Transcription
Very few people know this, but I don't wear a watch. And the reason why I don't wear a watch is now is the most important time. Just dedicate yourself to now.
The best career advice I got was from a gardener. I was on a family trip. We were in Kyoto and many of you probably went to uh the temple that had the largest moss collection in the world. The the yard, the garden, the moss garden is incredible. All of the moss is perfect. Every species of the world's moss is there. And it was a hot summer day. And anybody who's been to Kyoto knows how incredibly hot it is during the summer. They're in the valley. It's hot. It's humid. There's no wind, no breeze, and it is insanely hot.
And um uh all of the tourists were walking by and my family walked by this uh this old man that was on his on his uh uh squatted down uh working on the moss. And I I walked by and I noticed he was using a bamboo tweezer and his bamboo basket was nearly empty. There were only two or three small pieces of dead moss. And I asked him, "What are you doing?" And he says, "He is taking care of this garden." His English was perfect. And and uh and I asked him how long he's been working there. He said he's been working there for almost 30 years. And and he said that this is his garden. And I asked him, "But this garden is so big and your tweezer and your basket is so small. How can you take care of the whole garden?" And he said something that is perfect. He said, "I have plenty of time."
And in fact, that's the best career advice I can give you. Most of the time, I wait for things to come to me. I'm rarely chasing things. I don't have a watch. I'm focused on now. I'm enjoying my job. I'm the longest running tech CEO in the world. As you know, I am largely unemployable now. And thank goodness I enjoy my job. And so dedicate your dedicate yourself to learning all the time, doing the best possible work you can. Leave everything on the field. You know, by the time I get home, I am exhausted. By the time I go to bed, I'm exhausted and I'm, you know, happy about my day because I did everything I could. And those that kind of habit, that kind of habit. And people be, you know, you'll be surprised. I'm not at all ambitious. I don't aspire to do more. I aspire to do better at what I'm currently doing. I'm not reaching for more. I wait for the world to come to me.
People who know me also knows Nvidia doesn't have a long-term strategy. We have no long-term plan. Our definition of a long-term plan is, you know, what are we doing today? And I know that that is counter your career strategy. But but I think the advice that he gave me was a very good one. And you know, you have plenty of time. Enjoy your work. Do the best you possibly can and just keep learning every day and good things will come to you.