Surrounded by moss, in a churning valley with no breeze visible or felt, Jensen Huang stumbled upon an unlikely mentor while off the beaten path.
“Anyone who has been to Kyoto knows how incredibly hot it is during the summer,” Huang told the Chinese American Semiconductor Professional Association in 2023, speaking about his stay at a temple in the city, which houses the most extensive collection of moss in the world. world. There, Huang received the best career advice.
Inside the temple was an old man “squatting, working on the moss.” Tourists passed by him, as did Huang and his family. But Huang suddenly stopped, noticing the man tending the garden with bamboo tweezers and a bamboo basket with at most three small pieces of dead moss inside.
“What are you doing?” asked Huang.
“And he says he takes care of his garden,” Huang recalled. After the Nvidia CEO inquired, the man added that he had worked there for almost 30 years.
Looking at his tools, Huang pushed further, wondering how this elderly man could maintain such a large garden with such small tools. “He said something perfect, he said, ‘I have plenty of time,’” Huang recalled.
“This is the best career advice I can give you,” Huang says. “Most of the time I wait for things to come to me. I rarely chase things.
The gardener’s words – and Huang’s interpretation – could also be seen as a reference to the French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire, whose satirical short story and masterpiece “Candide” offers the lesson that one must cultivate one’s own garden and flourish through productive work. The 18th century thought leader would probably have something to say about the 17th richest person in the world trying to emulate his philosophy. “The comfort of the rich depends on an abundant supply of the poor,” Voltaire once said.
Although he claims not to chase success, the CEO has found plenty of it while riding the AI wave. After an incredibly strong quarter, Nvidia even has other business leaders giving it credit.
“These two numbers have never been side by side in the history of capitalism,” Box CEO Aaron Levie tweeted about the company’s reported revenue and percentage growth in the fitness center category. data. And Huang has profited immensely from his company’s achievements, with his net worth rising to $90 billion in light of recent stock performance.
Looking back on his long time at Nvidia and the gardener’s philosophy, he offers a core of advice: “dedicate yourself to learning all the time, doing the best job you can.”
Whether authentic or not, Huang tells the story of an attempt to stay grounded and fully devote oneself to the present moment, choosing to remain unguarded, in part because of this desire. It may be unlikely that a billionaire leader leading the new technological age will actually be able to stay in peace, but Huang is trying to do just that.
“I’m focused on now. I enjoy my work,” he said. “I am the longest-serving technology CEO in the world. I’m largely unemployable now and, thank goodness, I enjoyed my job.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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