Sunday, November 29, 2009

Review: Leaving Microsoft to Change the World

I bought this book because it was on offer. This describes the reason for the bulk of my purchases. I started buying motivational self-help books a few years ago when I realised that I lack communication skills. So the mission for me is to learn how these professionals communicate their ideas in a clear, powerful and memorable way. Looking back, I think I've come a long way in developing myself. Church members have been remembering my sermon points a lot better now.

I bought this book because it looks like a good and interesting story, but it turned out to be far more than that. It was a lesson on how to do non-profit the right way. The founder John Wood laid out a few principles that made people willing to contribute to his cause. Specific tangible results, low overhead and a passion for his work, these are all things that made Room to Read great.

I basically finished this book in one day, cover to cover, because of the captivating narrative. This is a guy who sacrificed it all to make his dream to educate the poor come true. And over and over we come to know of people who merely wanted a chance to learn more. My immediate response is that I want to share this book with everybody involved in missions and the like. Highly recommended.

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