"Oh, I think there are a lot of people who would be buying and selling online today that go up there and they get the information, but then when it comes time to type in their credit card they think twice because they're not sure about how that might get out and what that might mean for them."

Time

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Time as articulated by Bill Gates. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Time provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About Bill Gates

William Henry Gates III is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Following Microsoft's initial public offering in 1986 and the subsequent increase in its stock price, Gates became the world's then-youngest billionaire in 1987, at age 31. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's wealthiest person in their The World's Billionaires list for 18 out of 24 years between 1995 and 2017, including 13 years consecutively from 1995 to 2007. Gates became the first centibillionaire in 1999, when his net worth briefly surpassed US$100 billion. According to Forbes, as of July 2026, his net worth stood at US$106.5 billion, making him the 19th-wealthiest individual in the world.

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More by Bill Gates

"I have seen firsthand that agricultural science has enormous potential to increase the yields of small farmers and lift them out of hunger and poverty."

— Bill Gates
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"We all need people who will give us feedback. That's how we improve."

— Bill Gates
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"You may have heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There's another day you might want to know about: Giving Tuesday. The idea is pretty straightforward. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, shoppers take a break from their gift-buying and donate what they can to charity."

— Bill Gates
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"Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning."

— Bill Gates
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More about Time

"The perfect life would be to have an amazing part every year and to spend all my free time to just write."

— Melanie Laurent
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"The difference between film and TV is the pace. You don't have the leisure of time in television."

— Alan Ball
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"Religious institutions should have religious freedom on this issue. No church or minister should ever have to conduct a marriage that is inconsistent with their religious beliefs. But I think as a civil institution, this issue's time has come and we need to move forward."

— Kay Hagan
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"Our combat mission is ending, but our commitment to Iraq's future is not."

— Barack Obama
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