wise words

My apologies for the radio silence the past two days (and general sparseness of posts of late).  I've been down at the Foundation's headquarters hearing the story of our founders: the incredible and very inspirational Gordon and Betty Moore. 
For those of you unfamiliar with these superstars, Gordon Moore is the founder of Intel and creator of Moore's Law - you may have heard of one or the other. 

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As you now know (if you didn't already), I work at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation which is dedicated to advancing environmental conservation and scientific research around the world, as well as helping to improve quality of life in the San Francisco Bay Area - Gordon and Betty Moore's home for more than 70 years

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While I'd love to say I'm responsible for all that do-good-ing, I'm actually just part of the investment team.  We're basically the caretakers of $5.5 billion in assets, investing them as best (and as safely) as possible, so the Foundation can really live on into perpetuity.

Anyway, as I was down at the Foundation's headquarters for our Founder's Spirit Day and listening to Gordon tell about what it was like to create some of the most important technology of our era (the micro-processor), I started wondering what the hell I was doing with my life.  At my age, this genius had his Ph.D. and was well on his way to revolutionizing the transistor. 

As I pondered how I might get myself on track to have even a billionth of his impact, a colleague asked him a question: "what is the one bit of advice you'd give to a young professional just starting out in his or her career?"

The room went silent as we waited for the precious words of wisdom from this sage. 

"Take it all in.  Take advantage of every opportunity.  You never know what might plop into your lap."

It's not necessarily novel advice, but somehow coming from a man of such success it seems worthy of following.

xoxo
KK