In Colorado, spilling out of my parents' home and into their garage, we had at least an initial down payment on this dream p. We now have a library full of books. Inside books you will find hidden the mysteries of the world. With books, you can learn, and you can make a better future for your families and for our country p.
I would soon defy them. My entire life had been on a predictable trajectory dominated by a couple of university degrees and thirteen years of white-collar employment. My identity was defined by my career. I now planned a radical shift, a big leap into the unknown: from corporate executive to unemployed guy setting up libraries in the Himalayas.
I prayed that I would be decisive and follow through on my gut instinct p. I then rationalized to myself, what good are savings if you can't use them to fund your dreams p. I recalled advice my father had given me in junior high school. One night as we raked leaves, he asked if he needed to sign the permission form for junior varsity football. No doubt to his surprise, my response was to start crying. I explained to him that I had no interest, that all the kids who had signed up were bigger than me, and that my visions of the Darwinian playground had convinced me that I would be best off sticking with my paper route as my after-school activity.
As usual, his advice was simple and straightforward: 'If you don't want to play, then don't play John, you are old enough to know that the only person you have to satisfy in life is yourself. Even your mother and I no longer matter. Don't do anything to please us.
Do what you think is the right thing to do and get used to answering only to yourself p. I was now a fish out of water. With no experience in the complex world of international nonprofits, I had a grand vision but few results and even fewer contacts.
I felt demoralized and wondered if my transition had been a mistake p. I did not have any of the trappings of my old Microsoft life and had not collected a paycheck in over a year. But I felt as though I had found my role in the universe.
I looked out at the crowd, and several children smiled and waved at me as soon as we locked eyes. Their faces made every minute of my three-day journey to this remote village in the shadow of the Himalayas worth it p. The women we saw this morning had responded to the call. Each morning, a group of them would wake up before sunrise, walk an hour downhill to the roadside where the cement bags were being stored, and then walk 90 minutes back up to the village.
The bags weighed 50 kilos pounds--and some mothers were making the trip twice in one day. Dinesh reminded me that this was a farming village, and they women would still have to spend their day in the fields p.
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 p. Only then did I realize that they were referring to the man's key chain, on which was attached a tiny letter opener whose blade could be popped open with the push of a button At this point I intervened and told him I might be able to solve his problem. If he could give me the letter opener, and a business card, I could put the letter opener in the bag I was checking.
When I got home to San Francisco, I could drop the family heirloom in the mail to him. His jaw dropped. Native New Yorkers may not be used to strangers going out of their way to offer favors Two weeks later, I received a letter in the mail from my new best friend, Brent Erensel. After receiving the package from you along with your business card, I went online to look up what Room to Read does.
As I viewed the photos of the kids you are helping, I decide that both you and Erin must be angels. That would be the only explanation for what I have witnessed from meeting you briefly at JFK, and then viewing the slide shows on your site. Enclosed please find a little something to keep the positive energy flowing. Tangible stuff: the number of schools opened; the number of books donated; the number of girls on scholarship In I came up with an idea that is still used today.
I set my email signature file to list our results at the bottom of each and every email that I sent out We're all about results. Join us in the quest for universal education p.
Great time! Well run! How did you know that? He demands much of his people, but he also lets them know that he's got their back p. You are never home anyway. You need to keep doing what you do, because not enough progress is being made in the world, especially for the poorest countries. Don't think about real estate as being what matters. You have something that few other people have--the certainty that comes with knowing you are doing, every day, exactly what you should be doing.
To sacrifice that to chase a big home would be a disaster and huge mistake p. Until this security was in place, the teachers were each spending a night sleeping in the lab. I was impressed and made a mental note to share the story with Bill Draper, who had told me that the only aid projects that worked were the ones where the local people felt ownership p.
I forwarded the email to a dozen of our most dedicated volunteers to let them share in the heartwarming story. And then it dawned on me how lucky I am, to be working in a role that provides so many examples of basic human kindness. I have a near constant interaction with people who believe that in education lies independence, self-sufficiency, a better life, and progress for humanity.
Best of all, they are willing to take action, rather than sitting around talking about the problems p. They simply take the leap p. In retrospect, I believe that the majority of these people were motivated by the fact that we did not yet have a complete strategy or solution for Sri Lanka.
In the absence of such, each individual was able to exercise his or her creative muscle and invent his or her own role p. Just dive in p. Francis de Sales, p. Sep 08, Jung added it. John Wood never looked back after he left his cushy job at Microsoft to devote himself to ending global illiteracy. He stayed committed to his dream, and used his passion and skills from his previous job to build an international network of people equally devoted to bringing more education to the world.
