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Bill and Melinda Gates’ Divorce Shows Us The Powerful Truth About Quarantine Breakups
Family

Bill and Melinda Gates’ Divorce Shows Us The Powerful Truth About Quarantine Breakups

After 27 years of marital bliss, what was the last straw that split Bill and Melinda Gates?We have all had those moments over the course of quarantine where we have re-evaluated and reassessed our lives. At least the majority of us have. It doesn't matter whether we have done something drastic to change the course of our lives or gone about things as usual, but almost all of us have had those thoughts.After almost 3 decades together, here is why Bill and Melinda Gates got divorcedMost of our lifestyles have changed from social to homebody with a lot of people spending more time with themselves and their immediate loved ones. For some relationships, the lack of outward social impact has been a good thing, but for others, it has not. At this stage in the pandemic, we have seen many long-term relationships come to an end, break up, or divorce. While the surge in relationships coming to an end has been trending since 2020, it doesn't make some breakups any less surprising to those who are outside of the partnership.Bill and Melinda Gates have announced the end of their marriage. The former couple released a joint statement saying, "Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives."The Gates' continue saying, "We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives."The pandemic added immense pressure to their relationship Divorce is not a failure. Divorce is a dissolution of a marriage because one or more individuals who are a party to the legal contract no longer want to be a part of the union. It takes two to work a marriage, and when one or both the people wants to get out of the dynamic for good, there is no turning back from that moment, only forward.Divorces and breakups have been on the rise since the beginning of the pandemic. According to Carly Kinch, a partner from top British law-firm Stewarts: I don't think that the reasons that people are divorcing have necessarily changed. You've always had the underlying current of I'm unhappy with this or that at home. But I think it has just brought the focus on domestic arrangements really into much more sharp focus than they would ordinarily be.Carly Kinch and her team at Stewarts were not surprised by the spike in divorce applications after England's first lockdown. According to Kinch, even under regular circumstances divorces and break-ups trend after families spend extended periods of time together. She says, "I think lockdown is essentially like those prolonged periods, but with enormous added pressures."Divorce does not mean you have failed in that relationship There are many good reasons to divorce, in fact Huffington Post lists eleven. A few of those reasons include gaining a new lease on life, focusing on yourself, and clearing a new path for a new partner.Whatever the reasons for dissolving a relationship, it is always better to pick growth over stagnancy, especially in your romantic life. Personal growth is almost always stunted when in the wrong company, especially when that company is your significant other. People naturally change over time but definitely can change with stimulus or even a lack of it. Quarantines, lockdowns, and social distancing has altered our lives in so many ways that it only makes sense that perceptions and commitments could change as well.I think lockdown is essentially like those prolonged periods, but with enormous added pressures.Carly Kinch, lawyer at British law firm, Stewarts.While this time period in all of our lives has been challenging for most, it has also been a catalyzing agent for growth and self-actualization for many. When you are left to your thoughts, you dare to think and see life in different ways, especially when something as big as a pandemic occurs.Melinda Gates has filed for divorce citing the marriage irretrievably broken. Once you get to that stage, moving forward on your own is better than maintaining the status quo. When the norm of your relationship has become a situation that makes you unhappy, it is healthy to reassess the connection. If you took an oath or you love someone, you should definitely do whatever it is within your power to try and make it work, but once it is broken there is only moving on.Bill and Melinda have nothing but love for each otherEpiphany moments are rare in life, but not as uncommon during times of solitude. Many of us have been left to our own devices inside our homes for months on end learning about ourselves. In that process, you can change, and it is also natural that your feelings for others may change as well.Breakups are difficult no matter who you are. A billionaire couple experiences stress in divorce as much as a non-billioniare couple does. But where there is stress there is also the release of your old partner and the gaining of the freedom to live life on your own terms.we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives.from the Gates' joint statement The Gates were together for 27 years, almost 3 decades of being someone else's partner on this ride we call life. The ride has been a little bit different since 2020 and a little bit bumpier for most, but we've all adjusted as best as we can. Sometimes those changes have been small and sometimes they have been life-altering, but we make the best decisions for ourselves in any given moment.It would seem for Bill and Melinda, that decision would be to depart from the norm which is being with each other. There is bravery in stepping forward into the unknown with the belief in a better partnership being out there.Bill and Melinda have three children together and have had 27 years of romantic partnership. There's more success in that than failure. For couples going through breakups or divorce, one journey may be ending but another is certainly beginning. When one door closes another one opens, and there you are, standing on the other side.More inspiring celebrities:5 Books You Need To Read In 2021 To Find Hope, According To Bill Gates3 Inspiring Lessons on Life, Love, and Privilege from Bill and Melinda Gates’ 10th Annual LetterAnna Faris Reveals The Important Lesson She Learned After Her Divorce From Chris Pratt4 Amazing Lessons On Life and Leadership You Can Learn From Bill Gates

