Don’t be so…: What Warren Buffett advised Melinda French Gates that she still follows today
Bill Gates’ ex-wife Melinda French Gates has been in the spotlight lately for her new memoir, ‘The Next Day’, which is set to be released this month. Ever since, Melinda Gates has been giving a series of interviews to promote her memoir. In her memoir, French Gates reflects on her life’s transitions and the wisdom she has gathered along the way.
In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) she shared a piece of advice that she received from world’s most popular investor Warren Buffett, a very close friend of her ex-husband and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
When asked who she turns to for advice? Melinda French Gates replied, “I write down a lot of quotes that people tell me over time so I can replay them in my head.”
Citing an example, she mentioned that when she gets tough on herself about philanthropy, she reminisces what Warren Buffett said,” which is, “You’re working on the problems society left behind, and they left them behind for a reason. They are hard, right? So don’t be so tough on yourself.”
The “clearing” – Navigating life’s transitions
In her memoir, French Gates also discusses the importance of taking a pause during periods of change. She refers to this time as the “clearing: — the space between leaving one chapter of life and starting another as a time for reflection and learning.
“In that time between when you’re leaving something and you’re starting the next thing, there’s a space. I call it a clearing,” she says. “There is an enormous amount to learn when you’re sitting in that clearing,” she told WSJ.
Melinda Gates who now lives in Seattle co-founded the Gates Foundation in 2000 with then-husband Bill Gates, stepping away from her full-time mom role after leaving Microsoft in 1996. Following her 2021 divorce, she chose to chart her own path, saying, “It was the right time for me to set out on my own.”
She has since established Pivotal Ventures, an organization that combines philanthropy with venture capital to advance women’s rights globally and within the United States.