Bill Gates: Life Path

No matter what age group you belong to, you probably know who Bill Gates is. But Bill Gates wasn’t always Bill Gates. Born in a middle class family, he is now one of the richest men in the world. But even though he is among the strongest individuals on the planet, Bill Gates quotes are nothing less than motivation and positivity for those who wish to follow his steps. May his quotes show your clear path to get successful in your life.

Brief Introduction

Gates was born on October 28, 1955 in a family living in Seattle, Washington. His parents, William H. Gates Sr. and Mary Maxwell, raised all their children to be innovative, creative and competitive. Gates showed these characteristics very prominently in his personality at a very young age.

At the age of 13, his parents enrolled him into the Lakeside School. It was here that he started showing a lot of interest in computers. He spent most of his time exploring the technological device and even created a Tic-Tac-Toe game that players could play against the computer.

Gates graduated from Lakeside in 1973 and got enrolled at Harvard University to study law. Two years later, he dropped out to invest in his business, Microsoft, with Paul Allen, his partner. After some hiccups and a few disappointments, this partnership and business is what made Bill one of the most successful men on Earth.

Bill and Allen

The two met in Lakeside, where Allen was two years senior. Despite very different personalities, the two bonded over their common interest- computers.

They would spend most of their time in the computer lab, often getting into fights over who was right and who was wrong, and using the software glitches to their benefit to get extra time on the computers, which would get them banned from the computer lab. They even offered to fix the glitch later when they were allowed back into the lab again.

Not surprisingly, they soon joined hands to start a business together.

After a few freelance projects for computer companies, Allen and Bill founded Microsoft.

In 1983, Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, after which he resigned from the company.

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs

In 1981, Steve invited Bill for a collaborative project between Macintosh and Microsoft.

The idea was to create more smooth, user friendly technology.

Microsoft sensed the threat to their own brand and announced an update known as Windows, even though no such update was actually underway. The audience, already using Microsoft, thought it was more feasible to wait for the system update rather than switch to a whole new system.

What followed were a series of rather unfriendly events that led to a legendary rivalry between the two companies.

Microsoft and the IBM PCs

In November 1980, IBM approached Microsoft for a software that could operate their new PC.

It is a known fact that at the first meeting, because Gates looked so young, someone mistook him for an assistant and asked him to serve coffee.

Even though he was able to convince the company that Microsoft will be able to cater to their needs, he did not have the software available for their PCs just yet.

Instead, Gates purchased a software that was made for a PC similar to the IBM’s. While he made a deal demanding full ownership of the software, he never disclosed the IBM deal to the software developer.

The company later sued him for not disclosing important information but Bill got out of court for a certain amount of money and never admitted doing anything wrong.

Later, he sold that software alongside the IBM PCs in return for a share on every sale.

By 1983, Microsoft was being used in almost all of the offices in Britain and Japan.

Philanthropic work

Alongside his work in the software industry, Gates has a reputation for being a kind-hearted social activist.

In 1994, he and his wife Melinda French launched the William H. Gates Foundation to fund global health programs.

His Gates Library Foundation also contributed towards education of the poor and the minorities.

He has also been a huge contributor in the Alzheimer’s research, donating millions of dollars for the cause, saying that he has seen the disease influence people he personally knew and it was a personal matter to him.

Many of the Bill Gates quotes revolve around investing your money in the right areas and giving back to the world.

Leaving Microsoft

In 2000, Gates stepped down from his position of CEO and handed it over to his college friend, Steve Ballmer.

Gates reassigned himself to the software architecture department which he thought was more fun and creative.

He also claimed to have made this decision to give more attention to his philanthropic activities alongside his wife, Melinda.

Awards

• • Named one of the most influential people of the 20th century- by Times Magazine.
• • Knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2005
• • Awarded Order of the Aztec Eagle in 2006
• • Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016

At last

Bill Gates is and forever will be, one of the most influential names to ever exist. His story is not only inspiring and motivating but is also a complete example of how using your brain in business can work out miracles for you. Bill Gates quotes teach us that hard work combined with tactics is what makes a business flourish. Neither one of the two can do the magic alone.