What had once been my reason for being now felt like a job. During my months away, I did a lot of thinking about my personal “why.” I knew why I had started the company, and why people joined me in the early days. And I still believed in our mission and the impact we were making. But I was no longer sure why I wanted—or even if I did want—to continue driving the business forward.

I was never really about the money. Every business I've ever started has been more of a curiosity and a kind of "What if...

You know, you hear people talk about soul mates? That one person that you see, and that's it for you? Well, TOMS is the business equivalent of a soul mate for me.

I never thought I would be in a position like this, where my words and experiences are now inspiring others to follow suit. It's challenging at times, but I can only look forward to the future of business and philanthropy.

The future of TOMS is really creating a whole new business model of this one-for-one giving and expanding the TOMS model from shoes into other products as well.