Failure can be an incredibly motivating force.

As a young woman, I dreamed of changing the world. In my twenties, I went to Africa to try and save the continent, only to learn that Africans neither wanted nor needed saving. Indeed, when I was there, I saw some of the worst that good intentions, traditional charity, and aid can produce.

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

People need to believe that they can participate fully in the decisions that affect their lives and have a stake in the societies in which they live

Don't let people tell you to do it this way. You are on the verge of figuring out hybrid models -- with companies and nonprofits, markets, government, crowd-sourced philanthropy. The capitalist system as we know it is not working.

Things are always harder than you think they're going to be.

Freedom is what beauty feels like when it can most express itself.