To help me learn the ropes of the program, I met Arkesha Darensbourg, who has been on and off food stamps over the past few years.

CNN: Blog: Living on Food stamps

As a leader, I strive to make decisions and accept mistakes as a part of the equation that will help me learn and improve in the future.

FORBES: New Year's Resolution: Be Decisive and Lead without Regrets

In order to help me learn the importance of such behavior, my boss talked me into creating a long position in a particular currency even while he knew all along that it would turn against me.

FORBES: Orchestrating Failure

It has helped me learn personal resilience as well as professional resilience, and allowed me to help others as well.

FORBES: Compassion and Resilience for a Troubled World: 9-11-11 A Personal Story

They have helped me learn about my community and the world and have given me multiple ideas about how to help people all around.

WHITEHOUSE: Anyone Can Do It