If you have a book to write, write it. If you want to record an album, record it. No need to wait for someone in a cubicle halfway across the country to decide if you're worthy.

If you've got the platform and the ability to make a difference, then this goes beyond 'should' and reaches the level of 'must.' You must make a difference or you squander the opportunity. Wasting the opportunity both degrades your own ability to contribute and, more urgently, takes something away from the rest of us.

Success comes from doing the hard part. When the hard part is all you've got, you're more likely to do it. And this is precisely why it's difficult to focus. Because focusing means acknowledging that you just signed up for the hard part.

Turn strangers into friends. Turn friends into donors. And then do the most important job: Turn your donors into fundraisers.

I feel like I'm treating people as I'd like to be treated.

If you don't require the journey to be easy or comfortable or safe, you can change the world.

As you've probably discovered, great work makes us uncomfortable.