Adam Braun Quotes & Sayings

There are many challenges in the global education ecosystem: from top-down systemic issues in how educational services are organized and delivered, to bottom-up issues of curriculum effectiveness, accountability, and human resource allocation. — Adam Braun

When it comes to fundraising for a social enterprise, if you are pursuing your true passion, you'll learn to become great at your craft because you'll care so much about perfecting the skills necessary to make that dream a reality. — Adam Braun

When you align individually high-performing people around the idea that they are collectively underdogs, you tap into the cohesive gel that brings early adopters together. We created an enemy for us to rebel against (this belief that our approach was "impossible"), which is one of the fastest ways to unite people around a common goal. And with each new person who joined our volunteer army, we received both the validation and the skills necessary to prove that we could carve a different path from those who came before us. — Adam Braun

We have every resource necessary to provide access to education for every child on the planet; we just need to commit to enabling it. — Adam Braun

The single most powerful element of youth is that you don't have the life experiences to know what can't be done. — Adam Braun

Most ventures fail in the early stages because people stop trying after they're told no too many times. — Adam Braun

We have the ability to provide quality education to every child on earth right now. — Adam Braun

I looked around and acknowledged that what you see around you is proof of what exists within you. — Adam Braun

At the greatest levels of affluence, and the deepest levels of poverty, parents share the same desire for their children to have a better future. — Adam Braun

For any movement to gain momentum, it must start with a small action. This action becomes multiplied by the masses, and is made tangible when leadership changes course due to the weight of the movement's voice. — Adam Braun

Non is defined as "of little or no consequence: unimportant: worthless." Worthless? Clearly, something needed to change. Why were we the only industry that introduced itself with a negative when we existed not to reduce profits, but to foster a profusion of purpose? Instead of introducing ourselves by touting what we didn't do, shouldn't we share what we did do? — Adam Braun

At certain moments in your life you just know that everything after will change. You can ignore these moments by not acting on the new set of possibilities they enable, and your life will stay the same. But if you say yes to their reverberating potential, your life path alters permanently. — Adam Braun

There's nothing that can replace quality programs in a non-profit. — Adam Braun

Weak speakers look down at the floor, good speakers look up but scan the room, great speakers make eye contact selectively, and exceptional speakers deliver every complete thought directly to one person in the audience, making that person feel like the center of the room - and then they move on and do it again. — Adam Braun

We all have those things that even in the midst of stress and disarray, they energize us and give us renewed strength and purpose. These are our passions. — Adam Braun

In moments of uncertainty, when you must chose between two paths, allowing yourself to be overcome by either the fear of failure or the dimly lit light of possibility, immerse yourself in the life you would be most proud to live. — Adam Braun

Most of all, I'll remind them each morning that we make a choice to bring positivity or negativity into the world, and that within every single person where lies an extraordinary story waiting to unfold. — Adam Braun

I could enjoy the life that I had by virtue of the educational attainment that my grandparents and parents had pursued. Education was always incredibly valued in our family. — Adam Braun

Global poverty is a complex web of interlinked problems. There is no one 'silver bullet' that will solve global inequality. Multiple contributing factors must be tackled in parallel. Yes, education alone is unlikely to lead to employment without economic reform to address the demand side in much of the developing world. — Adam Braun

Speak the language of the person you want to become. — Adam Braun

A major celebrity is a major brand, and major brands pick very critically what other brands they're going to associate with. So an A-list celebrity usually picks an A-list brand. — Adam Braun

It's the presence of others who are smarter, kinder, wiser, and different from you that enables you to evolve. Those are the people to surround yourself with at all times. — Adam Braun

In certain situations you ask to see a sign to guide you in the right direction. Sometimes these calls to a higher power are answered and sometimes we are left to seek counsel from within. But if you look for them, the signs will usually present themselves to those with open eyes. — Adam Braun

They chose to be different. And in doing so, they proved that through struggle, sacrifice and service, staggering personal transformation is possible. — Adam Braun

I'm not a non-profit person. I think of myself as an entrepreneur who wants to work on global education. — Adam Braun

Tourists see, and travelers seek. — Adam Braun

You may be safe, but I am free.' Take advantage of the freedom that comes with your youth. Inhale life, exhale fire, and embrace the late, sleepless nights, because that's when the magic happens- when everyone else is asleep and you're awake thinking about the world as it is, and the world as it would be. Make the most of those moments," I said forcefully. "And in the coming years people will tell you that you're too young to change the world. I'm here to tell you, that's fucking bullshit. — Adam Braun

Adversity bonds people more often than it breaks them. — Adam Braun

That's when the magic happens- when everyone else is asleep and you're awake thinking about the world as it is, and the world as it could be. Make the most of those moments. — Adam Braun

While many in the social enterprise space often qualify themselves as 'non-profit,' these organizations should instead treat themselves as 'for-purpose.' These organizations should focus on their mission to create social good, while still treating themselves with the same commitment to rigor and discipline as the best for-profits. — Adam Braun

