Super-ambitious goals tend to be unifying and energizing to people; but only if they believe there's a chance of success.

If anyone has seen success and failure on a global stage, it's my friend Steve Forbes.

When I was a grad student at MIT, I had a chance to become friends with the Viking Mission's chief scientist, Dr. Gerald Soffen. Viking was the first Mars lander looking for signs of life on Mars.

WhatsApp is both disrupting and demonetizing the entire wireless industry, and now the Facebook acquisition provides the infrastructure needed for WhatsApp to begin offering voice calls. So instead of people paying on average $80 per month, users only have to pay $0.99 per year for the same services. Wireless carriers, beware.

Not only are we working less, we're enjoying ourselves more. As we're working toward this world of abundance, we're able to increasingly enjoy leisure time.

There are nearly one billion illiterate people on Earth.