May 8 2026

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Paraguay cut its poverty rate from 50% to under 18% in two decades

Paraguay's poverty rate fell from nearly 50% in 2003 to 17.6% in 2023 — one of Latin America's steepest sustained declines, lifting millions of families into security their parents never knew.

The landlocked country of 6.8 million pulled this off without oil wealth or coastline, leaning instead on two decades of political stability, a diversifying economy, and clean hydroelectric power from the Itaipú Dam. Services and manufacturing have grown alongside agriculture, and 46% of Paraguayans are under 25, entering an economy that has been steadily expanding their whole lives.

The road ahead runs through climate risk, but a country that halved poverty in a generation has shown it can do hard things — a quiet lesson for development everywhere.

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Flower growing, from article on impostor syndrome

Impostor syndrome is just growing pains

We inevitably feel pangs of fear and doubt as we step into unfamiliar roles and capacities. And we often interpret these pangs of doubt or fear as evidence that we are not ready or equipped.

We label ourselves as impostors.

We tell ourselves that if we were truly ready, we’d know and feel it. We'd ooze confidence. We'd know exactly what to do.

But if we followed this logic and acted only when we were confident or knew exactly what to do, most of us would never grow or offer our highest contribution. We would be stuck exactly where we are right now, someplace safe and unexciting. We would deny ourselves, our teams, our organizations, and our communities all the untapped potential within us.

Despite what we might tell ourselves sometimes, the most transformational leaders are rarely so self-assured and poised that they do not feel these feelings or think these thoughts. They don't have some magic wand to free their minds of doubt and discomfort.

What sets them apart is that they learn to tolerate and even embrace the discomfort. They realize that this near-universal experience we've collectively decided to label as impostor syndrome is, in fact, better described simply as "growing pains." It is the inevitable, necessary discomfort of stepping into the unknown and stretching ourselves beyond what we were previously capable of.

They realize that the pang of fear and doubt isn't evidence that we don’t belong or aren’t ready. It is proof that we are exactly where the world needs us. It is proof of our commitment to growth, leadership, and contribution.