Jeff Bezos’ Final Advice

Jeff Bezos recently released his final shareholder letter as CEO of Amazon.  In the third quarter of 2021, Bezos will move into a new role as executive chairman of Amazon’s board.  He will be replaced by Andy Jassy, CEO of Web Services, Amazon’s biggest profit driver.

Bezos’ greatest takeaway?  If you want to be successful in life, create more than you consume.  In other words, create value for everyone you interact with.  While this seems straight-forward, it’s easier said than done.  Why?  Because most shareholders would rather have a quick return on investment (ROI) than value creation, which takes time.

This topic is compelling, so I ventured onto the internet to see what else I could find.  I stumbled across a website called Ofpad – The School of Genius.  Abhishek is the author and his insights on the creation of wealth are compelling:

• Creating value for others is the only way to make money. The only exception to this is inheritance, gambling, and crime. The amount of money you have now depends on the value you have created for others in the past.
• People who are rich create more value than they consume.  If you do not create value, you will not hold on to your wealth. This is the reason why people who win millions in a lottery, lose it all in a year. Lottery winners consume more value than what they create.
• Consuming less should not be confused with frugality.  Frugality centers around a scarcity mentality, which will not lead to success.

Jill, What Can I Do?  According to Mike MacCombie, a self-described behavioral science geek, there are five primary ways to add value: time, information, expertise, connections, and demonstrate value.  When you provide value to others, your reach and your success grow organically.  People go to you, talk about you to others, and share your resources (value) with their connections.  And in time, in addition to helping others, financial abundance will follow.