So taking on big meaningful projects together is the first thing we can do to create a world where everyone has a sense of purpose.
The second is redefining our idea of equality so everyone has the freedom to pursue their purpose.
Many of our parents had stable jobs throughout their careers. But in our generation, we're all a little entrepreneurial, whether we're starting our projects or finding or role or another one. And that's great. Our culture of entrepreneurship is how we create so much progress.
Now, an entrepreneurial culture thrives when it's easy to try lots of new ideas. Facebook wasn't the first thing I built. I also built chat systems, games, study tools and music players. I'm not alone. JK Rowling got rejected 12 times before publishing Harry Potter. Even Beyonce had to make hundreds of songs to get Halo. The greatest successes come from having the freedom to fail.
Now today, we have a level of wealth inequality that hurts everyone. When you don't have the freedom to take your idea and turn it into a historic enterprise, we all lose. And right now today our society is way over-indexed on rewarding people when they are successful and we don't do nearly enough to make sure that everyone can take lots of different shots.
Let's face it. There is something wrong with our system when I can leave here and make billions of dollars in 10 years while millions of students can't afford to pay off their loans, let alone start a business.
Look, I know a lot of entrepreneurs, and I don't know a single person who gave up on starting a business because they might not make enough money. But I know lots of people who haven't pursued dreams because they didn't have a cushion to fall back on if they failed.
We all know you don't get successful just by having a good idea or working hard. You get successful by being lucky too. If I had to support my family growing up instead of having time to how to code, if I didn't know I'd be fine if Facebook didn't work out, I wouldn't be standing here today. And if we're honest, we all know how much luck we've had to get this point in our lives.
Every generation expands its definition of equality. Previous generations fought for the vote and civil rights. They had the New Deal and Great Society. Now it's our generation to define a new social contract.
We should have a society that measures progress not just by economic metrics like GDP, but by how many of us have a role we find meaningful. We should explore ideas like universal basic income to makes sure everyone have a cushion to try new things. We're going to change jobs many times, so we need affordable childcare to get to work and healthcare that aren't tied to one employer. We're all going to make mistakes, so we need a society that focuses less on locking us up or stigmatizing us when we do. And as our technology keeps on involving, we need a society that it's more focuses on providing continuous education throughout our lives.
