Well-known figure and renowned business mogul Bill Gates is no stranger to success and what it takes to get there. This entrepreneur has long been regarded as a respected businessman, philanthropist, and software pioneer for well over the last few decades. Gates’ contributions and accomplishments in the business world are plentiful and have forever impacted the world as we know it.
Early years
Born in Seattle Washington, Gates was the middle child of two ambitious parents and family line. At a young age, Gates showed exceptional skill and great intrigue in computer software. Gates was only 13 when he wrote his first software program, and often used his free time to expand his love of this upcoming technology. He graduated with high honors from high school in 1973, and went on to attend Harvard University after a near perfect SAT score.
Gates only attended Harvard for two years before leaving the school to pursue his entrepreneurial goals. His passion and focus were more into starting a computer programming company than his pre-law major at Harvard. When looking back at his decision to leave college in pursuit of his entrepreneurial dreams, Gates was quoted as saying that he could always go back to school if things didn’t work out with his company (i.e., Microsoft).
The beginning of something amazing
Upon leaving college, Gates and his close friend from Harvard, Paul Allen, officially formed Microsoft in 1975. At first, the basic premise of the company was to create an operating system for Altair 8800, a first-of-its-kind computer system that was offered to businesses for technological purposes. The Altair model proved to be a hit and paved the way for both the introduction of the MS-DOS and the Microsoft Windows operating systems.
In 1985, the first Windows operating system was introduced to the computer software world. Since then, Microsoft Windows has been a juggernaut in the business sector of technology and computer programming. Over the years, Microsoft has evolved their operating system to keep up with the competition and changing times, along with acquiring the major online platforms LinkedIn and Skype over the last decade.
Gates himself founded and ran as CEO of the company from 1975 through 2000. Since stepping down, he has remained an integral part of Microsoft as Chairman, Chief Software Engineer, and being a full-time employee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In the most recent years, Gates has put much of his effort into philanthropic endeavors and initiatives which he has become increasingly passionate about.
His work impacted generations
From the mid-1990’s until 2017, Gates was named Forbes’ “Richest Person in the World,” throughout most of that era, and his current estimated worth is $95.4 billion dollars. Gates stands as the second richest person in the world, superseded only recently by Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon.
Gates has paved the way for entrepreneurs and computer software programmers alike. His ambition and passion to put aside a guaranteed path in college to pursue an unheard-of business sector is the ultimate risk one can take. Gates’ fearlessness and passion to pursue something he loves rather a career that is secure really encompasses the true spirit of what being an entrepreneur is in the business world.
Since his time at the helm of Microsoft and after, Gates has left a lasting impact with his own words on education, leadership, business, and on life in general. That is why I want to share the best Bill Gates quotes out there. His inspirational and often quoted words are ones that stick with you long after you hear them.
- “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”
- “If you are born poor it’s not your mistake, but if you die poor it’s your mistake.”
- “We make the future sustainable when we invest in the poor, not when we insist on their suffering.”
- “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”
- “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”
- “To win big, you sometimes have to take big risks.”
- “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
- “The hardest thing in education is motivation.”
- “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”
- “Life is not fair, get used to it.”
- “I never took a day off in my twenties. Not one.”
- “Whether it’s Google or Apple or free software, we’ve got some fantastic competitors and it keeps us on our toes.”
- “People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn’t they?”
- “Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world. If you do so, you are insulting yourself.”
- “If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.”
- “Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping – they called it opportunity.”
- “This is a fantastic time to be entering the business world, because business is going to change more in the next 10 years than it has in the last 50.”
- “Patience is a key element of success.”
- “Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.”
- “Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.”
- “If your culture doesn’t like geeks, you are in real trouble.”
- “Everyone needs a coach. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a basketball player, a tennis player, a gymnast, or a bridge player.”
- “A company’s ability to respond to an unplanned event, good or bad, is a prime indicator of its ability to compete.”
- “If you show people the problems and you show people the solutions, they will be moved to act.”
- “Only a few businesses will succeed by having the lowest price, so most will need a strategy that includes customer services.”