5 Daily Habits to Steal from Bill Gates, Including a Surprisingly Humble Way of Measuring Success
Self-Development

5 Daily Habits to Steal from Bill Gates, Including a Surprisingly Humble Way of Measuring Success

As a digital nomad and journalist, I travel the world while logging around 70 articles a month. To effectively manage a country-hopping lifestyle while also building my bylines and clients, I turn to the advice of seasoned movers-and-shakers who have developed habits and strategies for success. Each week, I’ll highlight the daily routine of influential professionals, making for the right kind of fodder while you down your coffee.To say you fundamentally shifted how the work digests online content is a major statement. And one that powerhouse and legend Bill Gates can say proudly.He founded the Microsoft Corporation, which ultimately became the world’s largest PC software company. Over the decades, he served as chairman, CEO and chief software architect until the summer of 2006, when he transitioned to a part-time work at Microsoft and a full-time role at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.Today, he still works as a ‘chief software architect’ -- a position he created for himself! -- and as a chairman, while dedicating much of his time building his charitable contributions. His success has brought him much financial gain, cementing his spot on Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people since 1987. In fact, he from 1995 until 2017, he was the richest person on the planet, with an astounding net worth of $89.9 billion, until he was surpassed by Amazon founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos. Every game-changer has different rituals and rules they swear by, and for Gates, these are the most essential.He never stops learning. For those who genuinely love what they do, expanding their skill set isn’t work -- but fun! Considering his level of passion, it probably comes as no surprise that Gates is a lifelong learner, dating back to his college days.In a Reddit Q&A, he shared his method to madness: not attending classes he was signed up for and instead, attending classes he wasn’t signed up for. “This worked out in a funny way when the final exam for a Combinatorics class (which I signed up for) was given at the same table as my Brain studies class (which I attended and did not sign up for). My friends from Brain studies thought it was very strange that I sat on the wrong side of the table and took the Combinatorics exam even when I was the most vocal student in the Brain class.”This apparently worked out in his favor -- giving him a double education and of course, a thirst for knowledge. Every year, he releases his favorite books, as well as his goals. For 2019, he’s committed to learn and think more about the balance between privacy and security, as well as the use of technology within education. He gives credit where credit is due.While some leaders bask in the limelight and are more than happy to take all of the credit -- Gates doesn’t prescribe to this mindset. Instead, he shares the fame and the fortune with those who have made the company fruitful -- specifically, co-founder Paul Allen.What you might not realize is Allen and Gates go way back… all the way to the seventh grade. “Paul foresaw that computers would change the world. Even in high school, before any of us knew what a personal computer was, he was predicting that computer chips would get super-powerful and would eventually give rise to a whole new industry. That insight of his was the cornerstone of everything we did together,” he shared in a blog post.And beyond his lengthy friendship with Allen, he also speaks highly of other hires, explaining he prioritizes confidence in hiring. “Having someone who you totally trust, who’s totally committed, who shares your vision and has a little bit different set of skills and also acts as a check on you… The benefit of sparking off someone who’s got that kind of brilliance has not only made it fun but it’s really led to a lot of the success,” he shared. Beyond business? He also believes in being mindful of the company you keep, talking with Warren Buffet at Columbia University about friendship: “...some friends challenge you about things you’re doing and that level of intimacy is great. It’s really through Melinda and seeing other people I realized, okay, it’s really worth the investment to have those people, as you’re always there to help them and vice versa.”He invests his time in the future.Like many of the world’s billionaires, Gates has openly stated he will donate half of his fortune to charity. His renowned foundation has also made strides across multiple causes, including human trafficking and research into terminal illnesses. He believes it is partly his responsibility to contribute not only to the greater good of today—but of future generations. “I want to focus on things where I think my experience working with innovation gives me an opportunity to do something unique,” he told Rolling Stone. And while speaking with The Wall Street Journal, he explained how important it is for him to make long-lasting strides. “When I made the transition from my first career at Microsoft to my second career in philanthropy, I didn’t think that my success rate would change much. I was now putting money into new ways to reduce poverty and disease. Discovering a new vaccine, I figured, would be just as hard as discovering the next tech unicorn. Vaccines are much harder, it turns out.”He owns failure.If you want to take major risks, you have to accept major faceplants. Gates shared he assumes only 10 percent of technology investments will succeed (and succed wildly), while the other 90 percent are expected to fail. This faith in his ideas—and team—has made him willing to make bigger bets, most of which, have paid off. “Well, I think I was very lucky that when I was in high school the computer was brought in there and I developed a fascination for it and became kind of fanatical about it so that I didn't view it as risky, I viewed it as this kind of hobby. But I think it’s great to be risk taking, particularly when you’re young, trying out different things, fields that aren’t very popular that you might enjoy,” he shared. He uses his own measurement to drive success. Who says what went well—and what didn’t? While plenty of people rely heavily on numbers, Gate has his own unique way of determining success. He shared with Bloomberg: “The quality that has helped me in lots of ways is a measurement, a scientific framework where I go and say ‘did anybody handle this well? What are the very best practices? Do we have number on that? Let’s get everybody measuring what they’re doing so they can strive to match what their best achievement is.’”He also takes a page from pal Warren Buffett’s handbook and believes the measure of success is whether the people close to you are happy and love you. We say that’s a pretty solid way of looking at your life, don’t ya think?For more Daily Habits:5 Daily Habits to Steal from Mark Cuban5 Daily Habits to Steal from Will Smith5 Daily Habits to Steal from Meghan Markle

Bill Gates Reveals What He Learned From Warren Buffett About Work-Life Balance and Self-Assessment
Career Growth

Bill Gates Reveals What He Learned From Warren Buffett About Work-Life Balance and Self-Assessment

Sure, Bill Gates is one of the wealthiest people alive. That doesn’t mean he knows everything though. Everyone has something left to learn and for Bill Gates, it appears that lesson came from no other than Warren Buffett.On his GatesNotes blog, in a post entitled “What I learned at work this year,” Gates decided to “take stock of [his] work and personal life.”Hehas shared what he believes is the best way of measuring success in life.“One thing that occurs to me is that the questions I am asking myself at age 63 are very different from the ones I would have asked when I was in my 20s. Back then, an end-of-year assessment would amount to just one question: Is Microsoft software making the personal-computing dream come true?” Gates wrote in his blog.“Today of course I still assess the quality of my work. But I also ask myself a whole other set of questions about my life. Did I devote enough time to my family? Did I learn enough new things? Did I develop new friendships and deepen old ones? These would have been laughable to me when I was 25, but as I get older, they are much more meaningful.”He continues: “Melinda has helped broaden my thinking on this point. So has Warren Buffett, who says his measure of success is, “Do the people you care about love you back?” I think that is about as good a metric as you will find.”It's so easy to get caught up in money and power. Gates has all that though. But what REALLY MATTERS? Love, we agree. It’s such a wonderful metric, we all should consider it as well.RELATED READING:3 Life Lessons from Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s Favorite BookAccording to Bill Gates, This Book Will Teach You to Stop Worrying and Start Living Anxiety-FreeBill Gates Credits These 4 Books For His Optimism About the World

Bill and Melinda Gates Share the Unique Way They Set Goals and Resolutions for the New Year
Motivation

