Hey, it’s Marie Forleo and you are watching MarieTV, the place to be to create a business
and life you love. I’ve got a question for you. Do you ever feel like you’re meant
to do more in this world? Do you have this deeper sense that you should be doing something
that has meaning, that you’re meant for big things but you just don't know how to
unlock it? If so, you are gonna absolutely love our show today because you’re gonna
meet one of my most inspiring and intelligent friends, someone who I’m honored to know,
and someone who I work with.
Adam Braun is the founder of Pencils of Promise, an award winning organization that has built
more than 200 schools across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. PoP was founded with just
25 dollars using Braun’s unique for purpose approach to blending non profit idealism with
for profit business principles. Braun graduated Magna cum Laude from Brown University and
was one of the first 10 world economic forum global shapers and has been featured at the
United Nations, the Clinton Global Initiative, Wired Magazine’s Smart List of 50 People
Changing the World, and Forbes 2012 30 Under 30. He’s the author of The Promise of a
Pencil: How an Ordinary Person can Create Extraordinary Change.
Adam, it is so awesome to have you here. Thank you for making the time to come on MarieTV.
Oh, my pleasure. My pleasure.
So you’re one of the people that I admire. You have done so much in such a short amount
of time and one of the things I love about your book, which I’ve read twice already,
is that it’s practical, it’s inspirational, and there’s so much spirituality in it,
which I just find… I feel like we’re kindred spirits in that sense.
Yeah.
One of the things that you talk about and, you know, for all of us, we are the culmination
of the people that come before. And family is so important to you and I loved all the
stories about your grandma, Ma.
Yeah.
Can you tell us how she’s influenced you to become the man you are today and how that’s
impacted the work you do?
Yeah. She’s been a huge, huge personal influence. I mean, some of my earlier memories are her
making chicken noodle soup, rubbing my back when I couldn't sleep, forcing Kit Kats down
my mouth at the earliest of age. Literally when I go to visit her now she still feeds
me like I’m a 4 year old and just stuffs food in front of my face. But at the same
time, I mean, she… she went through so much sacrifice so that I could be in the positions
that I was able to experience throughout my life and, you know, one of the things that
I always kinda grew up knowing was where I’d come from. And so Ma, my grandmother, was
14 when she was taken out of her hometown, a small town in Hungary, and was forced into
a ghetto. Then from a ghetto packed into a cattle car and from there was… was shipped
to Auschwitz with her 12 year old sister, her mother, and 26 other family members. And
all of them were gassed the first night and she was the lone survivor. And so she survived
through this incredible series of miracles and knowing what she had been through, more
than anything it kind of forced me to take just a sense of greater weight of my life.
It’s like this person put… put her own challenges in the back burner so that her
family could be better positioned in the future. And so, you know, throughout my childhood
and then adolescence and even until now, you know, I feel this great sense of not only
gratitude, but a commitment to honor her and the sacrifices of all of my grandparents and
great grandparents and ancestors before them.
It made me think about my own grandparents and my Grandma, who’s still alive, the last
one. And it just… it brought tears to my eyes and it actually compelled me to call
my grandmother and to think also, you know, we’ve built some schools with you…
Yeah.
...with Pencils of Promise and I plan on building a lot more and I was actually like, “Wow,
yeah, the dedications. Why not dedicate it to our parents?” And I just wanna thank
you for that message because I feel like it’s something that I’ve taken for granted in
my own life and it was really awesome. And that brings me, actually, you know, thinking
about life and death and how important our life is, you did this incredible adventure,
a semester at sea.
Right.
And, you know, I’m reading your book and I knew we were doing this interview and I
was so excited and it was late, late, late and I was on a company retreat and I’m sitting
there and the lights are off and this was like this huge adventure. You’re on this
boat and then all hell friggin’ breaks loose.
Right.
Tell us what happened.
