Life Lessons from the First Half-Century of My Career

I started my career at Hughes Aircraft in 1972 while working on my Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).After designing airborne computers for four years, I graduated and then taught and did systems research at UC Berkeley for the next 40.Since 2016, I've helped Google with hardware that accelerates artificial intelligence (AI).At the end of my technical talks, I often share my life story and what I've learned from my half-century in computing.I recently was encouraged to share my reflections with a wider audience, so I've captured them here as 16 people-focused and career-focused life lessons.Table 1.16 People-Focused and Career-Focused Life Lessons from David Patterson.People-Focused 1. Family first!Don't sacrifice your family's happiness on the altar of success.2. Choose happiness.3. It's the people, not the projects, that you value in the long run.4. The cost of praise is small.The value to others is inestimable.5. Seek out honest feedback; it might be right.6. "For better or for worse, benchmarks shape a field." 167. "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it." 118. Beware of those who believe they are the smartest people in the room.Career-Focused 9. "Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important." 410."Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion." 511."There are no losers on a winning team, and no winners on a losing team."12. Lead by example.13. "Audentes Fortuna iuvat."(Fortune favors the bold).14.Culture matters.15.It's not how many projects you start; it's how many you finish.16.Look for the positive opportunities.People-Focused 1. Family first!Don't sacrifice your family's happiness on the altar of success.Early in my Berkeley career, a senior colleague and I drove home late from an evening meeting in Silicon Valley.At the end of that long day, as I dropped him off, he remarked: "If I had to do it all over again, I wish I had spent more time with my family."That was a phrase I never wanted to say.My wife and I have two sons, and I volunteered for everything: Indian Guides, Cub Scout Den leader, assistant soccer coach, field trips, and so on.When one of my adorable children grew up