Room to Read and Room to Grow have changed thousands of lives. One person really can make a difference in the world. Meet John Wood: a top executive who worked for Microsoft between and Wood enjoyed great success at Microsoft, until an eye-opening vacation in Nepal forced him to scrutinize the value of something he'd always taken for granted: education. Wood was on a hike in rural Nepal when he decided to take a tour of the local schools — and his life changed forever.
The condition of the schools absolutely shocked him. Wood met with an education resource guide named Pasupathi. Pasupathi then took John on a tour of a local school.
When Wood asked where the books were, he was shown a locked cabinet. The books were so precious they had to be kept under lock and key. The few books they did have weren't really fit for schoolchildren, either. One of them was an Italian edition of a book by Umberto Eco. So Wood asked if the teachers would be interested in English books, and when they said yes, he promised to send two to three hundred books along.
Wood remembered his promise. When he got back to Kathmandu he emailed several of his contacts, informing them of the school's poor conditions. He asked for books and monetary donations, promising to use percent of the donations to buy more children's books. He also asked people to forward the email to their own contacts. The results exceeded his expectations. Wood quickly gathered about 3, books to send back to Nepal.
Wood felt a deep satisfaction when he sent the books to Nepal — a greater satisfaction than he'd ever felt working at Microsoft. He knew his actions had had a profound impact, so he eventually decided to leave his company and fully devote himself to education. After a second trip to Nepal, Wood decided to pursue a nonprofit career in funding schools and libraries. There was certainly a lot of work to do, as there were so many Nepalese schools in bad condition.
Wood knew there were plenty of people who wanted to work for Microsoft, but few people who had the resources to help schools in Nepal. It was clear to him where he was needed. When he got back to his office, he told his boss he was leaving to pursue his newfound dream: helping to end illiteracy.
His decision turned his life upside down. He gave up the security of his high-level job at Microsoft to focus on his new nonprofit, Room to Read, even though there wasn't a guarantee he'd be successful. John had originally called his organization Books for Nepal, but he changed it when he decided to expand to other countries.
Wood's job at Microsoft had given him stock options, health benefits, a travel expense account, a car and a driver. When he decided to give all that up, he relocated to San Francisco.
He figured that was the best place for him to work because it put him near potential donors — his old contacts at Microsoft. The radical changes in Wood's life also affected his relationship. He and his girlfriend now had very different aims in life, so they decided to separate. The book is divided into simple lessons that show how everybody can find their passion, make the best use of their potential and live a life full of meaning, joy and inspiration. Jan 15, William rated it really liked it.
Those who have read any of these three know the theme of the other two. All three were undoubtedly written for the same reason as well, to raise funds for the nonprofit education-oriented organizations founded by Wood and Mortenson and, for that reason alone, all three are worth purchasing.
As with Mortenson's books, Wood's is a memoir, and, while it doesn't include some of the adventures recounted by Mortenson, it is nonetheless an attention-binding read. Judging solely by the text of the book, Wood's life has been a veritable whirlwind of activity, first for Microsoft and then for his own organization, Room To Read.
When he actually carved out time to write a book one cannot imagine. The same was true for Mortenson, of course, but he readily admits that a co-author, David Oliver Relin, did most of the actual writing. There is no mention of a co-author in Wood's book, and perhaps he did compose every word in it, but I still would not be surprised if a ghost writer was involved. Considering the level of detail in the book, Wood had to have either an eidetic memory or a ponderous journal in which he meticulously recorded multitudinous events as they occurred.
Having raised the questions of sole authorship and factual accuracy, I want to add that neither really matters to me all that much, either in Wood's or in Mortenson's books. The stories, whether they adhere absolutely to historical events or not, are interestingly written and may even exert a very beneficial effect on the reader's value system in that both men forsook the self-aggrandizing, mammon-worshiping world of capitalism to devote their energies toward humanitarian goals.
This is not to say that Wood gave up all of his worldly pleasures for he still writes of wine-tasting parties and trekking in out-of-the-way places, so do not make the mistake of feeling that he is one of the "common people" of whom God made so many according to Abraham Lincoln. This makes him rather more difficult for readers to relate to than Mortenson, though he, too, was trekking in an out-of-the-way place when his first story begins, and it definitely takes money to reach and play in such locales.
For instance, on page , we learn that "Steve could care less were someone is in the hierarchy. Okay, even considering the unanswered questions of sole authorship and factual accuracy that niggle at me, I can truthfully say that I enjoyed reading Wood's book and that I recommend it highly to all who enjoy memoir-style writing of uncommon acts in esoteric settings.
