I believe that at sometime in life every person comes to a moment of truth. A time to face the truth about who they are or about what they are supposed to contribute the world. For some that truth comes out in a song or a painting. For others it shows up as a great idea or process that can help make the world a better place. For John Wood, his moment of truth came while on a vacation in the Himalayas. That moment of truth changed his life forever as well as the lives of countless children and families. Who would have known that what started as a vacation to recover from an ever demanding work schedule would have a global impact? In Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, John Wood takes the readers on his trek through Nepal and introduces them to a hardship that school children around the world face every day; schools without books and the pain of cities without libraries. I can hardly imagine such a thing. One of my favorite early school experiences was having free time to read in class. I wanted to read as much as I could so I could start a new book. Many children in the world didn’t get to have this as a favorite experience. Not until John Wood stumbled upon a great need and made a decision to answer the call of his heart to fill it. You may wonder how a busy Microsoft Executive with a job that most only dream of gets up enough nerve to leave it all behind. It started with a conversation with a man he met along the road, that conversation ended with a request for books. Wood, being a well connected man sent out an email message to a few friends asking them to help. He expected a couple hundred books. He underestimated the compassion of his friends and the number of books they would contribute. Before long his parent’s garage was filled with thousands of books with more arriving each day. Not only did his little email spark a book giving fire, he began to receive monetary contributions as well as offers to help his cause. At the moment Wood sent out the email, I don’t think he had a cause, just an idea. The idea turned into a cause. Leaving Microsoft to Change the World will inspire readers to find their own cause or idea and to take the risk to do it! What looked like an impossible feat for one man became a team effort. Leaving Microsoft to Changer the World is also a good example of how one can “out grow” the corporate world even in the best of situations. I like the book and would recommend it to anyone who’s getting a little nudge inside that there must be sometime more to life! Something more that they can contribute to change the world, make it a better place or meet a need. Wood went on to found an organization called Room to Read you can visit the site by clicking on the link below.