Bill and Melinda Gates Share the Unique Way They Set Goals and Resolutions for the New Year

Bill Gates doesn’t really make a habit of New Year's resolutions. However, what he does make a habit of is looking back at the year that has passed and reflecting on what were his biggest successes and where he could have done better.Setting goals rather than resolutionsBut for this year, he does have aresolution. "Although I have never been one for New Year's resolutions, Ihave always been committed to setting clear goals and making plans to achievethem," wrote Gates in a blog postedon Saturday. "As I get older, these two things look more andmore like the same exercise."In2019, Gates is focusing on studying how technology impacts a few areas of ourlives, as well as the social and ethical ramifications of this impact. One area, wrote Gates, is trying to balanceprivacy and innovation when it comes to education and health. He’s consideraspects like how schools do the best job of teaching low-income students orwhich doctors provide the best care for a reasonable price. Gates is looking at all this and hoping tofind insight but also protect people's privacy.Ofcourse, Gates, who made his fortune via technology is interesting in howtechnology is used in education. "Ithink things are finally coming together in a way that will deliver on thepromises,” says Gates. In the blog post, Gates lookedback on last year and shared that some advancements he's been looking forward toare not happening fast enough. One example is eradicating polio, for instance,but polio cases actually increased in 2018.He’s also looking at research toeradicate Alzheimer's, and says that technological advancements to come makehim hopeful for the future. "Whatconnects it all is my belief that innovation can save lives and improveeveryone's well-being," wrote Gates. "A lot of people underestimatejust how much innovation will make life better.Choosing a word of the yearMeanwhile, Bill Gates’ wife, Melinda Gates, doesn’t herself believe in New Years resolutions, but rather a “word of the year.” In a LinkedIn post Wednesday, Gates shared that choosing a word of the year each year "encapsulates her aspirations for the year ahead." In the past, her words have included "gentle," helping her fight perfectionism, and "spacious," prompting her to make room for the things in life that truly matter.In 2018, she picked "grace," which to her means a transcendent or beautiful moment that shows we are part of something bigger than ourselves."It'sa word that has served me well. I've called on it during difficultconversations, long days at the office, busy trips with our foundation—andespecially during a jam-packed December as we worked to close out the year athome and at work," Gates said."Iteven helped me find a beam of peace through the sadness of a friend's funeral.When I was upset or distressed, I whispered it to myself: 'Grace.'"Gateshas not yet chosen her word for 2019, but is still using grace. "What I loveabout grace, at least the way I define it, is that by pulling us up out ofourselves and onto a higher plane, it makes us more open to the world, to newexperiences, to each other. It creates connections and encouragesempathy," she said."A broken heart gives meurgency. A moment of grace gives me hope. And both are essential to being theperson I want to be and doing the work I believe in.""That's the power of awell-chosen word of the year. It makes the year better—and it helps me be better,too," she added.

Bill Gates Played Secret Santa with a Complete Stranger, and Received a Perfect Gift
Uplifting News

Bill Gates Played Secret Santa with a Complete Stranger, and Received a Perfect Gift

Secret santa gift exchanges are always a lot of fun, whether in your office or friend circle, or with a total stranger. Sometimes you can score a really fantastic “Santa” as well. For example, an unidentified Reddit user got Bill Gates this year!The Reddit Secret Santa gift exchange began in 2009 and since then, about a million people worldwide have gotten involved, each playing Secret Santa to a complete stranger. Celebrities have started joining in on the fun too, this year the CEO of eBay even sent boxes and boxes of presents to a lucky giftee.But, of course, there’s a lot of pressure. Because if a hugely famous person is your Secret Santa, that means someone has to be their Santa as well! For example: Bill Gates participates in the gift exchange every year. He’s worth $93 million and needs nothing. So what on earth do you get him?This week, Bill Gates shared on Reddit that he had just received his gift from Reddit Secret Santa. He’d wanted his Secret Santa to give to a cause that matters to them. Gates’ Santa match did just that, and donated to the International Rescue Committee in Bill Gates' name. According to the organization's website, it provides care to "people fleeing conflict and natural disaster.""I love to learn (I often come to Reddit just to discover new things). I know I'm lucky, because I've always had access to the tools I need," Gates writes in his post about the gift on Reddit. "I've never had to learn in an under-resourced setting like a refugee camp. That's why my Secret Santa's gift means so much to me: she's helping a young girl continue to learn in a refugee camp through International Rescue Committee," he writes. "Thank you for your generosity in donating a year of school on my behalf. Happy holidays!"Gates did not say the amount of the Secret Santa's donation, but IRC's website reveals, "school fees, books and other supplies a child needs to attend school for a year," can be provided for $58.