So I grew up and kind of saw my path ahead of me and I think a lot of people you have
this profound sense that, you know, life is what it’s supposed to be in this dictated,
traditional path that usually your parents or your influences or your teachers, you know,
when you’re a kid it’s like people are always kinda saying, “Here’s what I see
you doing one day.” And, you know, I was a basketball player at Brown and kind of had
this… this life figured out and I saw this film that was shot all around the world called
Baraka and it forced me to realize how different people lived outside of the little bubble
of experience that I had… I had experienced. And so I went on a semester at sea knowing
that it was this around the world global voyage and I was gonna get access to 10 different
countries, you have 4 to 6 days to get out and independently backpack with no restrictions,
essentially. You know, they literally drop you off on Monday and they say, “Be back
on the ship next Monday morning or else we’re leaving,” and that’s how it works. And
so I thought, “I’m getting ready to break out of my comfort zone.” And our ship left
from… from Vancouver headed to Korea, and this is January 2005. It’s the first time
that Semester at Sea had crossed the North Pacific in winter. They had always gone the
other direction and this time they kind of went west, which would become east. And just
kind of this freak accident. I mean, it’s never happened before, it’s never happened
since, but we got caught in between 3 massive storm fronts about 800 miles from land. And
we tried to go down and another one developed and so we essentially got caught in the perfect
storm, for lack of a better term. And the morning of January 27th, 2005 we got hit by
a 60 foot rogue wave head on. Went over the top of this thousand person cruise ship, shattered
the glass on the 6th floor bridge. And getting hit by a wave, obviously, is terrible, but
the fact that it shattered the glass, flooded the area with all the navigational equipment,
and we lost all power to our engines is what, obviously, caused it to go really, really
downhill. And so we were essentially a sitting duck, this mayday call happens, and, you know,
I had a certain death experience. I knew the ship was going down, I was sure I was gonna
die in the next hour, maybe 2, and that it would be a painful death in cold waters. You
know, as far as possible from everyone that I knew and loved. And I think that when you
have a certain death experience, or at least when you kind of face the end of your life…
Yeah.
...the thing that happens is you suddenly look back on everything that happened before
that. And you don't ask who or what, you just ask why. And you think about kind of why am
I about to perish and why was I here. And the biggest question was what is my purpose?
Why if I’m about to die, why was I put here? And the things that I looked back on with
real value were always kind of centered around family or some type of service to others.
You know, it wasn’t when I was kind of accumulating anything related to myself, it was always
like I was here to maybe help somebody else. And so fortunately we survived and when we
survived and I was able to almost get like this second chance, you know, I was, one,
incredibly committed to finding out what that true purpose was. And then the second thing
was I was just super inspired to live in service of others and try and kind of not take any
day for granted. And I know it sounds a little cliche, but when you’re sure that today
is your last day and then you get tomorrow, you live each day with incredible richness
and fullness.
Do you feel as you look at life before that incident and after it happened, do you sense
a marked difference? Because I know from reading the book, it’s like you’ve always been
someone who has that sense of soul, you had a huge heart, you always wanted to do the
right thing, but it sounds like after that it was like bam. Like, yes.
Yeah, I mean, I was a completely different person after that.
Really?
Yeah. Completely changed my life. You know, I didn't go into a semester at sea expecting
that big of a personal change, but I’ve always said it's kinda the best, most important
experience that I’ve ever kind of… that I’ve ever experienced or personally dove
into. And I think, you know, part of it is just first exposure to a world outside of
my own that was so foreign, going into the developing world, being in India, being in
Vietnam, and Brazil, and, you know, townships in South Africa all crunched within a 3 month
period. You know, it just opens your horizons to such a wide place and going through that
right after certain death, the wave hit before we even got to a single country. It just changed
my perspective so that when I came home, that’s actually when I had the biggest culture shock.
It wasn’t going into these foreign places, it was actually coming home with new eyes.
You mentioned India, which I know something very powerful happened there…
Right.
...which would go on to kind of culminate in what’s become Pencils of Promise and
it’s, you know, one of the things that I love about the book and why I think our audience
is gonna love it so much, you guys are gonna freak when you read this, is that it’s divided
by 30 mantras, 30 chapters, and there are these wonderful guideposts and ideas that
can really help all of us not only find the true purpose of our life, but live that through.
