9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I think everyone has these three zones

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Their comfort zone, their learning zone,[br]and their panic zone.

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And I think our most defining moments,[br]and our greatest lessons

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come when we take risks to move

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from comfort into learning

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and maybe, to the edge of panic.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Now, I'm on this stage,[br]because I did not go to grad school.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Instead, about five years ago,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
after working with middle school,[br]and high school students,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
when I was curious about the intersection[br]of for profit, and for purpose businesses.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I was almost going to go to a traditional[br]grad school to get a master's in business.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But the costs were too high,[br]and the style didn't fit me.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So I decided I would try to design[br]my own education.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
By doing twelve projects in twelve months[br]around the world.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I would source these projects[br]by talking to companies in design,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and business and social change.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And I would try to find one project I could [br]complete over the course of the month.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I would fund my year by creating a newsletter[br]that my friends and family could subscribe to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
at ten dollars a month.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And I would share my learnings[br]with them each month.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Now as I was travelling to[br]fulfill this idea,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I had met all kinds of amazing people.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Who started talking to me[br]about the ideas they had,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to learn in a different kind of way,[br]or to create change to take leaps of their own.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So, I created an invitation[br]for those people, to send stories

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
about the leaps they were taking,[br]the risks they were taking,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to learn, grow, and create change[br]in their communities.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And I promised that if[br]at the end of the year,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I had enough stories, we would take[br]those stories and make a book.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And at the end of the year,[br]sure enough, we created a book

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
called "THE LEAPYEAR PROJECT",[br]of those stories.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And this kind of became my dissertation.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I also needed my place to graduate.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Some way to end my year.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And there was a TED conference[br]happening in Chicago.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So I put a cap and gown on,[br]and that was my graduation.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And in 2013, after this was all over,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We launched a school, where[br]people could come and design

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
their education through experiences,[br]in their field of study.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We called it the "EXPERIENCE INSTITUTE"

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I even got to meet Oprah.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Now this is pretty traditional.[br]Me trying to explain

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
some sort of audacious idea[br]to someone who is

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
much more successful and powerful.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And really probably doesn't[br]actually care about what I'm saying.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This is a good picture of that year.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Now that was one of the most[br]transformative years of my life.