Bill Gates

Bill Gates, the co-founder and one-time CEO of Microsoft Corporation, is a man that I have admired from the moment I first heard about him. Bill along with his long time friend Paul Allen founded Micro-soft in 1975. Guided by a belief that the personal computer would be a valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers.

In America today, 2 out of every 3 homes have a computer. Gates' foresight and vision regarding personal computing have been central to the success of Microsoft and the software industry as we know it today. In the dozen years since Microsoft went public, Gates has donated more than $800 million to charities, including $200 million to the Gates Library Foundation to help libraries in North America take advantage of new technologies and the Information Age.

I admire Bill Gates in several ways. First, I admire his vision. Bill Gates knew that the computer would revolutionize the world at time when society’s complex computer was as powerful as today’s simple calculator. I also admire his dedication. Gates did not stop at the desktop PC. He fought through court battles and antitrust hearings over his product, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. He never once quit or backed down over anything.

I have wondered how much adversity he went through developing his product. How many companies before IBM did he have to go to before selling his DOS Operating System? How brave did he have to be to stand up every time he was knocked down from corporate America by telling him that the so called PC would never be a success?

There are two character traits that