Top 10 quotes on life by Microsoft's Melinda Gates

If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction.

All lives have an equal value.

I think it's very important that we instill in our kids that it has nothing to do with their name or their situation that they're growing up in; it has to do with who they are as an individual.

But we also believe in taking risks, because that's how you move things along.

Kids are falling through the cracks and nobody notices it. That to me is what's wrong with the school system.

As women gain rights, families flourish, and so do societies. That connection is built on a simple truth: Whenever you include a group that's been excluded, you benefit everyone.

It's the mark of a backward society - or a society moving backward - when decisions are made for women by men.

Wisdom isn’t about accumulating more facts; it’s about understanding big truths in a deeper way.

If you want to lift up humanity, empower women. It is the most comprehensive, pervasive, high-leverage investment you can make in human beings.

When people can’t agree, it’s often because there is no empathy, no sense of shared experience. If you feel what others feel, you’re more likely to see what they see.