How a programmer from Indiana educated and fed millions

John Breen studied economics in college when he discovered a cruel paradox. About 30% of the world’s population is overweight or obese… yet every five seconds a child dies from hunger. That’s six million children every year — 30 million people total. After college he became a computer programmer, but he never forgot these issues. […]

Instead of suicide, this man decided to live for others

Buckminster Fuller failed in business many times and wanted to end it all. He walked to the waterfront, ready to throw himself in, when he had an epiphany. What if he dedicated his life to others?  “I sought to use myself as my scientific ‘guinea pig’ in a lifelong experiment designed to discover what — […]

How a 16 year old girl became a champion to thousands of Colombian farmers

Gina is just a teenager, but she could still disrupt a supply chain. Her full name is Gina Alejandra Jiménez Vergara, and she lives in Toca, Colombia — a farming village three hours from Bogotá the capital. For generations her family farmed items like pineapple, potatoes, chicken. They’d sell it to intermediaries who — after […]

How six friends lit up India with solar lights

Imagine this: You live in Bangalore.  Technically your home is a slum — like 65 million other Indians. You salvage materials from the streets and your partner works construction. Together you make $3.50/day. You don’t have electricity — like 400 million other Indians. So you spend $0.21/day on kerosene for your lamp. It’s dangerous, makes […]

How a titan of industry became a true leader

In 1973 Ray Anderson founded what would become one of the world’s largest carpet manufacturers — Interface Inc. But in 1994 he read two books, and they blew his mind: Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce and Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael.  “It was an epiphanic spear in my heart, a life-changing moment…” Ray said. “I realized […]

How a problem solving chiropractor created $300,000 each winter

Judith Johnson lived in North Carolina, and one day she noticed a problem.  After pine needles fell in a nearby forest, they dried up and became a fire risk. The Forest Service had to pay a trash company to haul them away. She knew pine needles made excellent fertilizer. So she hatched a plan. She […]

How an activist used humor (and condoms) to save over 7 million lives

Mechai Viravaidya was born in 1941. Both of his parents were medical doctors — his father from Thailand and his mother from Scotland. After studying economics in college, he joined the Thai government to alleviate poverty. He became the Minister of Industry, but no matter how hard he worked his home remained poor. Why? The […]