And so I love this mantra, it was, “Every pencil holds a promise.” Can you tell us
the story?
Sure. So I had a habit that I decided even before going on the ship, which was I was
gonna ask one kid per country what do you want most in the world? I would have them
write it down on a piece of paper and then I would create this collage when I got home.
And I thought I would just, you know, have this really cool set of global interests.
And I expected to hear the things that I wanted, and so I thought a kid in one country would
say a house and in another country they’d say a car and in another country they’d
say, you know, the latest gadget or piece of technology. And so in the first place that
we got to, which was Hawaii after we got shipwrecked I met this beautiful young girl. I said, “What
do you want if you could have anything in the world?” and she said, “To dance.”
And I thought, “Woah, that’s really different. Maybe I’m gonna get some… some kind of
surprising answers.” And then in China a young girl said a book and in Hong Kong a
kid said magic, which was my favorite. And then when I got to India I just saw poverty
that was unlike anything I’d ever witnessed. And in particular it’s children, you know,
4 year olds begging on the streets with 6 month olds in their arms. And you feel helpless
and I think that that’s something that a lot of people often feel, which is there’s
a big issue or even a small issue, but they don't feel like they’re in a position to
actually make a difference. And so that’s how I felt. And I happened to find this boy
begging on the streets and he was my one kid in the whole country and I said, “What would
you want if you could have anything in the world?” And he just had nothing. I had never
even considered that my life or another child’s life would exist in such poverty at such a
young age. And he looked at me and his answer if he could have anything in the world was
a pencil. And I just was blown away and I gave him my pencil and when I did, he just
lit up. And I could see that this idea that you can’t actually change somebody’s life
that you’re too young, you don't have enough money or you’re not in a position of power
and influence is actually ridiculous. It’s a broken idea and it doesn't exist. You can
provide one small act to one individual person that can really change the trajectory of their
life. And when I gave this kid my pencil, I mean, I could see this curiosity, this spark
of creativity, this sense of opportunity that he had never grasped before filling up within
him. And so after that I passed out pens and pencils as I backpacked through 40, 50 countries,
which led to then the organization being called Pencils of Promise.
That’s awesome and I’m tearing up because every time… I’ve heard you tell the story
before, but every time I hear you say it…
You’re gonna make me tear up if you tear up.
It’s so… it’s just… it’s so incredibly sweet, it’s something that we take for granted.
I mean, I believe so much in the power of education, it’s why we do what we do here,
it’s why we do B-School. And, yeah, I just… in love with this book, in love with this
message. So I’m gonna take it further so I don’t become a total mess. So fast forward
to the night at the Philharmonic. So you’re there and one of the mantras is about embracing
lightning moments.
Yeah. So after the semester at sea I backpacked essentially for a year. I finished up my senior
year and just realized I was only… I was just so alive when I was travelling that I
wanted more of it. And so I spent all this time travelling and then I moved into New
York and I got this great job at Bain as a consultant and kind of was inside of this
ivory tower that I’d dreamed of being a part of for years and was learning a ton while
I was there and had this incredible training, but I felt so disconnected to the part of
myself that felt truest. Which, again, is something that I see a lot of people experiencing.
You know, you have to take a job or you have to move cities and suddenly you’re kind
of outside of who and what you are.
Yes.
And you almost, for me, I think I wrote this in the book, but I felt like I was wearing
somebody else’s uniform all day and I would come home and the first thing I would do is
change into what felt like me clothes. And so I got invited to the New York Philharmonic
and I’d never been to the symphony before and one of my kind of classmates at Bain got
tickets for a group of us and we all went. And I went to this thing, just, you know,
with a lot of ideas kind of percolating, and it’s in the book, some of the things that
happened that morning and that afternoon. But there was this confluence of ideas that
was just stewing in my head and I watched as this… this great group of people performed
this incredible, you know, symphony. Then afterwards they all left the stage and I was
like, “What’s happening?” and one man came out. And, again, this idea, I think it’s
kind of common throughout the book is that one individual who finds a sense of purpose
can create radical transformation not just for themselves and their family but globally.
