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New years is here, and with it brings the possibility of change.

As one behavioral scientist put it, first starts are really powerful.

So as you head into 2023, LifeKit is a great resource to help you plan your life and tackle changes, both big and small.

Listen to the LifeKit podcast from NPR.

Hey, everyone, just a quick note. This episode first ran back in October of 2017. Hope you enjoy it.

When I walked into Ross Perot's office, I felt like I was at the end. Like I had tried everything.

I had tried to access everyone, and I knew either he supports this or I just really don't know where else to turn.

So I literally told myself, I won't leave his office. I'm going to glue myself to the chair in his office, and I'm not going to leave until he commits.

From NPR, it's how I built this. A show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built.

I'm Guy Ross, and on the show today, HowwendyCop convinced graduates from some of the top universities to Forget Wall Street, Forget Law School, Forget Big Money, and instead become a teacher.

So today's show is just a little bit different from other episodes you might have heard.

For starters, you will not discover HowwendyCop made her millions. Because she didn't. Money was never the point.

But Wendy is still a really successful builder. You could say one of the most successful nonprofit founders in recent times.

And in many ways, her story is a textbook case study for how to start a business. In fact, it's probably why there's an actual case study about her at Harvard Business School.

Because Wendy built Teach for America from an idea in her head to a huge operation with a budget in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

And it's a program that sends thousands of college graduates to some of the most neglected public schools across the US each and every year.

Now, TFA isn't without its critics, and you'll hear about that. But it's also a program that's changed lives and schools.

And the idea came to Wendy during her time as a student at Princeton, even though she didn't really have any experience working with underserved students.

In fact, her own upbringing in Dallas was practically another world.

I mean, honestly, I grew up in a community in Dallas, Texas that referred to itself as the bubble.

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