According to Bill Gates, This Book Will Teach You to Stop Worrying and Start Living Anxiety-Free
Emotional Health

According to Bill Gates, This Book Will Teach You to Stop Worrying and Start Living Anxiety-Free

Whether it’s about dating, children, our jobs, or our debt, we’re always worrying. And that’s incredibly, well, human. “The human mind wants to worry,” writes Bill Gates on his blog, Gates Notes.But how do we stop worrying so much? Especially if we have a lot of reason, both in our personal lives and in the world around us? Terrorism, climate change, health issues, none of those are going away. Well, according to Gates, who is the legendary Microsoft co-founder, a great start is reading Noah Harari’s new book, “21 Lessons for the 21st Century.“The trick for putting an end to our anxieties, he suggests, is not to stop worrying. It’s to know which things to worry about, and how much to worry about them,” Gates quotes Harari. “But his big idea boils down to this: meditate,” continues Gates, who is a fan of meditation. “Of course he isn’t suggesting that the world’s problems will vanish if enough of us start sitting in the lotus position and chanting om. But he does insist that life in the 21st century demands mindfulness — getting to know ourselves better and seeing how we contribute to suffering in our own lives.“This is easy to mock, but as someone who’s taking a course on mindfulness and meditation, I found it compelling.”Gates is a big fan of Harari, who also wrote the bestsellers “Sapiens” and “Homo Deus.”“While ‘Sapiens’ and ’Homo Deus’ covered the past and future respectively, this one is all about the present, ” writes Gates. “If 2018 has left you overwhelmed by the state of the world, ’21 Lessons’ offers a helpful framework for processing the news and thinking about the challenges we face.” It's worth a try, we think!

Here's Why Bill Gates Stopped Listening to Music and Watching TV in His 20s
Career Growth

Here's Why Bill Gates Stopped Listening to Music and Watching TV in His 20s

The world's most innovative leaders have some pretty peculiar daily habits, but Bill Gates' productivity hack from his twenties may top the list. The self-made billionaire recently wrote a blog post about his "extreme" habit from his early adulthood: not watching TV or listening to music. "I stopped listening to music and watching TV in my 20s. It sounds extreme, but I did it because I thought they would just distract me from thinking about software. That blackout period lasted only about five years, and these days I’m a huge fan of TV shows like Narcos and listen to a lot of U2, Willie Nelson, and the Beatles." "Back when I was avoiding music and TV in the hope of maintaining my focus, I knew that lots of other people were using meditation to achieve similar ends. But I wasn’t interested. I thought of meditation as a woo-woo thing tied somehow to reincarnation, and I didn’t buy into it." RELATED: 5 Misconceptions About Meditation That Are Holding You Back Continuing to prioritize mindfulness These days, he may be listening to music and watching the occasional TV show, but he maintains a new productivity hack -- and it's the exact practice he shunned as a young adult: meditation. "I'm not sure how much meditation would have helped me concentrate in my early Microsoft days, because I was monomaniacally focused without it," Gates says. "But now that I'm married, have three children, and have a broader set of professional and personal interests, it's a great tool for improving my focus." "It's also helped me step back and get some ease with whatever thoughts or emotions are present. I like what I'm getting from my 10 minutes every few days." If you want to try out meditation, Gates recommends starting with the popular Headspace app, "Headspace made the barrier to entry low enough for me," Gates says. "It’s just 10 minutes a day of listening to Andy’s soothing British accent and trying to stay with him. Andy has taken some heat from hard-core meditators for his low-barrier approach, but he got me to take up meditation and stick with it. I’m glad he did." This newfound habit is proof that we all have room to grow and adapt to new practices to better our lives -- whether we start them young, or later in life.

