When Rajiv Shah was in his late 20s and didn’t know what to do with his life, he got a job at a fledgling nonprofit, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Before he knew it, he was a driving force behind a global vaccination program that immunized 900 million children and saved 16 million lives.
At 36, he became the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), managing a $20 billion budget, overseeing a staff of 10,000, and leading the U.S. response to global humanitarian crises.
Today, as president of the Rockefeller Foundation, he’s finding innovative solutions to mitigate climate change and end energy poverty.
What connects these experiences? At every step, Raj maintained a big bet mentality. What is a big bet? “A concerted effort to fundamentally solve a single, pressing problem in your community or our world. Big bets require setting profound, seemingly unachievable goals and believing they are achievable.” In this episode, he shares his methodology for creating large-scale change and making the world a better place.
Host: Rufus Griscom
Guest: Rajiv Shah
Book: Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens
HUMOR: The Case for Navigating Life on the Precipice of a Smile
GOOD ARGUMENTS: Adam Grant and Champion Debater Bo Seo on the Craft of Persuasion
NEURODIVERSITY: Why No Two Brains Are Alike
STATUS: Does Our Need for It Explain ... Everything?
Bittersweet: An Audio E-Course by Susan Cain
Bonus: Eric Barker Gives Daniel Pink Relationship Advice
LONGTERMISM: Why You Should Care About Future People
QUIT: Why You Have to Give Up if You Want to Get Ahead
PUZZLES: What Crosswords, Riddles, and Wordle Can Teach You About the Meaning of Life
BUILD: Tony Fadell’s Guide to Making Cool Stuff
SURVIVAL OF THE RICHEST: How Tech Billionaires Are Preparing for Doomsday
HAPPINESS: Arthur C. Brooks Shares His Roadmap for Finding Purpose, Meaning, and Success
DeepMind's Demis Hassabis on the future of AI (from The TED Interview)
Summer Getaway #4: The Making of ‘Bull Durham’ (with Ron Shelton)
Summer Getaway #3: The 12-Hour Walk (with Colin O’Brady)
Summer Getaway #2: An American Odyssey (with Ben McGrath)
Summer Getaway #1: The Beach (with Sarah Stodola)
Finding Stillness With Ryan Holiday
Amanda Little on the Fate of Food
John Colapinto on the Power and Beauty of the Human Voice
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