These days I was reading an article published by Bill Gates. In it, he stated that he had recently been interviewed and was asked what advice he would give to young people who want to leave a positive impact on the world. He acknowledges that the question forced him to think… until he came up with the answer by thinking about what advice he would have given to the younger version of himself. And he offered 2 GREAT TIPS, which I love and wanted to share with you in this post:
- READ A LOT. Gates has always been passionate about reading. In addition, he has always opted for reading as an essential and very powerful element of personal development. He has also created a website called GatesNotes in which he shares his passion for books, recommends and comments on all the books he is reading, and gives advice and recommendations on them. Gates says that “I really had many dreams when I was a child, and many of these dreams have been able to become reality because I have been able to read a lot.” And I couldn’t agree more with Gates. Reading is exciting. It is one of the best ways to learn and bet on your personal and professional growth, as well as is a funny activity. In this sense, I strongly recommended reading in my post from a few months ago “Read (a lot) more” in which I offered you 8 recommendations to enhance your reading habits. And more recently, to celebrate my 48th anniversary, I shared with you my 48 favorite management books in the post “48 years, 48 books”. So you know, try to read more. You can use paper books, ebooks, book summaries, audiobooks… or even podcasts and videos that talk about books. Because as Bill Gates himself says “Reading is still the main way I have to learn new things and test my understanding”.
- DISCOVER A TALENT OR SKILL THAT YOU LOVE. Bill Gates’ second piece of advice for young people. And it is advice that I love. Gates says that it is essential that people find a talent they love and that they can use it to generate a positive impact in the world. And in this sense, unfortunately, most people are not clear about their talents. I wrote the post “5 + 1 ways to discover your talent” in order to help people discover what they are really good at, and what their strengths and talents are. Bill Gates is one of those who thinks that we all have talents and knowing them well is an essential step to being happy and adding value to others. For this, it is very important to surround yourself with people who help you to be better. In this sense, he highlights the importance of all people receiving adequate feedback and accompaniment. Gates says that “everyone needs a coach, it doesn’t matter if you’re a basketball player, a gymnast or a bridge player; We all need a coach.” And you don’t just have to discover an activity that you are good at and have a talent for. You must also have fun. Talent by itself, if it is not accompanied by motivation, it will be difficult for it to bring you great results. In this sense, I have always thought that it is really difficult to find a very successful person in their field if they do not have a talent for it and also love and have fun developing this activity.
So now you know the 2 pieces of advice that Bill Gates would give to people who want to have a positive impact in the world: read a lot and discover a talent or skill that you love.
