One of the first things that surprised me in a positive, wonderfully positive way, is that this works - patient capital works.

When systems are broken, it's an opportunity for invention and innovation.

The poor also are willing to make, and do make, smart decisions, if you give them that opportunity.

I think we so often equate leadership with being experts - the leader is supposed to come in and fix things. But in this interconnected world we live in now, it's almost impossible for just one person to do that.

Our lives are so short. And our time on this planet is so precious. All we have is each other.

The only way to end poverty, to make it history, is to build viable systems on the ground that deliver critical and affordable goods and services to the poor, in ways that are financially sustainable and scaleable. If we do that, we really can make poverty history.

Philanthropy is no longer about writing a check for $10,000 to the opera.