$ cat ./records/in-early-microsoft-gates-thought-sleeping-a-lot-was-lazy-1980.txt
In Early Microsoft, Gates Thought 'Sleeping a Lot Was Lazy'
[RECORD.TXT] · cat --full
In Microsoft's early years, Bill Gates drove a punishing, all-hours culture — and himself hardest of all. 'I didn't believe in weekends; I didn't believe in vacations,' he has recalled, saying he pulled repeated all-nighters and 'was obsessed with my work,' even competing with colleagues over who could get by on the least sleep because he 'felt that sleeping a lot was lazy.' Gates later changed his mind — crediting a book on sleep science — and came to regret not making more time for family, but the early ethic shaped Microsoft's intense reputation.
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Related Accomplishments
1990s
Gates keeps a collection of rare and classic cars
Despite his reputation for frugality in some areas, Bill Gates has long indulged a passion for cars, assembling a collection that has included several Porsches — among them the 911 he has owned for decades and the storied 959 — as well as other classics. His automotive tastes, and the saga of importing the then-illegal 959, are among the more colorful footnotes of his personal life.
1990s
Gates retreats for solitary, twice-yearly 'Think Weeks'
For years Bill Gates retreated twice a year to a secluded cabin for a solitary 'Think Week,' during which he read stacks of papers, books, and employee proposals with no interruptions, emerging with strategic memos that shaped Microsoft's direction. The ritual became famous as a model of deep, focused thinking by a busy executive, and was credited with helping spark major pivots — including Microsoft's embrace of the internet. Gates carried the habit of voracious, deliberate reading into his philanthropy.
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