Bill Gates, 69, former CEO of Microsoft, shared in a graduation speech what his biggest regret was during the company’s early years. He admits he took too long to learn an important lesson.
During a speech to the graduating class at Northern Arizona University, Bill Gates revealed his biggest regret since founding Microsoft. The former CEO confessed that it took him too long to learn this important lesson.
“When I was your age, I didn’t believe in vacations. I didn’t even believe in weekends. I pushed everyone around me to work long hours,” he said.
Gates also mentioned that he even started monitoring the parking lot to see who was leaving early and who was staying late.
“As I got older, and especially after I became a father, I realized that, in order to do your best work and have a great life, that level of intensity was not always appropriate. Don’t wait as long as I did to learn this lesson,” he advised.
Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975 with his programmer friend Paul Allen. He stepped down as CEO in 2020. Gates is the father of Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22.
+Click here to watch Bill Gates’ full speech
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