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irishcoffee 2 days ago

> Please. They resold an already existing OS created by another individual. The idea that there was some "vision" here in being an IBM contractor is a total misunderstanding of the history of the time.

Imagine how different the world might be if gates’ mom didn’t work at ibm.

zabzonk a day ago | parent | next [-]

she didn't. she was on a united way charity comittee with an ibm executive

irishcoffee a day ago | parent [-]

Potato, po-tato?

themadturk a day ago | parent [-]

Somewhat different, I think. She had no direct financial interest in IBM's decision; she convinced the guy at IBM to look at Bill for the PC's operating system. Sure, at that level favors and family can have a lot of influence, but there wasn't a direct business relationship.

irishcoffee a day ago | parent [-]

That’s fair. I never meant to imply a business relationship. I only meant the connections aspect. I should have made that more clear.

GMoromisato a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Don't go down this road. It's so tempting to believe that everything is just luck and circumstance. It gives us an excuse to not bother trying. We all have that voice inside that seductively tells us that we don't need to try so hard; that it's all just luck, and we shouldn't waste our energy. This is the equivalent of refusing medical care because "God will provide."

I met Bill Gates a couple of times at Microsoft. He wasn't an average man who got lucky. He was/is a hard-working, extraordinarily brilliant man who got lucky.

I know the playing field is not level. We don't all have an equal chance to be a billionaire. But I do know that most of us have not reached our full potential. Most of us could be better (on whatever dimension you desire) if only we tried harder.

Imagine how different the world might be if we did.

1718627440 a day ago | parent [-]

So what. The point is that you need to be hard-working and lucky. Neither alone suffices.

yetihehe 21 hours ago | parent [-]

So what? "Hardworking" is a choice. You can choose to be hardworking or not. If you are already hardworking, then you can use your luck. If you're not, you will squander any chance.

17 hours ago | parent [-]
[deleted]
delaminator a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Or his dad at Planned Parenthood

irishcoffee a day ago | parent [-]

Naw, that’s not nice. :(

delaminator a day ago | parent [-]

Maybe you mis-understood. His dad was on the board of PP and it shaped Bill’s population control views and his “philanthropy”.

That’s not a maybe, he’s talked about it in interviews.

IAmBroom 17 hours ago | parent [-]

And you think that changed the world as much as founding Microsoft did?