聽feelings of power (testosterone), decrease a聽hormone that induces feelings of stress (cortisol)聽and embolden people to take risks.聽

Holding low-power poses for two聽minutes (a fetal position, say) has the聽opposite effects.聽

鈥淵our body,鈥� Cuddy said, 鈥渋s always in聽conversation with your mind.鈥澛�

Other research showed that we tend聽to respond more favorably to individuals聽鈥� job applicants, for example聽鈥� who exhibit personal power through聽a palpable sense of presence.

The TED Talk made Cuddy a star, but聽power posing is just one aspect of her聽broader interest in the dynamics of personal聽power and the ways people evaluate聽and influence each other.

Still, the talk has led to other big聽opportunities, including a book project,聽Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your聽Biggest Challenges, a New York Times bestseller聽published in December.聽

For the book, Cuddy widened her lens,聽distilling and personalizing a vast body of聽social science research about ways people聽can elicit a relaxed, confident, honest persona聽in stressful situations. The fundamental聽idea is to induce a state of presence, which聽she defines as 鈥渢he state of being attuned聽to and able to comfortably express our true聽thoughts, feelings, values and potential.鈥澛�

Like power posing, being authentically聽present leaves people relaxed and able聽to access their best and boldest selves in聽stressful moments, increasing the odds聽of desirable outcomes and all but assuring聽a satisfying sense of having done聽their best, irrespective of outcome.聽

For a long time this wasn鈥檛 natural for聽Cuddy, who endearingly exposes her own聽past struggles to summon her best self聽in high-stakes encounters with peers,聽professional superiors and others.聽

She learned, she said, to 鈥渇ake it until you聽make it,鈥� a mantra she鈥檚 modified based on聽her research results. Now she tells people聽to 鈥渇ake it until you become it.鈥澛�

Cuddy combines grit and high-caliber聽smarts with an open enthusiasm for聽pop culture. A serious live-music fan and聽self-described 鈥淒ead Head,鈥� she sprinkles聽references to pop-culture figures throughout聽her writing and in conversation 鈥� musician聽Dave Grohl of Nirvana, writer Neil Gaiman聽and actress Julianne Moore all come up.聽

Cuddy continues to teach at Harvard,聽where she鈥檚 an associate professor, but also聽spends a lot of time talking about her work聽to general audiences at high schools, homeless聽shelters, churches and public halls.聽

鈥淚 care about talking to people outside聽the ivory tower,鈥� she said.聽That鈥檚 not to say college towns have聽lost their appeal: Cuddy and her husband聽have considered buying a part-time聽home in Boulder.聽

鈥淚 want to get back out here,鈥� she聽said during her winter visit. 鈥淭he balance聽is right here.鈥�

Photos by聽Ryan Lash (top);聽James Duncan Davidson, Ryan Lash