Don’t Be a Criminal by Living a Lesser Life
Humility isn’t living small—it’s daring to live fully and use every ounce of your potential.
It's no humility to live a lesser life than the one you are capable of living. In fact it's a crime to live such a life.
This line from Jacqueline Novogratz’s The Blue Sweater struck me so profoundly that it became one of my professional principles.
The book captivates not through its prose but through the author’s incredible experiences across Africa and India. She seeks to end poverty through entrepreneurship, not charity or philanthropy.
In every season, I try to stretch my capabilities and live a life worthy of them. Right now, I’m raising funds to build a church for daily laborers and slum dwellers. I’ve never asked anyone for money before. It’s new and uncomfortable. Yet, it feels like a crime to live beneath what I’m capable of.
Attempt projects at the edge of your abilities. Identify what you lack. Build those capabilities. Then, take on even bigger challenges.
Don’t be a criminal by living a lesser life.
# About the Book
The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz is a memoir that traces her journey from international banking to founding the Acumen Fund, a pioneering impact investment organization. Through stories of courage, failure, and compassion, she shows how enterprise can be used to tackle poverty with dignity and purpose. The book inspires readers to merge idealism with practicality to make lasting change.
Buy the book: https://amzn.to/4hOmAs7
This is part of 100 Ideas That Shaped Me from Books I Read
Under: #books