Top 45 Quotes & Sayings by Adam Braun

The single most powerful element of youth is our inability to know what's impossible.

There are many challenges in the global education ecosystem: from top-down systemic issues in how educational services are organized and delivered, to bottom-up issues of curriculum effectiveness, accountability, and human resource allocation.

As our values are the core to who we are as human beings, they are also the easiest way to identify and connect with others in meaningful ways. Think about it - most political campaigns are based around values. Barack Obama's 2008 election campaign galvanized millions of youth behind two very clear values - hope and change.

I could enjoy the life that I had by virtue of the educational attainment that my grandparents and parents had pursued. Education was always incredibly valued in our family.

There's nothing that can replace quality programs in a non-profit.

A major celebrity is a major brand, and major brands pick very critically what other brands they're going to associate with. So an A-list celebrity usually picks an A-list brand.

We have every resource necessary to provide access to education for every child on the planet; we just need to commit to enabling it.

It always surprises me when donors who operate successful businesses assume that just building a school structure means that a community now has access to education. When creating a business, does renting an office space now mean that you're producing goods, training staff and generating revenues?

The most abundant resources that we possess amongst the 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States are passion and knowledge, yet our most scarce resource is collaboration.

For any movement to gain momentum, it must start with a small action. This action becomes multiplied by the masses, and is made tangible when leadership changes course due to the weight of the movement's voice.

While many in the social enterprise space often qualify themselves as 'non-profit,' these organizations should instead treat themselves as 'for-purpose.' These organizations should focus on their mission to create social good, while still treating themselves with the same commitment to rigor and discipline as the best for-profits.

My journey began with a single pencil. While traveling through India in 2006, I asked a boy begging on the streets, 'If you could have anything in the world, what would you want?' and he answered me with two words: 'A pencil.' Luckily, I had one in my pocket, and in the second it took me to give it to him, a defining dream was born.

When you have a celebrity who is willing to shine his personal spotlight on the non-profit and can also speak articulately about the mission, that's really the best of both worlds.

Each of the bracelets I wear is from a long trip I've taken. One is from Nicaragua. One is from Nepal. One is from Guatemala. One is from Laos. They don't come off. I walk into a lot of very high-level boardrooms now, and I present to distinguished conferences, but these bracelets remind me of the places I've been and the people I've met.

What can a pencil do for all of us? Amazing things. It can write transcendent poetry, uplifting music, or life-changing equations; it can sketch the future, give life to untold beauty, and communicate the full-force of our love and aspirations.

It is the local community that needs to own the commitment to education.

We all have those things that even in the midst of stress and disarray, they energize us and give us renewed strength and purpose. These are our passions.

I'm not a non-profit person. I think of myself as an entrepreneur who wants to work on global education.

When it comes to fundraising for a social enterprise, if you are pursuing your true passion, you'll learn to become great at your craft because you'll care so much about perfecting the skills necessary to make that dream a reality.

Made with Pencils is grounded in the creativity of a few, propelled by the financial support of many, and most importantly, it's empowering generations to come. A simple idea, a heartfelt desire, and a world of possibility. A pencil, a promise, and a dream.

Global poverty is a complex web of interlinked problems. There is no one 'silver bullet' that will solve global inequality. Multiple contributing factors must be tackled in parallel. Yes, education alone is unlikely to lead to employment without economic reform to address the demand side in much of the developing world.

Speak the language of the person you want to become.

True self-discovery begins where your comfort zone ends.

The single most powerful element of youth is that you don't have the life experiences to know what can't be done.

I realized that even big waves start with small ripples

Creating something new is easy, creating something that lasts is the challenge.

In those moments when priorities clash always stay guided by your values, not your perceived necessities.

Tourists see, and travelers seek.

Every person has a revolution beating within his or her chest

I understood that I might fail, but I wouldn't let it happen because I changed my compass along the way.

I looked around and acknowledged that what you see around you is proof of what exists within you.

We have the ability to provide quality education to every child on earth right now.

Many of us spend our entire lives in the same bubble - we surround ourselves with people who share our opinions, speak the way we speak, and look the way we look. We fear leaving those familiar surroundings, which is natural, but through exploration of the unfamiliar we stop focusing on the labels that define WHAT we are and discover WHO we are.

In moments of uncertainty...i mmerse yourself in the life you would be most proud to live.

That's when the magic happens- when everyone else is asleep and you're awake thinking about the world as it is, and the world as it could be. Make the most of those moments.

For any movement to gain momentum, it must start with a small action.

You never realize how much you value something until you are faced with the prospect of losing it.

Your twenties are the time to both accept and fight your way into the person you're destined to become.

In moments of uncertainty, when you must chose between two paths, allowing yourself to be overcome by either the fear of failure or the dimly lit light of possibility, immerse yourself in the life you would be most proud to live.

It's the presence of others who are smarter, kinder, wiser, and different from you that enables you to evolve. Those are the people to surround yourself with at all times.

Make your life a story worth telling.

Your life should be a story you are excited to tell.

Make your life a story worth telling. You only get one shot at this existence, and one day when you’re gone the most important thing you’ll leave behind is the legacy of the life you lived. Make sure you make it a story you’re proud to have others tell.

Big Dreams start with small unreasonable acts

Never take no from somebody who cannot say yes.