John Wood

...parents everywhere desire a better life for their children. It's a near constant: They understand the importance of education and crave it for their children, even as they are well aware of the sacrifice they will have to make.

If that's what you want to do, then you should go do it-and do it well.

Singapore is now in the top five. Its income per person even tops oil-rich and scarcely populated Kuwait. Having realized that the country had no natural resources, the government of founding father Lee Kuan Yew directed massive investment in human capital. Kids who were eight or ten or thirteen several decades ago are now some of the most productive citizens of today's economy.A tiny nation-state with no natural resources and a large number of people living in a relatively small physical space has managed to outearn a country with some of the largest oil deposits ever found. That is the power of investing in and nurturing young brains.Education alone may not be enough to guarantee economic success. There are other success factors that matter, like good governance, rule of law, and access to trading routes and partners. But if you were challenged to assemble a prosperous society from scratch, education would be the first building block you'd want to develop.

We had a policy of "no looking back". Once a decision was made, all members of our team were expected to stop talking about obstacles and instead focus intensely on solutions."Don't tell us all the reasons this might not work. Tell us all the ways it could work.

...talent is evenly distributed. You never know how many talented people are out there until you invite and inspire them to be creative.

The only thing we wanted our young organization to give was an opportunity. We would say to children and to their families: "If you are willing to work hard and make sacrifices and think long term, then Room to Read is the best organization for you. If you're looking for a handout, then you should look elsewhere.

My view of the charity world is that compared with business, there is too much talk, way too many meetings and expert panels and blue-ribbon commissions, and not enough action. Or as an Australian friend of mine once opined: "Sometimes you just have to have a go and get on with it, mate!".

...literacy is as vital as food, security, limiting population growth, and control of the environment.Education, after all, is the one issue that affects every other one. I think of it in the same way as dropping a pebble into a pond and getting a ripple effect. Educated people make more money and are more likely to escape poverty. Educated parents raise healthier children....The list goes on, just as ripples in a body of water emanate outward.