Only As Much As We Dream Can We Be | Anousheh Ansari | TEDxLA

Passionate about social entrepreneurship and fostering positive change. Anousheh Ansari, the first private woman astronaut, shares with us the power of dreaming and being an agent to bring change to the world. Imagine. Be the Change. Inspire. These are the words that Anousheh Ansari, used to described her life. As a young girl in Iran, Imagining becoming an astronaut, to her migration to US as a teenager who didn’t speak English, and becoming the first Iranian and Muslim woman in space, Anousheh tell her story of and American dream to inspire us to Dream Big and to pursuit them. She invites all young girls to imagine the possibilities through the power of imagination and encourages us to create a world with no boundaries. Anousheh Ansari is co-founder, chairwoman, and CEO of Prodea Systems. As she launched her new company in 2006, she blasted off for an 11-day space expedition and captured headlines around the world as the first female private space explorer, the first astronaut of Iranian descent, and the first Muslim woman and fourth private explorer to visit space. This was the accomplishment of her childhood dream. As a successful serial entrepreneur and active proponent of world-changing technologies, she and her family provided the title sponsorship for the Ansari X Prize, a $10 million cash award that ignited a new era in private space industries. Ansari has published her memoirs, titled “My Dream of Stars,” to use her life story to inspire young woman around the world. Find more about her at This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at