7 secrets of success for Jeff Bezos - the richest man in history

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The founder of Amazon is definitely worth listening to.

The fact that Jeff Bezos is ahead of Bill Gates was announced by Jeff Bezos is the richest person in history on CNN. By January 10, Bezos's fortune, according to the BBI The Bloomberg Billionaires Index (ranking of billionaires from Bloomberg), reached $ 106 billion.

Bezos is not only a successful person, but also multifaceted. In addition to the famous Internet site Amazon, he owns the equally famous publication The Washington Post and the aerospace company Blue Origin. And he is modest: interviews with him can be counted literally on one hand. However, a couple of months ago, Jeff Bezos spoke frankly with TechCrunch and revealed several important secrets of success.

1. Carefully choose your wife or husband

Jeff and Mackenzie Bezos have been married for 24 years. Before meeting Mackenzie, Jeff tried to establish his personal life more than once. Even on the recommendation of friends, I went on blind dates. However, it was unsuccessful. Only later did it become clear that he was looking for completely certain traits in women - the ability to be a muse and inventiveness.

“I needed a woman who could pull me out of the category of second-rate people, give me an idea, help in its implementation,” explains Jeff. - With Mackenzie, just a couple of phrases were enough for me to understand that she is inventive, and this is exactly what I was looking for. No options.

2. Give up multitasking

- I try to take turns doing things. If I dine with friends or family, I dine. If I read email, I read. And I don't want to be distracted by anything else, - says the billionaire.

I like maximum concentration on what I am doing.

Jeff Bezos

By the way, multitasking really interferes with productivity, so here Bezos is absolutely right.

3. Prefer risk and adventure to comfortable inaction

Each of us has two plots along which our life story can develop. The first is that life is safe and comfortable. The second is risky, full of experiments, ups and downs. Bezos unambiguously chooses the second option.

In 1994, he worked as a financial software engineer on Wall Street. It was a nice, comfortable job that provided Jeff with bread and butter without worrying about the future.

When, one day, Bezos suddenly told his boss that he wanted to quit to open his own online store, the boss was genuinely amazed: “This is a really good idea. But it would be good for someone who does not have your job and your status. Are you ready to give up everything? Jeff was ready.

Describing the path that eventually led him to found Amazon, Bezos says: “I knew that when I turned 80, I would not regret taking the risk. Only after seeing what the Internet is, I realized: this is exactly what can turn my life around. You just need to get involved. Even if I were defeated, I would despise myself less than if I hadn’t tried.”

In business, the question is often asked: "Why?" This is a good question. But much more valuable: "Why not?"

Jeff Bezos

4. Always have alternatives

When asked who he would be if the Amazon venture had failed, Bezos gives two answers at once.

First: “Most likely, I would be a very happy programmer. I'm no stranger to starting from scratch."

Second: “I have a fantasy that I could become a bartender. A very good bartender. True, very slow. I love making cocktails, I approach it with the utmost care, as an art. I would make my trick out of slowness. There would be a sign in my bar: "Do you want it to be fast or do you want it to be good?"

5. Remember: Failure Is Necessary To Learn From It

Jeff and his wife use controversial but powerful methods in their approach to parenting. So, Bezosy allowed the heirs to use sharp knives from the age of 4. A little later, the kids got access to power tools.

What would make most responsible parents move their hairs on their heads, Jeff explains: “He who does not make mistakes and does not feel the bitterness and pain of his mistakes, he loses the opportunity to learn. I would rather be the father of a child with nine fingers than a child who has no way of knowing the real world."

6. Maintain a work-life balance

Bezos is a supporter of the concept of work-life balance. “In this context, I prefer not“balance”, but“harmony”, - he clarifies. - Work and personal life should be independent and at the same time complementary, like yin and yang. Being happy at home makes me a better employee, a better boss at work. Being productive and in demand at work makes me a more balanced and positive husband and father at home.”

Therefore, by the way, Jeff is categorically against overtime, as well as "family" calls during working hours. A harmonious life cocktail, in his understanding, has a key line in the recipe: do not mix.

7. Keep your childish curiosity

- The world is so complex that sometimes you have to become a real expert in a particular matter in order to find a solution, says Jeff Bezos. - Unfortunately, once you become an expert, you run the risk of being trapped in informational dogmas. You begin to know exactly "how it should", and you lose the opportunity to find out "how it could be." In order not to fall into this deep dogmatic rut, from which it is extremely difficult to get out later, it is important to maintain a child's curiosity. Forcing yourself to ask the questions over and over again: “Can you do this? That's how? What happens if? " All inventors and pioneers of the world are experts with the mindset of absolute beginners. They never tire of wondering and looking for new paths even where the dogmatists have already paved the autobahns.

If you do something interesting, you will surely have critics. If you absolutely hate criticism, just don't do anything new or interesting.

Jeff Bezos