Opening the Gates
Simply put, I aspire to help others.
I admire Mr.
William (Bill) Henry Gates, Founder and Chairman of Microsoft, because we share
a passion to change the world by helping the underprivileged people of the
world. As my role model, Gates’ selfless nature and drive to alleviate
suffering through his own funds and his foundation inspires me to recognize and
to act on my duty to ensure that fellow humans around the world are given an equal
right to life. Noting that countless millions of people live under a dollar a
day, I respect Bill Gates for drive to reduce the rich-poor gap in the world. Having
been raised a compassionate person with an affinity for finances and all things
business, I consider Bill Gates a living example of an individual who has used
his business mind to do good. In my experiences in life, I find that my compassion
for others is like a “reflex,” but adapting compassion to a business context is
challenging. [1] Bill
Gates my role model because he is an instrument for social change and a leader
in the social movement to rid the world of inequities. He has effectively used
his power and wealth from his business at Microsoft to social initiatives to
give the underprivileged opportunities for a better life. Like him, I want to
apply the skills I am learning here at the McCombs School of Business to change
other people’s lives. Bill Gates is an individual whom I admire because of his
passion for compassion.
As a role model, Bill Gates is accepting his personal duty to help others. By first recognizing the inequalities in the world between the rich and the poor, Gates moves to a more proactive state of awareness. Rather than simply fulfilling his role of a philanthropist, as a “benefactor of humankind or one who behaves benevolently towards others,” Gates constantly seeks to improve himself and be genuinely compassionate.[2] Through acknowledging the inequalities between the world’s rich and the poor and his duty to even the playing field, Gates demonstrates his commitment to change the world by empowering people with opportunities they would not have otherwise. In fact, Gates has recently announced that starting July 2008, he will play a smaller role in Microsoft and dedicate himself full-time to his charity, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In stepping down from daily operations at Microsoft, Gates has realized that putting his money and energy to help others is more important than making money for himself.
Acting on his
convictions to help others, Bill Gates has inspired others to take action. As a
role model for many, Gates is paving the path in encouraging others to join his
fight in alleviating social injustices. As the world’s richest man with a net
worth of over fifty billion dollars, Bill Gates has amassed his fortune through
perseverance and hard work and rightly deserves every penny he 
has earned. He has
the ability to purchase anything he wants; however Gates realizes that money cannot
buy happiness and that worldly and material goods will not bring joy. Instead,
Gates has elected to use his fortune to give the hapless hope and a fighting
change in life. In fact, the endowment
of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is primarily funded by Gill Gates.
Though his donations are his tax-deductible, his actions are well intended and
signify an individual who hopes to make a real difference. Through the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation, founded in 2000, Bill Gates is leading others in
global initiatives to help give citizens of underdeveloped countries basic
supplies needed to survive. His
foundation operates under two important values: “All lives—no matter where they
are being led—have equal value” and “To whom much has been given, much is
expected.”[3]
Likewise, my conviction about the arbitrariness of birthplace and the inequalities
between first-world countries and third-world countries has led me to realize
my duty to humanity. Rather than living in my own “perfect” world full of
privilege and material satisfaction, I understand my obligation to give others
the same opportunities I have been granted. In this way, Gates’ leadership and
vision for 
his foundation and his
desire to show compassion to humanity encourages me in my pursuit for
compassion.
With the intent on
changing the world, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is making full use of
its $31.9 billion endowment. His foundation focuses on three major outreach
programs. (1) The Global Development
Program seeks to alleviate “poverty and hunger in the developing world”[4] by
empowering people with skills and supplies necessary for survival. (2) The
Global Health Program seeks to “improve health in developing countries and save
millions of lives”[5] by
providing basic healthcare. (3) The United States Program aims to “reduce
inequities and increase access to opportunities for
However, the achievements of
the Gates Foundation, while admirable, are not the sole reason that I respect
Bill Gates. Gates, through his popularity and presence in the international
community, has effectively drawn support from others to his causes. In my
opinion, Bill Gates, albeit wealthy, cannot change the world himself. Rather,
his constructive use of his social connections to garner the support from world
leaders and his fervor for drawing attention to societal injustices inspires me
to use my business skills in showing 
compassion to
others. In expressing himself, Gates attempts to convince others to show their
compassion. He seeks to “remind [others] of who [they] really are and [what]
they have to offer one another.”[7]
Through the media and other outlets, Gates has the ability to turn the
attention away from him and to the actual issue. Using his eight appearances on
the cover of Time Magazine, with his latest appearance as 2005 Person of the
Year, Gates has used his notoriety to encourage others to join the fight
against world injustices and donate to charity. For example, Bill Gates’
philanthropy inspired Berkshire Hathaway owner Warren Buffet to give away eighty-five
percent of his wealth away, a valued thirty-seven billion dollars worth of
stock, to charities. In fact, Buffet’s 
donation greatly
increased the endowment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which
ultimately caused Gates dedicate his efforts full time to his charity. In
addition to Buffet’s large donation, Gates, in cooperation with U2 star Bono,
has spurred many other people to donate through the global Live 8 concerts.