This one man just kinda came out on stage and started playing this incredible piece
on a piano and, you know, he’s like playing really hard and his hair is… he’s got
like 3 strands of hair and they flying from one side of his head to the other. But this
enormous sound was coming out of him through this piano and I just remember sitting there
thinking, “That’s what I want. I wanna be passionate about something, just as passionate
as he is, about something in my life.” And even, you know, if it’s something small,
it just must be so fulfilling for him to play this piano right now. And literally like a
bolt of lightning, this name popped into my head, Pencils of Promise. And I loved it because
obviously the pencil story, you know, but promise is such a powerful word and it has
2 completely different meanings. And the first is an oath or a commitment. I promise to do
something for you. And I think when you make a promise to somebody, the actual fulfillment
of that provides self fulfillment as well. And then the second one is this sense of potential.
Like, “That person has promise.” And so I really believe within a pencil, within a
child holding something like that in their hand, you have both the commitment from somebody
and you have the untapped, realized… unrealized potential. So this name was, like, perfect
and I was so psyched and just it felt like lightning hit me and I could feel like electricity
in my bones, my hands could feel like this heat. It was like going through my veins.
And, you know, it was one of those kind of what I call it moments where it happens and
once it happens it’ll never be the same after if you really kind of embrace and move
forward with that idea. And so I went home that night and literally wrote out the full
charter, I still have the document on my computer, all these stupid fundraising idea. It was
like, “Oh, we’re gonna have a saki bombing party and have friends come and the difference
will end up helping us fund a school.” And from that literally a few weeks later I put
25 dollars in a bank account, just taking a small step to try and build one school and
dedicate it in honor of my grandmother, and everything kind of grew from there.
One of the things that I love about that story and that chapter in particular is following
the journey, I think for so many of us, we have those moments that change us and lot
of people write into MarieTV and they may feel stuck like the convergence hasn’t happened
yet.
Yeah.
And what I love about your story is it was such a demonstration of just have faith and
keep moving forward because that convergence will happen. It wasn’t like you got that
incredible insight when the boy in India said, “I’d love a pencil.”
Right.
And then turned around that very next day. It was like you kept moving towards and following
your heart and then it all started to come together. And the second thing I wanted to
say, and it was such a beautiful moment as a reader. When Josh and I met, my fiance,
I know you have a similar kind of experience, but when Josh and I met I remember he physically
bumped into me and it was the only time in my life this has ever happened where I felt
my entire body surged with electricity.
Yeah.
And it was so other worldly and it’s never happened since and it was one of those it
moments and thank you for articulating that, because I think a lot of us have had that
and have never heard someone speak about it.
It’s hard… I mean, the only words… so I think those it moments, they happen a few
times in your life and then in the… for the mantra, I couldn't describe it as anything
other than a lightning moment because it was literally like a bolt of… it was just electric.
Yeah.
And I don't… I don't know that I’ve ever had something happen since then, but when
it happens if it’s, you know, if you’re fortunate enough to have it, you have to move
forward towards that idea.
So the next part of the story is about, you know, you were still at Bain and you were
still working full time and I know a lot of folks feel because they have a job, because
maybe they have several jobs, it’s like, “Oh, I can’t go out there and make a difference.
You know, I’m stuck in this thing.” And I know one of the other mantras is about following
the signs.
Yeah.
Yeah. Tell us what happened.
So I was… I was still full time at Bain and I was working on this organization, we
had gotten one school built, we had broken ground on a few more, but I essentially had
to make a choice. And so the staffing manager at Bain called me in and very honestly said
to me, “Look, you haven’t been a very good employee. You’ve been calling in sick
left and right and you’ve never called in sick before Pencils of Promise. So, you know,
we’re still paying you. You have to be loyal to this company or else, you know, it’s
your decision but you’re choosing to walk away.” And so he kind of gave me an ultimatum
in a specific case that I had to take on. So I said, “Can I have a few days to think
about it,” and it was a Thursday and so he said essentially take the weekend. And
so I went home that day and I had just moved into a new apartment in East Village here
in the city and on Thursday nights you put out your garbage right in front of the apartment.