Relationship Goals: Bill and Melinda Gates Show Us the Algorithm of Love
Love Stories

Relationship Goals: Bill and Melinda Gates Show Us the Algorithm of Love

Welcome to #RelationshipGoals, where we’re giving the stage to the power couples we admire. From admirable long-term relationships to inspirational newlyweds, these are the couples we love and hope to take cues from in our own relationships.He was already an icon of the tech and business world, leading one of the most famous and successful companies of all times. Bill Gates might have revolutionized the world’s relationship with IT, but when he first asked Melinda French out on a date, she was less than impressed.She had recently graduated Duke University and joined Microsoft as a product manager. He was the CEO who just asked her out to dinner – a dinner that was supposed to take place two weeks later. Melinda turned him down, later telling Fortune: “That’s not spontaneous for me.” Then 23, she told him to call closer to a date. But Gates surprised her later that day, calling her in the evening to ask for a date again.All the times they inspired us with their loveAlthough Melinda had qualms about dating her boss – especially a boss who was already a global figure – she and Bill started quietly dating outside work, keeping strict professional boundaries. With a BA in computer science and an MBA, both from Duke University, the Dallas native had her eyes on professional achievement. Her mom, a homemaker who regretted not attending college advised against the relationship.But seven years later the couple was still going strong and wed in a million-dollar ceremony in Hawaii. To keep the event private, Bill threw frugality to the wind and not only bought out the entire hotel, but also booked all helicopters on the island of Maui to make sure no paparazzi could intrude. It worked to perfection – to this day few details are known about the power couple’s wedding.It may have been all about Microsoft those days, but the Gates’s are nowadays better known for the life-altering work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the couples sole focus in the past years. Focused on tackling head-on all the issues governments and other NGOs ignore, the 18-year-old charity is known as the largest private foundation in the U.S., with over $50 billion in assets.But the seeds for the foundation’s work and the foundation itself were sown during those early years of dating. When traveling, the couple would often be confronted with the levels of extreme poverty many countries faced. The easily curable or preventable diseases that were still claiming lives. Children stuck in endless cycles of poverty due to a lack of access to education.Meanwhile Microsoft continued to grow and so did the Gates family, welcoming two daughters and a son. Committed to the happiness of their family and the emotional intelligence of their children, the couple decided to leave the children a large enough inheritance so that they could pursue any career, but not large enough to not have to work. After all, the Bill Gates may be the second-richest man on Earth with a $95 billion wealth and the family may live in $124 million compound, but Bill Gates still does the dishes every evening.Why Melinda and Bill Gates are a true power coupleIt first started as the William H. Gates Foundation, but most of us have come to know it as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and it’s undeniable proof of the Gates’ power couple status. Melinda joined the foundation when she returned from parental leave and Bill started a multi-year transition process from Microsoft to the charity. Although not a couple to be splashed all over tabloids and paparazzi websites, going from home life to living and working together, especially in equal positions of power came with some growing pains.People often ignored Melinda in the boardroom and would turn to Bill for final decisions. Bill himself had to readjust from being the top dog at Microsoft to a dynamic of shared power. They both have been vocal about what that transition entailed – but neither complained. To them life and circumstances changing, meant that their relationship and dynamic evolved too. There was no other option, because there was no one more important than the other.So they both put the necessary work in. “We’ve had to change to really be coequals. It’s not something that immediately happens overnight, but we’re both committed to it,” Melinda told Business Insider in 2015. And Bill certainly wasn’t going to give up. “Everything I’ve ever done, I’ve always had a partner,” he told the same source.Their biggest relationship takeawayFor the Gates’s it’s all about synchronicity. A common goal. They share the same set of fundamental values and boost that with being open-minded and trusting each other. “We agree on the big issues. Our occasional disagreements these days are over tactics. Because I've been a public figure longer, and because I’m a man, some people assume I am making the big decisions. That's never been the case,” Bill wrote in the couple’s annual open letter.Whether it’s about synching schedules, reestablishing professional power dynamics, raising their family or deciding on charitable projects and investments, Bill and Melinda make sure their looking in the same direction, while complimenting each other. Just like the two sculpted birds they got from Bill’s parents for their wedding – the birds that still sit in front of their house, sitting next to each other, staring out to the horizon.“Some people see Melinda as the heart of our foundation, the emotional core. But just as she knows I’m more emotional than people realize, I know she’s more analytical than people realize. When I get really enthusiastic about something, I count on her to make sure I’m being realistic,” the Microsoft genius wrote in the same letter. Adding: “We are partners in both senses that people use the word these days: at home and at work.”