Make your life a story worth telling, — Adam Braun

I understood that I might fail, but I wouldn't let it happen because I changed my compass along the way. — Adam Braun

It is the local community that needs to own the commitment to education. — Adam Braun

I nodded, still unable to speak, digesting the weight of what she had just said. We exist because of the sacrifice of those who came before us, but how often can we make them feel the full value of their impact? ... It was only by focusing on creating joy in her life that I discovered the greatest feelings of happiness in my own. — Adam Braun

Each of the bracelets I wear is from a long trip I've taken. One is from Nicaragua. One is from Nepal. One is from Guatemala. One is from Laos. They don't come off. I walk into a lot of very high-level boardrooms now, and I present to distinguished conferences, but these bracelets remind me of the places I've been and the people I've met. — Adam Braun

True self-discovery begins where your comfort zone ends. — Adam Braun

As our values are the core to who we are as human beings, they are also the easiest way to identify and connect with others in meaningful ways. Think about it - most political campaigns are based around values. Barack Obama's 2008 election campaign galvanized millions of youth behind two very clear values - hope and change. — Adam Braun

Made with Pencils is grounded in the creativity of a few, propelled by the financial support of many, and most importantly, it's empowering generations to come. A simple idea, a heartfelt desire, and a world of possibility. A pencil, a promise, and a dream. — Adam Braun

Creating a company means you're going to go through hell and high water along the way. You need to know the character of the people at your side. Trust is everything. — Adam Braun

When you're part of something special, you have to cherish it and defend it against many outside distractions and temptations. But nothing is more potent or deceptive than the competing interests or another great opportunity. In those moments when priorities clash, always stay guided by your values, not your perceived necessities. Necessities exist in a state of mind that will not last, whereas values are transcendent and enduring. — Adam Braun

In those moments when priorities clash always stay guided by your values, not your perceived necessities. — Adam Braun

How many times have I missed an incredible connection that could have been made because I had my face in my phone instead of paying attention to those around me? — Adam Braun

Big Dreams start with small unreasonable acts — Adam Braun

Creating something new is easy, creating something that lasts is the challenge. — Adam Braun

Your twenties are the time to both accept and fight your way into the person you're destined to become. — Adam Braun

Never take no from somebody who cannot say yes. — Adam Braun

Many of us spend our entire lives in the same bubble - we surround ourselves with people who share our opinions, speak the way we speak, and look the way we look. We fear leaving those familiar surroundings, which is natural, but through exploration of the unfamiliar we stop focusing on the labels that define WHAT we are and discover WHO we are. — Adam Braun

It was only by focusing on creating joy in her life that I discovered the greatest feeling of happiness in my own. — Adam Braun

My journey began with a single pencil. While traveling through India in 2006, I asked a boy begging on the streets, 'If you could have anything in the world, what would you want?' and he answered me with two words: 'A pencil.' Luckily, I had one in my pocket, and in the second it took me to give it to him, a defining dream was born. — Adam Braun

It always surprises me when donors who operate successful businesses assume that just building a school structure means that a community now has access to education. When creating a business, does renting an office space now mean that you're producing goods, training staff and generating revenues? — Adam Braun

But deep down inside, I was no longer enamored with the life I'd created. The only purpose I was serving was self-interest. While I rarely showed it to outsiders, my happiness waned day after day. A restless voice kept me up at night, telling me that until I found meaning, the money wouldn't matter. — Adam Braun

What can a pencil do for all of us? Amazing things. It can write transcendent poetry, uplifting music, or life-changing equations; it can sketch the future, give life to untold beauty, and communicate the full-force of our love and aspirations. — Adam Braun

You never realize how much you value something until you are faced with the prospect of losing it. — Adam Braun

Your life should be a story you are excited to tell. — Adam Braun

The purest joys are available to all of us, and they're unrelated to status, recognition, or material desires. — Adam Braun

The most abundant resources that we possess amongst the 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States are passion and knowledge, yet our most scarce resource is collaboration. — Adam Braun

They served as a constant reminder that to achieve exceptional things, you must hold yourself to exceptional standards, regardless of what others may think. — Adam Braun

So many of the people I admired - the musicians, the artists, the writers - created their greatest works not during a period of happiness and contentment, but during a period of struggle. — Adam Braun

Sometimes you have to leave things behind to understand their true value. — Adam Braun

Sometimes you have to show someone that you're willing to run through a wall before they'll open the front door. — Adam Braun

I realized that even big waves start with small ripples — Adam Braun

When you have a celebrity who is willing to shine his personal spotlight on the non-profit and can also speak articulately about the mission, that's really the best of both worlds. — Adam Braun

Every person has a revolution beating within his or her chest — Adam Braun

Your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough. — Adam Braun

When your faith is tested you simply have to believe that there will be light ahead and continue moving forward. — Adam Braun

The biggest difference between the person who lives his or her dreams and the person who aspires is the decision to convert that first spark of motivation into immediate action. — Adam Braun