10 Inspiring Quotes From Billionaire, Philanthropist and Microsoft Co-Founder Paul AllenThe late Paul Allen had some words of wisdom to share.

This story originally published on Jan. 21, 2018. It was updated on Oct. 16, 2018.

When you think about Microsoft, Bill Gates typically comes to mind. However, there's another hero to this story. While Microsoft co-founder and childhood friend of Gates, Paul Allen, who died on Oct. 15, 2018, tended to stay out of the headlines, his contributions to the famous tech company -- and humanity -- are impressive.

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Havingmet Gates back in grade schoolin Seattle, the two bonded over their love of technology and computer programming. However three years older than Gates, Allen received aperfect scoreon his SAT and enrolled in Washington State University. Eventually, Allen dropped out of college and became a programmer for Honeywell in Boston while Gates attended Harvard University. Before long, Gates also left Harvard early and the two joined forces to create what would eventually be known as Microsoft.

After falling ill, Allen left Microsoft in1983and resigned from the board in2000, yet continued to own a tremendous amount of shares in the company. Near the time of his death, Allen had a networth of $20.9 billion, was the founder and chairman ofVulcan Inc., the owner oftwo sports teams(the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers) and the founder of multiple philanthropic foundations including the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and the Allen Institute for Brain Science.

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For more inspiration, here are 10 quotes from the Microsoft underdog.

On creativity

“我一直感兴趣的方式to innovate... It's a blend; it's not a point focus." -- Paul Allen

On failure

"In my experience, each failure contains the seeds of your next success -- if you are willing to learn from it." -- Paul Allen

On motivation

"Any crusade requires optimism and the ambition to aim high." -- Paul Allen

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On empowerment

"What should exist? To me, that's the most exciting question imaginable. What do we need that we don't have? How can we realize our potential?" -- Paul Allen

On opportunity

"For the most part, the best opportunities now lie where your competitors have yet to establish themselves, not where they're already entrenched." -- Paul Allen

On leadership

"From technology to science to music to art, I'm inspired by those who've blurred the boundaries, who've looked at the possibilities and said, 'What if...?'" -- Paul Allen

On motivation

"In my own work, I've tried to anticipate what's coming over the horizon, to hasten its arrival and to apply it to people's lives in a meaningful way. The varied possibilities of the universe have dazzled me since I was a child, and they continue to drive my work, my investments and my philanthropy." -- Paul Allen

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On hard work

“你看你喜欢的事情在你的生活中,但μch more important is what you can do to make the world a better place." -- Paul Allen

On the future

"The possible is constantly being redefined, and I care deeply about helping humanity move forward." -- Paul Allen

On passion

"I enjoy creating new ideas, working on new creative projects." -- Paul Allen