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Jensen Huang: “The best career advice I got was from a gardener”

October 21, 2025

“Very few people know this but I don’t wear a watch,” Nvidia founder Jensen Huang begins. “And the reason I don’t wear a watch is because now is the most important time. Just dedicate yourself to now.”

Jensen explains by telling a story:

“The best career advice I got was from a gardener. I was on a family trip in Kyoto, and we went to the temple that had the largest moss collection in the world . . . All of the moss is perfect, and every species of the world’s moss is there. It was a hot summer day — anybody who’s been to Kyoto knows how incredibly hot it is during the summer — and my family walked by this old man who was squatted down working on the moss with a bamboo tweezer. His bamboo basket was nearly empty with only two or three small pieces of dead moss.”

“What are you doing?” Jensen asked the old man.

“I am taking care of my garden,” the old man replied.

The old man told Jensen that he has been working on the garden for almost 30 years.

“But this garden is so big and your tweezer and basket are so small. How can you take care of the whole garden?” Jensen asked.

“I have plenty of time,” said the old man.

Jensen reflects:

“That’s the best career advice I can give you. Most of the time I wait for things to come to me. I’m rarely chasing things. I don’t have a watch. I’m focused on now. I’m enjoying my job. I’m the longest-running tech CEO in the world . . . Dedicate yourself to learning all the time, doing the best possible work you can, and leave everything on the field. By the time I go to bed I’m exhausted, and I’m happy about my day because I did everything I could . . . You’ll be surprised. I’m not at all ambitious. I don’t aspire to do more. I aspire to do better at what I’m currently doing. I’m not reaching for more. I wait for the world to come to me.“

He continues:

“People who know me also know that Nvidia doesn’t have a long-term strategy. We have no long-term plan. Our definition of a long-term plan is, ‘What are we doing today?’ . . . You have plenty of time. Enjoy your work. Do the best you possibly can. Just keep learning every day, and good things will come to you.”