(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Bill Gates has given plenty of advice
about how to live a successful life
and lead a successful business.
The high bar that the Microsoft co-founder sets daily
is not impossible to reach.
It will, however, require developing
and practicing some new habits.
Paving your own road to success means dreaming less
and doing more of what Gates himself has done
while becoming one of the world's richest people.
Here are four things that clearly separate
the doers from the dreamers.
Number one, cultivate your curiosity.
"For the curious learner, these are the best of times
"because your ability to constantly refresh your knowledge
"with either podcasts or lectures that are online
"is better than ever."
Gates stresses the critical importance of curiosity
as a framework for acquiring knowledge.
"A growth mindset as the foundation and drive
"to stay curious and keep learning
"will help prepare future workers for the immense changes
"that will take place."
Not only is curiosity key to the learning process,
but it's also great for overall life satisfaction,
according to recent studies.
Number two, empower those you lead.
As the CEO of Microsoft, Gates once expressed an ideology
now in demand in people-centered work cultures.
"As we look ahead into the next century,
"leaders will be those who empower others."
One thing remains more true now than ever:
good leaders set themselves apart
by effectively influencing and empowering their workers
in times of crisis.
They do it by responding to the daily challenges
facing their people
and providing them with the proper tools to succeed.
It's being mindful of the mental health needs of employees
and their families as social isolation, economic hardships,
and other uncertainties of life weigh on people
in unique ways.
Number three, delegate your weaknesses.
Gates admits delegating didn't come easy to him
in the early days of Microsoft.
He knew his obsession with programming wasn't sustainable
if the company was going to scale,
so he had to consciously trust other people's ability
to write software.
As Microsoft grew, so did his management responsibilities.
Gates soon realized
that he had to learn to delegate his weaknesses,
like managing the people side of business,
to other people's strengths.
If your responsibilities have outgrown
your capacity to handle them,
the first pillar to successful delegation
is to have a great team around you who can handle the task.
And number four, focus on the things that matter the most.
"No matter how much money you have, you can't buy more time.
"There are only 24 hours in everyone's day."
This means focusing intently on what is essential for you
and your business, and blocking out distracting ideas,
information, and opinions.
The question to always ask in the course of your day is,
"Is this important right now?"
To truly understand how valuable your time is,
start by assessing your meetings.
Useless meetings are certainly one obstacle
in the path of being focused
and making the most of your day.
And successful people, like Gates,
are keenly aware of centering their whole day
around things that matter the most.
They manage themselves extremely well
in order to manage their time to focus on that one thing.