I think everyone has these three zones
Their comfort zone, their learning zone, and their panic zone.
And I think our most defining moments, and our greatest lessons
come when we take risks to move
from comfort into learning
and maybe, to the edge of panic.
Now, I'm on this stage, because I did not go to grad school.
Instead, about five years ago,
after working with middle school, and high school students,
when I was curious about the intersection of for profit, and for purpose businesses.
I was almost going to go to a traditional grad school to get a master's in business.
But the costs were too high, and the style didn't fit me.
So I decided I would try to design my own education.
By doing twelve projects in twelve months around the world.
I would source these projects by talking to companies in design,
and business and social change.
And I would try to find one project I could complete over the course of the month.
I would fund my year by creating a newsletter that my friends and family could subscribe to
at ten dollars a month.
And I would share my learnings with them each month.
Now as I was travelling to fulfill this idea,
I had met all kinds of amazing people.
Who started talking to me about the ideas they had,
to learn in a different kind of way, or to create change to take leaps of their own.
So, I created an invitation for those people, to send stories
about the leaps they were taking, the risks they were taking,
to learn, grow, and create change in their communities.
And I promised that if at the end of the year,
I had enough stories, we would take those stories and make a book.
And at the end of the year, sure enough, we created a book
called "THE LEAPYEAR PROJECT", of those stories.
And this kind of became my dissertation.
I also needed my place to graduate.
Some way to end my year.
And there was a TED conference happening in Chicago.
So I put a cap and gown on, and that was my graduation.
And in 2013, after this was all over,
We launched a school, where people could come and design
their education through experiences, in their field of study.
We called it the "EXPERIENCE INSTITUTE"
I even got to meet Oprah.
Now this is pretty traditional. Me trying to explain
some sort of audacious idea to someone who is
much more successful and powerful.
And really probably doesn't actually care about what I'm saying.
This is a good picture of that year.
Now that was one of the most transformative years of my life.