Bill Gates Shares the Childhood Habit That Contributed to His Success as a Millionaire
Gates expresses his doubts about achieving billionaire status in an era marked by distractions like social media.
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, has shared a key skill he cultivated in his childhood that helped him achieve financial success. Gates, who played a fundamental role in popularizing computers and the internet, reflects on how his time exploring nature, socializing with friends, and immersing himself in reading and contemplation in his room influenced his trajectory. In a recent blog post, he expressed that when he felt restless, bored, or struggled with behavioral issues, he would often retreat to his room and dedicate himself to books and ideas, often for hours without interruption. "This ability to transform idle time into deep reflection and learning became a fundamental part of who I am," Gates noted, adding that it was crucial to his later success.
Throughout his life, Gates has pointed to his love of reading and his capacity for isolation as determining factors in his success. During the 1990s, he dedicated a "Reflection Week" in a secluded cabin, surrounded only by books and technical documents, with the aim of focusing without distractions. He took this time to read, think, and plan for the future, even avoiding email.
Recently, he recommended the book The Anxious Generation by New York University social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. This work investigates how smartphones and social media have "reprogrammed" the minds of today's youth. The book highlights these devices' contribution to a mental health crisis among young people, increasing loneliness and depression in Generation Z, and negatively impacting memory, concentration, and attention spans.
Gates praised his "play-based childhood," which fostered his creativity, in contrast to the "phone-based childhood" that many children experience today, as described by Haidt. He observed that the constant interruptions from social media hinder the development of attention spans, comparing them to muscles that need to be exercised to grow. Gates wonders if he would have achieved his billionaire status in today's world filled with the distractions of smartphones and social media.