【比爾·蓋茨北亞利桑那大學(xué)2023畢業(yè)演講】累了就停下來歇歇

Good afternoon. Thank you president Cruz Rivera and the Arizona board of regents for this tremendous honor. I am thrilled to be here with NAU`Sesteemed faculty and staff, friends and family. The time has finally come to exhale. Today is your accomplishment too, and I think that deserves a round of applause.

Graduates, you made it. You've finished your capstones and your internships. You survived junior level writing class and multiple tequila sunrises.

You had your last dimes night at museum club.And you earned your rubber duck from Collins. You might be happy to know that I have joined your ranks. I am now the proud recipient of an honorary doctorate and an honorary dock.

It's an honor to have the opportunity to address you today. I believe more people should know about the tremendous value of an NAUeducation. You are graduating from an institution that creates opportunity, fosters innovation and builds community. And it is prepared you to find solutions to some of the biggest problems facing us today.

NAUis giving you something I never received, a real college degree. I'm sure a lot of that I never made it to my own graduation. I left college after 3 semesters to start Microsoft. So what would a college drop out know about graduation? Not much to be honest. As I prepared for today, I thought about how you as new graduates can have the biggest impact on the world with the education you received here. It got me thinking about the graduation I never had, the commencement speech I never heard and the advice I wasn't given on a day like this one. And that is what I want to share with you this afternoon.

The 5 things I wish I was told at the graduation I never attended. The first thing is your life isn't a one act play. You probably feel a lot of pressure right now to make the right decisions about your career. It might feel like those decisions are permanent. They're not. What you do tomorrow or even for the next 10 years does not have to be what you do forever.

When I left school, I thought I would work at Microsoft for the rest of my life. Today, I still love my part time work on software, but philanthropy is my full time job. I get to spend my days working with others to create innovations to fight climate change and reduce inequalities around the world, including in health and education. I feel lucky that the gates foundation gets to support amazing institutions like NAU, even if it's not what I imagined I'd be doing when I was 22. Not only is it okay to change your mind or have a second career, it can be a very good thing.

The second piece of advice I wish I'd heard my graduation is that you're never too smart to be confused. I thought I knew everything I needed to know when I left college. But the first step to learning something new is embracing what you don't know instead of focusing on what you do know.

At some point in your career, you'll find yourself facing a problem you cannot solve on your own. When that happens, don't panic. Take a breath. Force yourself to think things through. And then find smart people to learn from.

It could be a colleague with more experience to be one of your fellow graduates who has perspective and will push you to think differently. It might be an expert in the field who's willing to reply to your questions. Over DM. Everything I have accomplished included seeking knowledge from others who knew. More people want to help you. The key is to not be afraid to ask. You may be dumb of school, but you can and should see the rest of your life as an education.

My 3rd piece of advice is to gravitate towards work that solves important problems. The good news is that you're graduating a time when there are many important problems to solve. New industries and companies are emerging every day that will allow you to make a good living and make a difference.

And advances in science and technology have made it easier than ever to make a big impact. For example, many of you are becoming foresters. Your professors, wow. Your professors taught you about cutting edge tools like drones that use lidar to produce accurate maps of the forest. You could find ways to use that technology to help fight climate change.

Some of you are heading off to start careers as programmers. Use your talents to make sure all people can benefit from artificial intelligence and to help eliminate biases in AI. When you spend your days doing something that solves a big problem, it energizes you to do your best work. It forces you to be more creative and it gives your life a strong sense of purpose.

My 4th piece of advice is simple. Don't underestimate the power of friendship. When I was in school I became friends with another student who shared a lot of my interests, like science fiction novels and computer magazines. Little did I know how important that friendship would be. My friend's name was Paul Allen and we started Microsoft together. Remember that the people you've sat next to in lectures, skied snowball with and competed against on Wingo night are not just your classmates, they are your network, your future co founders and colleagues, a great future support, source of support, information and advice. The only thing more valuable than what you walk off stage with today is who you walk on stage with.

My final piece of advice is the one I could have used the most. It took me a long time to learn, and it is there. You are not a slacker if you cut yourself some slack. 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 very long hours. In the early days of Microsoft, my office overlooked the parking lot and I would keep track of who is leaving early and who is staying late. But as I got older, and especially once I became a father, I realized that both in terms of doing your best work and having a great life, that intensity was not always appropriate.

Don't wait as long as I did to learn this lesson. Take time to nurture your relationships, to celebrate successes and to recover from losses. Take a break when you need to. Take it easy on the people around you when they need it, too. And before you begin the next stage of your lives, take a moment and have some fun tonight, this weekend, this summer, whenever you deserve it.

Class of 2023, the future belongs to you.

I believe that you will be the ones to solve the climate crisis and reduce the gap between the rich and poor. You have already made history by attending college during some truly unprecedented times. I have no doubt that you will continue to make history throughout the rest of your lives. I can't wait to see how you will drive progress around the world. Congratulations on reaching this momentous milestone. Go lumberjacks.