Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – A psychology expert tries to trace the key to the world’s billionaire success. She is Mourgan Housel.
In his writing in CNBC Internationalit contains how crazy rich like Bill Gates was successful because of a “special secret”. It is “a balance between pessimism and optimism”.
According to him, pessimism is actually very important for survival. This helps someone prepare to face risks before they come.
But optimism is just as important. The belief that things will turn out well, even if the evidence is unclear, can support the success of even long-term investments.
“Successful people find a balance between pessimism and optimism,” say the book’s authors “Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes” said, quoted Thursday (9/11/2023).
“Bill Gates is a great example of how effective these hidden skills can be,” he added.
He described how Bill Gates started Microsoft. Where the man insisted on always having enough cash in the bank to keep the company alive for 12 months without any income coming in.
“In 1995, he was asked by Charlie Rose why he kept so much cash. Things were changing so quickly in technology that the next year’s business was not guaranteed… including Microsoft,” he said of Bill Gates.
He also quoted several other statements from Bill Gates which referred to his psychological maturity.
“I always worry because the people who work for me are older than me and have children, and I always think, What if we don’t get paid? Will I be able to meet that salary?,” he explained again, revealing an interview with Bill Gates, in 2007.
According to him, excerpts from the interview show that there is optimism and self-confidence mixed with heavy pessimism. Simply put, he said, Bill Gates believes “one can be optimistic in the long term if one is pessimistic enough to survive in the short term”.
“The important thing to note here is that optimism and pessimism exist on a spectrum,” he added.
“I call him a rational optimist,” he said.
He said that if you are always optimistic, assume everything is fine and throw away bad things, an attitude of “can’t understand anything is wrong” will emerge. On the other hand, Mika is really pessimistic, thinks everything is bad, will have a feeling of lack of self-confidence so he can’t imagine that everything will go well.
“The one in the middle is the sweet spot,” he said again.
“Those who recognize that history is a continual series of problems, disappointments and setbacks, yet remain optimistic because they know that setbacks do not hinder progress in the end,” Housel said.
“They sound like hypocrites and flip-floppers, but often they are just looking further ahead than other people,” he stressed.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
Next Article
This Billionaire Is So Stingy For Forgiveness, Willing To Eat Cat Food
(sef/sef)