Bill Gates Credits These 4 Books For His Optimism About the World
Mindset

Bill Gates Credits These 4 Books For His Optimism About the World

We can learn a lot about the world by taking the time to study and read, no matter how old we get. And no matter how successful and famous a person is, that truth does not change."These books make me optimistic about the world and help me understand the role of innovation in driving progress," wrote Gates in a tweet earlier this month.Gates recently touched on the books that especially shaped how he thinks about the world in Likewise, a mobile recommendation platform for books, TV shows, movies, restaurants and other entertainment.RELATED: Bill Gates Says You Should Be Reading This Often-Ignored but Extremely Important Type of BookEnergy and Civilization: A HistoryGates loves Smil's way of capturing the big picture. "I'll admit that Energy and Civilization is not easy reading," wrote Gates on his blog. "In fact, when I read my first Smil books years ago, I felt a little beat up and asked myself, 'Am I ever going to be able to understand all of this' But [the book] follows an easy chronological progression and is well edited."This book links energy consumption and economic growth, and it’s a connection Gates has examined as well and it is why he works on pushing for energy innovation. Gates says this book made him feel more optimistic about when next generation in clean energy will be reached, "from carbon-natural liquid fuels to game-changing improvements in energy generation, storage and transmission.">> See it on Amazon.comEnlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and ProgressGate's shared his favorite details from this book, such as how we’re actually less likely to be killed by a bolt of lightning than we were a century ago. "The world is getting better, even if it doesn't always feel that way. I'm glad we have brilliant thinkers like Steven Pinker to help us see the big picture," Gates wrote in a review of the book. This book "is not only the best book Pinker's ever written," wrote Gates, "it's my new favorite book of all time." That’s high praise!>> See it on Amazon.comFactfulnessIn "Factfulness," the authors caution against dividing the world into rich countries and poor countries —but instead multiple income group levels, from extreme poverty to levels where people have running water or enough disposable income to take vacations. Gates see this as a better way to detect progress., that way we wont’ think that anyone without a certain level of quality of life is poor, Gates wrote. “This was a breakthrough to me," explained Gates on his blog. "The framework Hans enunciates is one that took me decades of working in global development to create for myself, and I could have never expressed it in such a clear way. I'm going to try to use this model moving forward.">> See it on Amazon.comSapiensThis book written by Israeli historian Harari looks at the history of humanity to examine what comes next. "Most humans assume that we were always the ones in charge, lording over the rest of the animals," wrote Gates on his blog. "But Harari reminds us that long before we built the pyramids, wrote symphonies, or walked on the moon, there was nothing special about us." Gates has said this book inspired him to think of humans and happiness and what makes us unique and where we are going as a species. "Those are big questions as old as the history of our species," Gates wrote on his blog. "After you finish this book I have no doubt that, like me, you'll want to get together with some of your favorite Homo sapiens to try to answer them.">> See it on Amazon.com