And there’s a street artist named De La Vega who’s really well known, he sells pieces
at Christie’s and Sellerbies, but he’ll also do ephemeral art. So he’ll tag chalk
on the street or, you know, pieces of graffiti that are gonna get taken away the next morning.
And so literally I walked home and the garbage, a cardboard box right in front of my apartment,
had been tagged with De La Vega’s most well known phrase and it said, “Become your dream,”
right in front of my doorsteps. And it was just so overwhelming and, again, I think…
I think a lot of people, you know, they see these signs but they don't choose to acknowledge
them or, you know, you kinda have to have open eyes to find some of them sometimes.
But I… I prefer to live in a world in which I feel like I’m getting guidance. You know?
I enjoy that, I like that, and I genuinely believe it. I feel like there’s more than
just me and what I see physically. I feel like there’s something else that’s helping
guide me to achieve a higher purpose, and that’s why I survived that day from the
wave. And so… so I saw that sign, “Become your dream,” and it was like that’s the
sign that I needed and so I decided that night that I was gonna leave Bain, start working
out of my apartment, and build Pencils of Promise into something that was more than
just one or two schools, but something that would build hundreds of schools.
Yeah, and so that was your leap of faith. I mean, you did that full time. You know what
I loved? When I was at your office, I don't know when, and you showed me that piece of
cardboard. It was like friggin awesome. How amazing. I love that you just took it. You
were like…
I cut it out, yeah. So a friend of mine came over that night and we were talking and I
was telling her this story. I was like, “You wouldn’t believe it. Did you see the become
your dream downstairs?” She was like, “That’s De La Vega. You’ve gotta keep that.” And
it started to snow and I realized it might even be ruined if I didn't run out there,
so I literally took my scissors and I went downstairs in like shorts and a t shirt or
something like that and it’s freezing out and so I cut it out and I decided I’m gonna
frame it and one day when we have a Pencils of Promise office, I’m gonna put it in the
entrance so that I and everybody else is always reminded of where this began.
So cool. Ok, now Pencils of Promise, it’s an actual thing.
Yes.
So you’re going out, you’re starting to talk to people about it, you’re gonna go
to media parties, and the last mantra we’ll talk about today is, and this is one of my
favorites, change your words, change your worth.
So… so that one was really a function of actual conversations with people. So I started
to find that I was in a lot of rooms and I’d never felt like a non profit person. I don't
think many people wake up and say, “I wanna not profit today.” People wake up and they
say either, “I want to create a lot of profit,” or I think a lot of other people also say,
“Well, I want to create a lot of social good,” or, “I want to improve a lot of
people’s lives.” And those are the, you know, the distinctions between two industries
that are now called non profit and for profit, in my opinion. And so I spent a lot of my
time around other entrepreneurs, a lot of which are kind of in the New York tech scene
or, people like you, who are just doing incredible things and sparking a lot of people to achieve
their dreams.
Yeah.
And so I found myself at this kind of really snazzy media party, you know, one of those
typical Manhattan rooftops, kind of feel fortunate to be there. Got into this great conversation
with this… this fund manager about investments and because I knew the startup scene, we’re
kind of getting into this really great in depth conversation. And we’re about, you
know, 15, 20 minutes in or something and then he says, “So, tell me, what do you do?”
And I said, “Well, I run a non profit organization called Pencils of Promise that I started a
few years ago,” and he immediately kind of shut off and started looking around and,
you know, asked me a couple of, “Oh, you do that full time? What’s the name of your
project?” And I realized…
Oh, that’s a tough one.
