If you could travel back in time and meet your old self, is there something you would like to show him? Something that would have made your life easier if you had known it before?
Since travel into the past is part of science fiction, we must find alternatives to the need to learn from experience without the experience itself, and the easiest way is to learn from those who have walked the path before us.
Adam Braun is the founder and CEO of Pencils of Promise (PoP), an organization that seeks to end inequality worldwide, providing education in developing countries. Adam started from scratch and today PoP has more than 300 schools in Asia, Africa and South America. The road was not easy, but during the journey, Adam compiled 5 sentences that helped him take an idea from its conception to turn it into a project that seeks to solve a world problem, and just as they changed his life, he hopes that it can also change the our.
1. Get out of your comfort zone (21 years old)
Adam was living a very good life, he had graduated and had the dream of working on wall street, everything was perfect. One day he heard the phrase Get out of your comfort zone he remembered that many of the great works of history were conceived in difficult times and he understood that by becoming uncomfortable he could know himself. As a result of this change of mentality, he decided to travel different countries as a “backpacker” and shortly after setting sail on the ship that would take him on that adventure, the tide turned strong and he was close to losing his life. Adam says that in the most difficult moments of the accident he was certain that he was still alive, because he was clear that he had not yet fulfilled his purpose in this life. What was he? he did not know, but traveling around the countries he had the habit of asking some children that if they could have anything, what would it be?, and the revelation of his purpose came when a boy in India, in a very poor region, answered him that if I could have anything it would be a pencil.
2. Face your doubts, so you will find your truths (23 years old)
We all have truths that come from our hearts and Adam says that we will never regret following those impulses. At 23 years old, the phraseFace your doubts, so you will find your truths, echoed in his head, so he decided to travel to South America and tour other countries. In a remote part of Guatemala, a man named Joel Puac asked her to come to his house and stay with him so that he could record Adam’s voice while he read an English Bible. Joel could read English but since he couldn’t pronounce the words well he couldn’t teach his children. Adam agreed when he was amazed by Joel’s commitment to the education of his children and at the same time understood that in order to build an organization, community leaders who were truly committed to the cause had to be empowered.
Years later, Adam visited Joel again and today there are more than 40 schools built in that region.
3. Speak the language of the person you want to become (25 years old)
He was already working in New York, he had a good job, and when asked what he was doing, answering that he was a consultant for an important firm did not make him feel complete. So he got into the habit of adding to his answer what he planned to do about education around the world. He started talking like the person he wanted to become.
Soon after, he contacted Bank of America, deposited $25 to open an account, and was officially born. Pencils of Promise. After raising funds, he created the first school in Laos (Asia) and when he realized that his dream was becoming a reality and that the language he had adopted was not part of the fantasy, he had to make a difficult decision: continue building PoP or return to his work…
4. Make the small decisions with your head and the biggest ones with your heart (27 years old)
“Make the small decisions with your head and the bigger ones with your heart” was the phrase that made it easier for him to make the decision. Adam assures that if people follow their hearts they will not be wrong, that they will go through difficulties and sometimes they can regret it but that is momentary.
5. How to create a positive impact on as many people as possible?
Adam believes that we all have the power to change the world and the question is how to create a positive impact on as many people as possible? he continues to push him to do what he does and hopes that we all unleash our potential to make the world a place with less inequality.
If you want to know more about Adam’s story, you can buy his book entitled How an ordinary person can create extraordinary change and if you want to be part of the change you can donate by clicking here.
And remember, if you are really interested in creating your own business, you can read our book “How to create a company while working: Discover how to manage your time, manage your money and motivate yourself while creating a company and working for another” , where you will find all the information you need to found your own company, without having to leave your job.
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