3 Life Lessons from Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s Favorite Book
Self-Development

3 Life Lessons from Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s Favorite Book

Several years ago, Bill Gates spotlighted on his blog what he says is “the best business book I’ve ever read.” Originally recommended to Gates by Warren Buffett himself when asked for his favorite book about business, John Brooks’ Business Adventures is a collection of articles previously published in the New Yorker that dives into the stories and lessons of some of the most important events in 20th Century corporate America. "Brooks's work is a great reminder that the rules for running a strong business and creating value haven't changed," says Gates. And, indeed, it is the timeless nature of the lessons in the book that makes it so invaluable. But the lessons are about so much more than just business. Gates concludes, “Business Adventures is as much about the strengths and weaknesses of leaders in challenging circumstances as it is about the particulars of one business or another. In that sense, it is still relevant not despite its age but because of it. John Brooks’s work is really about human nature, which is why it has stood the test of time.” Whether you’re considering checking the book out or rather just get a quick look at what it’s all about, we’ve summarized some of the most notable lessons from the book below (however, the book is definitely worth checking out in its entirety as well). It’s certainly true that many of the particulars of business have changed. But the fundamentals have not. – Bill Gates Here are three life lessons from Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s favorite book on business, Business Adventures. 1. Failure is a learning experience. Take what you can from it move forward One of the most useful stories in the book is that of the Ford Edsel, a midsized sedan launched by the Ford Motor Company in 1958. That’s because of, ironically, the sheer volume of mistakes they made in the creation and launch of the model. But perhaps the greatest lesson of all was in how Ford’s execs reacted to that failure. During the development of the model, market research was shoved aside (despite being paid for) and trends ignored. What resulted was a monumental failure. "People weren't in the mood for the Edsel ... What they'd been buying for several years encouraged the industry to build exactly this kind of car. We gave it to them, and they wouldn't take it. Well, they shouldn't have acted like that,” J.C. Doyle, the then marketing manager of the Ford Edsel model told the author. No wonder it failed. Without the willingness to face your failures and learn from them, you’re doomed to repeat. Failure is a learning experience, so accept it, absorb what lessons you can, and use them to make new progress. 2. Don’t let outside forces influence your judgment (when it’s ready, it’s ready) Business Adventures also tells the story of print and scan company Xerox, one of the great American success stories of mid-20th Century. While developing the company’s first signature printer (and the very first office printer), the company’s board was pressuring founder Joseph C. Wilson to push development along while he insisted it would take several years of development. Wilson refused to cave and instead held steady to his vision and what he knew was the right thing to do. The result was Xerox 914, the first office printer and the launching point for Xerox to become a household name. I love when I see a media company or studio take their time to make a piece of art, whether it’s a film, the next season of one of my favorite T.V. shows (I’m looking at you, Stranger Things), or a tripe-A video game. As an artist, I know that rushing the process is the kiss of death. Nothing is worse than hurrying through the creation and development process and pulling the trigger before you’re ready. But you don’t have to be an artist of any kind for this to apply to you. We all create and build things in our daily life, whether it’s a relationship, a new schedule or another aspect of our life, or a goal of some kind. Sure, you don’t want to fall victim to a lack of motivation and inaction. However, if you've passed that point and you have no problem taking action one of the paramount concerns then becomes your process. And a critical aspect of that becomes the speed at which you move and when you decide to take action or put down your pencil so to speak and decide you’re done. If you’re passionate about what you’re doing and you’ve done the work to become skilled at it, allow your own judgment to guide you instead of letting outside forces such as other people’s opinions, the market, and fear affect your actions. 3. Never rest on your laurels It’s natural human behavior to want to rest immediately following a success. After all, you were successful. You’ve arrived, right? However, people often miss the point. Life isn’t about a particular level you must reach, it’s about progress. It’s the feeling of progress which makes us happy and it’s progress– an ever-present forward motion that is the most fundamental of all of life’s qualities (in Buddhist philosophy, this is referred to often as impermanence)– which we must strive for and not some magical stage at the end of a rainbow where we can finally rest still. Happiness, and by extension success, are found in falling love with the process of continual progress and forward motion. That same company that developed the first office printer and became a great American success story? By 1964, they had stopped developing and innovating their products into the future. The result: by 1965, sales were declining rapidly and competitors had overtaken much of the space. You might not be competing against anyone, however, by not heeding the fundamental principle of constant motion that is life, you’re bound to be repeatedly and disappointingly caught off guard. Rejoice and celebrate progress every step of the way, but never forget that life will continue moving forward and you must do the same to stay happy, fulfilled, and successful.