Oh, yeah. And I was, you know, I was both kind of dejected and a little bit mad and
not so much at him but more at myself and I started to realize this was a recurring
experience. And so at that point in time I thought about, well, you know, I’m defining
myself and my industry through the language that I’m using and this language actually
does a disservice to our work because it’s the only industry that uses the word non to
introduce itself. You would never say that you, you know, if you worked at a car company,
you work in the non aviation industry. Ever. You say, “I work in the automobile industry.”
Right.
And so why don't we define ourselves by what we do and not by what we’re not doing? And
so I decided to say instead of we’re a non profit, we’re a for purpose organization
and I started sharing that on various stages, in various talks, and it started to get really
rapidly written about and then adopted and so now all the time I talk to people who don't
even know me and they’re like, “Oh, yeah, I’m running this for purpose company.”
You’re like, “Yes!”
Yeah. And it’s… I think that it, you know, it’s almost a different axis. You know,
you have non profit, for profit, what about for purpose and non purpose? Because I believe
you can have a for profit for purpose company, but…
Amen.
Yeah, you really ideally do both. But shouldn't we celebrate what we are instead of what we’re
not? And then kind of develop this whole ideology around if you were for purpose instead of
just non profit. Why don't you build things that scale? Things that impact hundreds of
thousands if not millions of lives? And, you know, we as an organization, we’re a not
for profit by status, but that’s… it’s a status, not necessarily a business model.
And so we built a real business model that could build something to scale.
I just wanna congratulate you because, you know, we met at a summit series event. I remember
we were in this bangin’ club and we’re, like, screaming at each other trying to understand
what each other did and you gave me your card, I remember I hung onto it, and I knew. Because
my business wasn’t at the level that it’s at now, but I made a promise to myself in
my heart, I’m like, “I’m gonna work with that guy. We’re gonna stay friends
and…”
We had 5 schools at that time, just so you know.
Yeah. Oh my god.
It was 3 and a half years ago. Maybe 4 years ago.
Yeah. And then… and then we have mutual friends but I was so happy when our organization
got to the point where I could contribute and build schools and I was like that… there’s
no one I would rather do this with than you and I am so deeply honored to call you my
friend and I am so excited to continue to watch you and the organization soar and to
do everything that I can to support you, because I just so believe in who you are as a human
being and I so honor you and I think that you’re a leader in this world and so many
of us would be really fortunate to follow.
Well, the feeling is more than mutual, so that… that really, truly means a lot.
Is there anything that you wanna leave us with today? I know we talked about so much,
I could talk to you forever. Is there anything that you wanna tell our viewers?
Yeah, I mean, I would say my story is an ordinary person’s story. I mean, that’s why the
book, it’s called The Promise of a Pencil, but the subtitle is what’s really powerful
to me, which is How an Ordinary Person can Create Extraordinary Change. And I didn't
start from a place with, you know, millions of dollars of backing and no one really knew
who I was. I started with 25 dollars and if I was gonna share anything with a viewer that’s
watching this, it’s that you have your own extraordinary journey to live out, but first
you have to find your purpose and you find that by getting outside of your comfort zone.
And then once you read those signs that you will be inevitably surrounded by, you’ll
find the thing that makes you most come alive and take that small step and then follow the
signs along the path.
Adam, thank you so much for being here. I adore you. If you haven't already gotten the
book, you need to get your hands on this book. It is absolutely incredible, it will change
your life. If you have kids, you have friends, you have siblings, you have moms and dads
and aunts and uncles, anyone who cares about making a difference. Get them this book, they
will absolutely thank you for it. Thanks so much, Adam.
Thank you.
Now Adam and I have a challenge for you. What is your impossible dream? I want you to really
think about what you wanna make a difference in the world, how you wanna do that, and then
I want you to go take action right now. That’s right, go take a single step and then come
back and tell us about it in the comments below. We’re gonna take a look at everything
and then I’m gonna choose 10 people to send you a free copy of Adam’s incredible book.
Now, do not wait for… to see if you’re the person who gets a free book. I want you
to go get this now because, obviously, if we choose you as the winner you can just give
your copy to someone else.
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Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams because the world needs that special
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