Bill Gates did these things to set him up for success

Bill Gates did these things to set him up for successBill Gates did these things to set him up for successA lot of factors had to come together to makeBill Gatesinto the billionairephilanthropisthe is today - including the way he welches raised. His parents - Mary and William Gates, Sr. - werent afraid to be a little unconventional when it came to raising their son. Gates has revealed threeaspects of his childhoodthat helped shape him into who he is todayThey stressed the importance of communityThe Gates family made a point of being involved incommunitywork and philanthropy, making sure that their kids participated too. Mary was a firm believer in an idea from the Book of scheibe To whom much is given, much is expected, Gates Sr.saidin an interview withForbes. From the beginning, she instilled it as an important value in our family. Its clear that this is something their son has taken seriously in his adult life as well.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboa rd covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThey gave him a significant amount of independenceThe struggle betweenparents authority and childrens autonomyis nothing new, but the Gates parents were more willing than most to give him a significant amount of independence. According toan article in theWall Street Journal, they enrolled Bill in a private school known to give their students unusual amounts of freedom. It was at this school thatBill discovered computers.By the age of 13, Bills parents permitted him to visit the University of Washington at night to use their computers. They also allowed him to leave home for chunks of time, like to go to Olympia, where he was a page at the state legislature, and Washington, D.C. to work as a Congressional page. He alsotook a break from schoolhis senior year of high school to work as a programmer at a power plant in southern Washington. All this was before he dropped out of Harvard University to move to New M exico to found Microsoft.Mary and I were both concerned about it - I think she a bit more than I, Bill Sr.told theWall Street Journal. Her expectations and mine were very ordinary expectations of people who have kids in college - that they get a degree. But ultimately they were supportive of their son, who eventually moved the company closer to home in Seattle.They wouldnt let him give up just because he didnt excel at somethingWhen youre raising a smart kid whos good at a lot of things, it can be easy to let them drop out of activitieswhere they dont excel. But thats not what the Gates parents did - they made sure he continued to participate in swimming, soccer, football, and playing the trombone - even if he wasnt the most gifted in those areas. Though it probably would have been easier not to attend kids soccer games or have someone in your house learning how to play a brass instrument, Bills parents understood that it was important that he learned that he didnt have to be go od at everything, and thatfailure is perfectly normaland acceptable.At the time I thought it was kind of pointless, Bill Gates said of these activities in an interview withFortune, but it ended up really exposing me to leadership opportunities and showing me that I wasnt good at a lot of things, instead of sticking to things that I was comfortable with. It was fantastic, and now some of those activities I cherish. They had to stick to it because I pushed back a lot, but it was fantastic advice.This article originally appeared on Thrive Global.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people