You can work long, hard, or smart, but at Amazon.com you can’t choose two out of three. Jeff Bezos More Quotes by Jeff Bezos More Quotes From Jeff Bezos It’s very important for entrepreneurs to be realistic. So if you believe on that first day while you’re writing the business plan that there’s a 70 percent chance that the whole thing will fail, then that kind of relieves the pressure of self-doubt. Jeff Bezos self writing believe I'm skeptical of any mission that has advertisers at its centerpiece. Jeff Bezos centerpieces skeptical missions I try to spend my time on areas that I think are important for the future, and where I think I can add value. Jeff Bezos important trying thinking If there’s one reason we have done better than of our peers in the Internet space over the last six years, it is because we have focused like a laser on customer experience. Jeff Bezos peers space years The framework I found which made the decision incredibly easy was what I called — which only a nerd would call — a “regret minimization framework.” So, I wanted to project myself forward to age 80 and say, “Okay, now I’m looking back on my life. I want to have minimized the number of regrets I have.” Jeff Bezos regret decision numbers There'll always be serendipity involved in discovery. Jeff Bezos involved serendipity discovery The book is not really the container for the book. The book itself is the narrative. It's the thing that people create. Jeff Bezos narrative book people Millions of people were inspired by the Apollo Program. I was five years old when I watched Apollo 11 unfold on television, and without any doubt it was a big contributor to my passions for science, engineering, and exploration. Jeff Bezos engineering passion years The people who are right a lot often change their minds. Jeff Bezos mind people If you don't understand the details of your business you are going to fail. Jeff Bezos details entrepreneur failing But there's still so much you can do with technology to improve the customer experience. And that's the sense in which I believe it's still Day One, and that it's early in the day. If anything, the rate of change is accelerating. Jeff Bezos rate-of-change technology believe We are stubborn on vision. We are flexible on details. Jeff Bezos details vision inspirational Are you lazy or just incompetent? Jeff Bezos incompetent lazy technology Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind? Jeff Bezos be-kind kind clever The thing that motivates me is a very common form of motivation. And that is, with other folks counting on me, it's so easy to be motivated. Jeff Bezos motivation easy common Your margin is my opportunity. Jeff Bezos margins opportunity Real estate is the key cost of physical retailers. That's why there's the old saw: location, location, location. Jeff Bezos cost keys real To get something new done you have to be stubborn and focused, to the point that others might find unreasonable. Jeff Bezos stubborn done might Invention requires a long-term willingness to be misunderstood. Jeff Bezos misunderstood invention long In the old world, you devoted 30% of your time to building a great service and 70% of your time to shouting about it. In the new world, that inverts Jeff Bezos educational motivation world