In the mid-1970s, Ed Roberts created the world’s first commercially successful personal computer (PC). He hired a 19-year old named Bill Gates to write software for him.

Roberts sold his computer business in 1977 and bought a farm. Seven years later, at the age of 41, he entered medical school. Today Bill Gates is the head of the largest software company in the world. Ed Roberts is a physician in a small Georgia town.

So who is making a greater impact on the world, Roberts or Gates? Roberts says, “The implication is that the PC is the most important thing I’ve ever done, and I don’t think that’s true. Every day I deal with things that are equally if not more important here with my patients.”

Something deep within each of us tells us that significance cannot be measured by wealth and fame. What makes you significant?

Tags: Bill Gates, significance