Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children

There are two ways to remove a Band-Aid : slowly and painfully, or quickly and painfully. Your choice.

The biggest risk is that a lot of people will try to talk you out of pursuing your dream. The world has too many people who are happy to discuss why something might not work, and too few who will cheer you and say, "I'm there for you." The more time you spend navel-gazing, the longer you give those negative gravitational forces to keep you in their tether.

If you are thinking about making some adjustments in you life to allow you to help change the world, my heartfelt recommendation is not to spend too much time thinking about it. Just dive in.

Right now what I need to think about is what would be possible, not all the reasons I can't make a change.

Sometimes, it's really important to move with all deliberate speed. If there is something out there that you want to do to make the world a better place, don't focus on the obstacles. Don't ask for permission. Just dive in. Don't let the naysayers get you down.

I knew that I had to free myself from any constraints that would prevent the pursuit of these dreams.

The headmaster explained. Books were considered precious. The school had so few that the teachers did not want to risk the children damaging them. I wondered how a book could impart knowledge if it was locked up, but kept that thought to myself.

if we were lucky enough to be living a good life, we should recognize this gift and thank God for it by looking out for others who need our help in breaking out of the cycle of poverty.

Look, there are two ways to remove a Band-Aid: slowly and painfully, or quickly and painfully. Your choice.

Did it really matter how many copies of Windows we sold in Taiwan this month when millions of children were without access to books?

Did my job really matter? A successful year would only help a rich company get richer.

The events of September eleventh remind us that we live in a very confused world. I think that how we respond says a lot about our capacity as human beings to be optimistic in the face of nihilism, and to prove that light can win out over darkness. I am not saying that education is going to solve all the world’s problems. But it’s something direct, and tangible. We can do it right now. You can go home tonight knowing that within a year, a few new schools will be open. I hope you’ll choose to support our work.