A couple years in, / some big companies wanted to buy us. // I didn’t want to sell. // I wanted to see if we could connect more people. // And we were building the first version of News Feed at the time / and I thought / if we could just launch this, / it could change how we all learn about the world. // Nearly / everyone else / wanted to sell. // Without a sense of higher purpose, / this was their startup dream come true. // And it tore our company apart. // After one / particularly tense argument, / one of my closest advisors told me / if I didn’t agree to sell the company right now, / I would regret that decision / for the rest of my life. // Relationships were so frayed / that within a year or so / every single person on our management team was gone. // That was my hardest time leading Facebook. // I believed in what we were doing, / but I felt alone. // And worse, / it was my fault. // I wondered if I was just wrong, / an impostor, / a 22-year-old kid / who / had no idea / how things actually worked. // Now, / years later, / I understand that / that is how things work when there's no sense of higher purpose. // So it’s up to all of us to create it / so we can all keep moving forward / together. // And today, / I want to talk about / three ways / that we can create a world / where everyone has / a sense of purpose: // by taking on / big, meaningful projects together, / by / redefining equality so everyone has / the freedom to pursue their purpose, / and by building community / all across the world. //