Page 11 - IAV Digital Magazine #440

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Bill Gates and Richard Branson Agree On Why It's Important To Have ‘Long-shot' Goals
Ali Montag
Bill Gates
and Richard Branson have some big goals.
Branson wants
to go to space and send hyperloop pods shooting through under- ground tunnels at the speed of air- planes. Gates wants to rid the world of
Polio and Alzheim er's disease, as well as implement the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's extensive list of other moonshots. Both the Microsoft founder and Virgin Group founder backed a start- upthat grows meat in a lab and hopes to reduce the envi- ronmental impact of raising live- stock.
And while some challenges seem insurmountable — even for a pair of the world's most powerful people — Branson and
Gates agree it's crucial to chase big ideas, even if success isn't immediate.
"Bill and I spoke about the impor- tance backing long-shot proj- ects,"
Branson writes on his blog about a meeting the billion- aires had Tuesday. The two met in Paris for a summit focused on one such challenge, climate change.
Bill Gates and Richard
Branson have some big goals.
Branson wants
to go to space and send hyperloop pods shooting through under- ground tunnels at the speed of air- planes. Gates wants to rid the world of Polio
and Alzheimer's disease, as well as implement the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's exten sive list of other moonshots. Both the Microsoft founder and Virgin Group founder
backed a start- upthat grows meat in a lab and hopes to reduce the envi- ronmental impact of raising live- stock.
And while some challenges seem insurmountable — even for a pair of the world's most powerful people — Branson and Gates agree it's crucial to chase big ideas, even if success isn't immediate.
"Bill and I spoke about the impor-
tance backing long-shot proj- ects," Branson writes on his
blog about a meet- ing the billionaires had Tuesday. The two met in Paris for a summit focused on one such challenge, climate change.
"Not all ideas will work," Branson writes. "But if we back enough of them, then the more likely it is that there will be a handful that can have a huge impact."
Gates' willingness to act on his dreams to improve the world is an inspiration for Branson.
"I've learned so much from Bill. He built a formidable company and decided to put his vast wealth into solving the prob- lems of the world," Branson writes.
For Branson him- self, dreaming big has also been key to his success.
"Dreaming cham- pions aspiration, spurs innovation, leads to change, and propels the world forward. Dream big and you will be reward- ed... trust me,"
he writes in an earlier post.
But he says it can't be done alone: "I believe that we can truly achieve great things when we all come together."
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine