Understand the art of doing things

Author: Lü Shuchun / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features:
6. A young bull is not afraid of tigers; life requires a gamble. Youth is the time of the most vitality and energy. Those young people who dare to think and act often achieve great success later, as a song goes, "Bet your youth on tomorrow." Those who dare to take risks and pursue their dreams will live more freely and achieve greater fulfillment. Bill Gates, renowned for creating the Microsoft empire, made a decisive decision in his youth to "put down his pen and go into business," using his extraordinary financial wisdom and courage to create his own era. When Gates graduated from high school, his parents told him, "Harvard University is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the United States, a place full of charm, symbolizing success, power, influence, and greatness. You must attend a university, and Harvard is the best. It will benefit you throughout your life." Gates listened to his parents' advice and enrolled in the most famous university in the United States, Harvard. He initially chose to major in law, but he did not actually want to follow his father's footsteps and become a lawyer. Gates took both undergraduate and graduate courses at Harvard (a privilege for Harvard students), but his true interest remained in computers. He had seriously discussed with friends the idea of starting his own software company. He believed, "Computers would soon enter households like television, and these countless computers would all need software." In his sophomore year of college, Bill Gates finally told his parents what he had been wanting to say for a long time: "I want to drop out." His parents were shocked and deeply saddened. They thought everything was going well for Bill, and that abandoning the prestigious law program for the seemingly "unpromising" computer industry would be a great gamble, as he was betting his entire future career. However, they could not convince Gates to change his mind. So, they invited a respected leader in the business world to persuade him. During his meeting with this business magnate, Gates spoke passionately like a preacher, telling him about his dreams, hopes, and what he was working on. The business magnate was unintentionally moved, as if he had returned to his own early days of starting a business from scratch. He forgot his mission and instead encouraged Gates: "You have seen the beginning of a new era, and you are creating this great moment. Keep going, young man." Faced with no other choice, his parents reluctantly agreed to Gates' request. From then on, Gates devoted himself wholeheartedly to his field of computer software, truly achieving success on the path where his dreams came true, creating world-renowned achievements. Gates is a great entrepreneur. To realize his plans, he weighed the pros and cons, bravely giving up the opportunity to complete his Harvard degree to pursue software, which interested him. If he had listened to his parents' advice and waited to start a business after finishing college, how could he have become globally renowned as the world's most famous "software king," Bill Gates, today? History has proven that Gates' choice was right. In just a few short years, an unparalleled Microsoft empire emerged, and Gates became the world's richest person, becoming the first person in human history to amass wealth exceeding one trillion dollars. His immense success stems from that seemingly risky, yet actually brilliant decision to drop out of college. P21-23