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The riveting story of how a young man turned 25 into more than 200 schools around the world and the guiding steps anyone can take to lead a successful and significant life. Adam Braun began working summers at hedge funds when he was just sixteen years old, sprinting down the path to a successful Wall Street career. But while traveling he met a young boy begging on the streets of India, who after being asked what he wanted most in the world, simply answered, “A pencil.” This small request led to a staggering series of events that took Braun backpacking through dozens of countries before eventually leaving one of the world’s most prestigious jobs to found Pencils of Promise, the organization he started with just 25 that has since built more than 200 schools around the world. The Promise of a Pencil chronicles Braun’s journey to find his calling, as each chapter explains one clear step that every person can take to turn your biggest ambitions into reality, even if you start with as little as 25. His story takes readers behind the scenes with business moguls and village chiefs, worldfamous celebrities and hometown heroes. Driven by compelling stories and shareable insights, this is a vivid and inspiring book that will give you the tools to make your own life a story worth telling.
[...]... we had to evacuate into water I threw on my Brown University basketball sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt to stay warm Just then, my friends Dave and Reed charged into my room Dave’s father was a pastor, which made Dave a very, very religious dude Reed, a Texas native, was a real Southern gentleman And Jaret was a born-again Christian from Stillwater, Oklahoma So not only was I in the company of a new... brothers and his father were killed Through his persuasion, persistence, and a shared understanding of loss, they created a profound bond Joseph Braun soon asked Eva to marry him, and after they were married, she gave birth to a girl and a boy The boy, Ervin Braun, is my father When the Hungarian Revolution broke out in 1956, they planned an escape across international borders to the safety of the. .. later, an elderly shaman with a saffron robe and orange turban filled with a cascade of white hair called out to me, “Why go in the Ganga?” I told him why and he took my hand in his He pulled out a ball of bright red and yellow string and looped the string twice around my wrist He closed his eyes and recited a prayer of protection and goodwill, then told me this was a holy string of Varanasi A small... United States My grandfather (whom we called Apu) tested the route first, fleeing alone across the Hungarian border at night and then returning to gather his mother, sisters, wife, and children After they stowed away in a packed boat of immigrants, traveling thirteen days across the Atlantic Ocean to arrive in New York City, my father and his family spent their first nights on American soil in a Jewish... thought back to the happiest moments of my life and realized that many of them involved dancing without any inhibition—at my first Michael Jackson concert, at my dad’s surprise fortieth birthday party, at our annual Homecoming Dance, and the list went on The purest joys are available to all of us, and they’re unrelated to status, recognition, or material desires I clearly had a lot to learn from the unsullied... obsessed over, and the late-night conversations I shared with friends and strangers, I began to craft my identity separate from the whims and expectations of others Going through so much personal change led me to explore the possibility of spending time abroad the next year I looked at various locations in India as well as South Africa and Southeast Asia Eventually my dad made an alternative suggestion:... from a lineage of Holocaust survivors, you grow up with an understanding that everything was once taken away from your family The only things that enabled them to survive and then radically change their lot in life were the strength of their willpower, the help of others, and a commitment to education Sam and Cornelio had demonstrated willpower and a hunger for education in abundance They just needed a. .. guides and atlases of the world were empty or splintered in half Tables were smashed to pieces, and jagged shards of glass covered the floor The historic grand piano in the Main Hall had flipped over and shattered I had a fleeting vision of the shaken student body rising in mutiny—vandalizing their rooms, calling for Captain Buzz’s resignation, and demanding an end to Semester at Sea Instead the day’s events... High School, the public school I now attended Their eyes lit up They had traveled thousands of miles to attend a great school They saw the chance to realize their American dream and asked us to take them in as their legal guardians within the United States so they could attend our local public high school Given my dad’s background as an immigrant, the boys’ story resonated with him deeply We had hosted...Mantra 1 WHY BE NORMAL Although we never officially assigned the seats around our dinner table, we always knew our places on Friday nights My dad sat at the head, with my brother and me to his right, my sister and my mom to his left We usually had a few friends and extended family who joined too Every week the cast of characters changed slightly, but the fervor of debate always remained the same And . a must-read, and a must-reread, and a must-keep-in-view-on- bookshelf kind of book.” —Jessica Jackley, cofounder of Kiva An honest, compelling look at what it means to take the road less traveled. searched the Web for the location of the holy-river scene and discovered it was in Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India. The city sits on the left bank of the Ganges River, the holiest water. executing an idea in an extremely accessible way.” —Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of charity: water Adam Braun is a leader among an emerging generation of change makers who are proving that every