A lesson from Jeff Bezos

In partnership with

3 Thoughts

I.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but most things in life are way more achievable than you think. If you decide what you want, and go after it with full effort and intensity, the world will bend to your will far more easily than you might think. You can just do things!

II.

The uncomfortable truth about opportunity is that it never comes with guarantees.

By the time you have permission, perfect information, and a "risk-free" path forward, the opportunity is gone. Every meaningful reward in life sits on the other side of uncertainty. The business everyone said would fail. The move to a new city without a safety net. The conversation you've been avoiding. The career pivot that makes no sense on paper. But while you're waiting for permission, the opportunity is slipping away.

The window is smaller than you think. Take the leap.

III.

I truly believe one of the most valuable things you can do for your career is to see what “great” actually looks like. Because once you’ve seen it, you can never unsee it. It becomes the benchmark you measure against for the rest of your career.

2 Quotes

I.

Forgot who said this, but this hits hard...

"If having more money wouldn't change what you do... then you're rich."

II.

Author James Clear on opportunity cost:

“Many good opportunities are ruined for the dream of slightly better ones.

Would you have a more successful career if you had taken that other job or moved cities? Possibly. But your actual career will definitely suffer if you don’t commit to doing it to the best of your ability.

Would you be 10% happier in a different relationship? Maybe. Maybe not. But you’ll definitely be unhappy in the one you have if you spend all day thinking about what else is out there.

The surefire way to end up worse off is to agonize over unchosen options and fail to make the most of the one you selected. Every minute spent yearning for your unlived lives is a moment you can’t invest in the one you actually have.

Choices matter, but so does your level of commitment.”

1 Game-Changing Idea

This story always gets me…

One Summer, Jeff Bezos heard an anti-smoking campaign on the radio advertising that every puff on a cigarette would take a certain amount of time off your life. His grandmother was a chain smoker. The young Bezos, always interested in numbers, calculated how much time she had lost.

“In my 10-year-old mind, I had been extremely clever to do this, and so when I was finished with my arithmetic, I proudly announced to her how many years she had taken off her life. And I got a reaction I did not expect, with her bursting into tears,” says Bezos.

His grandfather stopped the car and took Bezos out of it.

“And I had no idea what was about to happen, because he had never said a cross word to me. I thought, he might actually be angry with me. But he wasn’t. He took me out so that we had some privacy from her and he said these incredible words,” says Bezos.

“He said, ‘You’re going to figure out one day that it’s harder to be kind than clever.’”

Until next week,
Jay “Kindness Costs $0” Yang

Ps. My 2025 Wrapped

Kind words for ‘You Can Just Do Things’

“This book inspired me to pursue a new business venture!”

You can grab your copy here.

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