The world’s biggest problems are also the world’s biggest business opportunities, says tech entrepreneur, philanthropist and author Peter Diamandis. “Today anyone who is passionate about solving a problem can make a dent in it,” he says.
Diamandis’s new book, Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World (Simon & Schuster), co-authored with science writer Steven Kotler, aims “to offer guidance and encourage entrepreneurs to take big swings at the world’s biggest problems,” he says.
With the democratization of technology, access to capital and expertise are just a click away, and this means that even tech novices can achieve success by partnering with the right people, says Diamandis, founder and chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation and co-founder and chairman of Singularity University.
Going bold and big demands other traits, as well: “the same qualities that I look for when I’m interviewing potential hires—curiosity and passion,” Diamandis says. “Curiosity is fundamentally what you need to self-educate because the technology is constantly changing. Passion is the most important of all. It’s what drives you to keep going when other people give up, and it gives you the persistence to develop the skills you need.”
To prove the point, this self-assured man who gives hugely popular TED Talks and speaks all over the world reveals that he once was afraid of public speaking. “But I knew that it was important so I forced myself to do it over and over.”
“Fear shuts you down,” and the best antidotes are passion and practice, he adds. To learn the rest: “Read my book.”
Whether it’s planning to remedy the world’s ills or mine asteroids in space, Peter Diamandis thinks positively large. Read the story behind his “crazy ideas.”