I did not set out to compare Wood's book with those of Mortenson, but they are a natural fit. Anyone who enjoyed Mortenson's books will also enjoy Wood's and vice versa. Be prepared to be inspired. Room To Read run locally by volunteers partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish thousands of multilingual libraries, create local language children's literature, construct schools, and provide education as well as scholarships to children.
This book explains the development of a nonprofit organization through the perspectives of an executive, as well as an employer who was also an employee, a businessman, a corporate, an entrepreneur, a colleague, a friend, Room To Read run locally by volunteers partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish thousands of multilingual libraries, create local language children's literature, construct schools, and provide education as well as scholarships to children.
This book explains the development of a nonprofit organization through the perspectives of an executive, as well as an employer who was also an employee, a businessman, a corporate, an entrepreneur, a colleague, a friend, a son, and a normal person—and those views lie at once in John Wood.
Yes, John Wood was an executive in such a huge company, he's a rich guy, but at the end of the day he doesn't even take his wealth for granted. He is very conscious of the education that was given to him since he was a kid. He was grateful for three women in his life his mother, grandmother, and his sister who always gave him chances for literacy and to get better education.
He believes that what he's been doing these past years is worth to pay what he's got years ago—proper education. And he's always eager to share it to the world, and especially to kids who are not as fortunate as us. The tale personal quest and the business world, because he sees managerial skill as the key to make his dreams come true. His ability to think outside the box—to see congruence where others see conflict, to use his business smarts to facilitate a spiritual jurney—delivers useful insights about what it takes to succeed at charitable work.
He also implements a modified model called 'Challenge Grant', which requires impoverished communities to donate to the project in whatever way they can—by conributing land, or building materials, or even labor. This makes them not taking the help for granted, but they also support the establishment of the libraries and schools.
He can learn from it. And so can we. Don't tell the reasons something might not work, tell yourself all the ways it could work. Don't focus on the obstacles. Just dive in. Readers also enjoyed. Videos About This Book. More videos Biography Memoir. About John Wood. John Wood. An edition of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World This edition was published in by Collins Business in New York. Written in English — pages. Leaving Microsoft to change the world: an entrepreneur's quest to educate the world's children , Collins.
Libraries near you: WorldCat. Not in Library. Paperback in English - Reprint edition. Leaving Microsoft to change the world: an entrepreneur's odyssey to educate the world's children , Collins Business. Leaving Microsoft to change the world: an entrepreneur's odyssey to educate the world's children , Collins.
People John Wood Jan. Places South Asia , Southeast Asia. Table of Contents Discovering Nepal; leaving Microsoft "Perhaps, Sir, you will someday come back with books" An idea burns by candlelight You need to get home soon! Woody and John's excellent adventure Debating a radical change Lonely in a city of 12 million strangers Gates in China Walking away Starting over The start-up years: an object in motion remains in motion Making the ask - Expansion beyond Nepal A postcard from Nepal What every entrepreneur needs: a strong second-in-command September 11 Building "the Microsoft of nonprofits" Building the network You life is a mess Hitting our stride Putting girls in the place-school!
Edition Notes Includes index. Classifications Dewey Decimal Class S64 W66 , LC S64W66 The Physical Object Pagination vi, p. Community Reviews 0 Feedback? But in terms of sheer impact on the world? Microsoft wins, hands down. Microsoft gave the world two things:. At the end of the day, it's that last part that matters. By shifting the value in computing to software, Microsoft commoditized computing hardware and made computing accessible to the masses.
If this isn't one of the most significant events in history, nothing is. Now, some people will say that Microsoft did this by copying Apple's innovations like the graphical user interface.
Great artists steal. Second of all, by any meaning of the word, the person who changes the world isn't the one who comes up with the idea, it's the one who executes on it, and s Apple failed to execute a lesson well learned by Apple under Steve Jobs 2.
The original Macintosh did show where the future of computing was headed, but it was also a commercial failure. There was a lot more software for the PC. So she kept buying PCs, to this day--though she has an iPhone. Being the first big, viable software company also meant Microsoft cleared the way for thousands of other software innovators, when it was in no way obvious at the start that a company could be viable making just software. The hardware may have been ugly, and the software clunky a big reason why Windows is buggy is because of Microsoft's amazing 20 year commitment to backwards compatibility , which makes PC software a cohesive environment, a tremendous service to users and the world, for which it gets no credit.
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