For those who didn’t know, it’s a surprise: Billionaire Bill Gates never earned his degree from Harvard, dropping out after the first three semesters to found Microsoft, which would become a technology colossus.
Bill Gates: the three most important things you can learn
So he made an impression when, speaking to students at the University of Arizona, he complained that he himself did not participate in a graduation ceremony.
“What does a college dropout know about graduation? Not a lot, personally, to be honest,” he said.
“As I prepared for today, I spent a lot of time thinking about how you, as recent graduates, can have the biggest impact in the world with the education you’ve received here,” he said, adding: “This got me thinking about the council They never gave me a day like this.”
So, these are the five things that, as he said, he wishes he would have been told “at graduation that I never had.”
“Your life is not a one way street”
“You’re probably under a lot of pressure right now to make the right career decisions,” Gates said. “It may seem that these decisions are permanent, but they are not.”
Gates recalled struggling with the same pressure as when he was a student. When he co-founded Microsoft in 1975, he thought he “would be working there for the rest of my life,” adding that he’s “so glad” he was wrong about it.
Gates worked at Microsoft for years: he was the company’s CEO until 2000 and a director of the board until 2014. “Today, I still work in software, but philanthropy is my full-time job,” he said, referring to his work. at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which he founded with his ex-wife.
It’s “good” to reassess yourself and your goals, even if they don’t align with what you originally envisioned, Gates said.
“You’re never smart enough not to get ‘lost'”
Even the co-founder of a multi-billion dollar company learns new things every day. It wasn’t always like this: when Gates dropped out of college, he said he, he thought he knew everything.
Over time, he realized that “the first step in learning something new is to turn to what you don’t know, instead of concentrating on what you do know,” he said.
“At some point in your career, you will find yourself facing a problem that you cannot solve on your own,” he said. “When this happens, don’t panic. Take a break. Force yourself to think things through. And then find smart people to learn from.” In that context, she urged students not to be afraid to ask for help.
“Towards a job that solves a problem”
Gates was responsible for the largest known charitable donation of 2022, giving $5 billion to the Gates Foundation to support its work. As expected, he encouraged the students to take advantage of opportunities to help others.
“You are graduating at a time of great opportunity to help people,” he said. “Every day new businesses emerge that will allow you to make a living making a difference.”
“When you spend your days doing something that solves a big problem, it gives you energy to do your best work,” he said. “It forces you to be more creative and gives your life a greater sense of purpose.”
“Don’t underestimate the power of friendship”
One of Gates’ biggest regrets about college, he told Harvard students in 2018, is that he wasn’t social enough. He spent most of his time in class or studying, leaving little room to make friends.
On Saturday, Gates advised recent graduates to continue to value the relationships they developed during their studies.
“The people you are with [συναναστραφεί] And the ones you’ve sat next to at lectures aren’t just your classmates. It’s your network,” he said. “Your future co-founders and colleagues. Your best sources of support, information and advice.’
“In the end, [σημασία έχει] how your friends really think of you and how powerful those friendships are,” Gates recalled Buffett telling him.
“You are not lazy if you allow yourself to relax a little”
Hard work can lead to a raise or promotion, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of enjoying life, he advised the students, saying he learned his lesson too late.
“When I was your age, I didn’t believe in vacations. I didn’t believe in weekends. i didn’t think i should [να τα χρειάζονται] neither have the people I worked with,” he said, adding that he even tracked his employees at Microsoft to see who stayed in the office late and who left early.
It took, he said, becoming a father to realize that “there’s more to life than work.”
“Don’t wait as long as I did to take this class,” he said. “Take time to develop your relationships. To celebrate your successes. And recover from your losses. Take a break when necessary. Feel relaxed with the people around you when they need the same thing.”