Gates, with his mind committed to helping others, has proven himself a
compassionate person. He has realized that having large amounts of money does
buy happiness, but instead acts of compassion and the true joy from helping
others is the key to a good life.
From this, Bill
Gates has gained a more 
keen global
perspective and a better understanding of showing compassion to humanity. In
this regard, Bill Gates understands the concept of unity that Dass describes in
his book. “Our service is less a function of personal motive and more an expression
of spontaneous, appropriate caring. We’re not so much helping out, then because
it’s ‘me’ needing to tend to ‘you.’ We’re 
helping out because
it’s ‘Us.’”[8] Unity is
a significant part of compassion because it requires commitment from all
parties to be at peace with themselves. In Gates’ realization of the concept of
“us,” he has proven himself a person of true compassion. His devotion to his
foundation, aspiration to change the world, and ardor in helping humanity
reflect important qualities of a good role model. Though Gates alone cannot
complete rid the world of these disparities, his efforts to mobilize others is
commendable. I admire Gates for realizing his role in the world. Instead of
solely living for himself and in his own world, he now lives to help others.
His transformation and commitment to helping humanity inspires me to use my
life and my skills to help the underprivileged. As a business major, I find myself
a minority in my passion to help others. However, Gates’ commitment to using
his fortune to help others instills in me a hope that I will be able to use my
finance and networking skills to give others a better life. Putting his fortune
to good use, Gates has openly stated that the majority of his assets will not
go towards his children’s inheritance but rather to the foundation. This bold
statement stresses his ardor for changing the world. Because his money will be
used to help others even after his death, Gates is leaving an important legacy
that will continue to push others to pursue their compassion for humanity. His
humility is something that I respect and hope to emulate. I understand that
money is not my ultimate goal in life, and I hope to use my business skills and
money in a positive way, like Gates.
Bill Gates’ understanding
of his sense of identity and purpose to help humanity is admirable because
unlike his contemporaries who simply want to make more and more money, Gates is
using his business skills to change humanity for the better by providing
healthcare and education to those who cannot afford it. Like Gates, I hope to
someday find my place in the world and my purpose in life. Gates truly
understands that “there [is] 
more to the deed
than the doer and what’s been done. [He
himself feels] transformed and connected to a deeper sense of identity.”[9] Having
accepted his challenge and his calling to help alleviate the unnecessary
suffering that occurs in the world constantly, Gates is making himself
vulnerable to the misery of others. However, his decision is admirable and
worth the costs because of the prospect of making the world a better place to
live. I, like Gates, hope to one day find my purpose in the world and have the
strength to dedicate myself full time to that calling. Gates has found the
balance between business and compassion and that is why he is my role model. I
know that I want to pursue my own interests in business but do not want to ever
forget my passion for compassion. Conflicted between a desire for a career in
business and my passion for humanity, I now seek ways to utilize my college
education to help made a difference. Bill Gates gained much prominence at
Microsoft and used that to channel attention to his foundation which fights to
help impoverished citizens of the world. While the future is uncertain, I recognize
that that I must combine my love of business and with my love for others. Bill
Gates has does this, and I hope to follow in his footsteps but pave a new path.
Total Word Count: 1,817
Word Count without Quotes: 1,675
Total Word’s added/changed: 862
Words Kept: 955
Quotes Count: 142
Photo Citations
1. Mr. Bill Gates:
http://www.plu.edu/~intern/images/bill-gates.jpg
2. Microsoft Logo-
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/images/gallery/logos/web/mslogo-2.jpg
3. Bill and Melinda Showing
Compassion-
http://www.theage.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1071125590847_2003/12/11/melinda_gates,0.jpg
4. Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation-
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/NR/Public/Images/Banners/banner_Cover_02.jpg
5. Vaccine-
http://www.ipha.com/images/vaccine.jpg
6. Time Magazine-
http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/2005/1101051226_400.jpg
7. Warren Buffet-
http://images.forbes.com/images/2001/12/13/warren_buffett.gif
8. Earth-
http://www.harmsy.freeuk.com/images/earth2.jpeg
9. Needy Child-
http://images.businessweek.com/mz/04/48/philanthropy/images/gates.jpg
10. Deeper sense of Identity-
http://www.artbywicks.com/card%20compassion.jpg
11. Bill Gates in Second
Life- photo provided by Eric Hui