Still, he's not ready to declare the end of global progress. "As hard as last year was, I don't believe we will slide back into the Dark Ages," he wrote. "I believe that, within the next decade, we will not only get the world back on track but enter a new era of unprecedented progress." Gates credits that outlook to one word: innovation.

“I have to say, given the toll of this pandemic 20 million dead globally, a million in the U.S., and it could have been way more fatal. We just got lucky that the death rate per case was like 0.2%,” Gates told TIME senior correspondent Alice Park during the TIME 100 Summit in New York City on Tuesday.

Bill Gates quote “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in ten” conveys how people misjudge change over time. It also represents why the message feels relatable in modern life,

In a world driven by hustle culture, some of the most powerful people on the planet credit their success not to longer hours, but to learning. From Elon Musk and Bill Gates to Jack Ma, one habit keeps surfacing: The 5-Hour Rule.