Dafna Michaelson/social entrepreneur/the journey institute.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: TRENDSETTERS

As Dafna Michaelson says, "It takes a little crazy to make a difference." Elaborate, please.

"When you're doing something you're passionate about, you're doing it 24/7. You've got to be a little crazy to work that hard," she says. "But you've got to channel that crazy into your passion."

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In 2009, Michaelson started a project that might have sounded a little daft to anyone who lacks her passion for community building and workable answers. She called it the 50 in 52 Journey, and it took her to 50 states in 52 weeks to find people who were solving problems for themselves and those around them.

It taught her, she says, what it truly means to be a social entrepreneur: doing good in a way that supports both your family- and your community.

"I learned ways people were coming together and rallying around a problem and not waiting for others to solve it," says Michaelson, whose background is in nonprofits. "My personal takeaway was to embrace my entrepreneurial side while not ignoring the part that is very much connected to and...