Jeff Bezos

Amazon founder

Contemporary influential 106 sayings

Sayings by Jeff Bezos

I think that the future is going to be very different from the past, and I'm very excited about it.

2019 — Interview with The Wall Street Journal
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I think it's important to have a good vision and to be able to communicate it effectively.

2013 — Interview with Inc. Magazine
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I think it's important to have a good sense of humor, because life is too short to be serious all the time.

2019 — Tweet
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I'm not a big fan of vacations. I think work is my vacation.

2014 — Interview with The Verge
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I think that the internet is a collective consciousness that's growing.

2020 — Interview with Joe Rogan
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I think it's important to have a purpose in life. Otherwise, what's the point?

2017 — Interview with Y Combinator
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I'm not a fan of bureaucracy. I think it's a terrible thing.

2020 — Tweet
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I think the biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that's changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.

2012 — Interview with CNBC
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I think it's possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.

2013 — Interview with TED
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I think that the electric car is going to be the future of transportation.

2011 — Interview with CNN
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I think that we're going to see a lot of really amazing things happen in the next 20 years.

2015 — Interview with Goldman Sachs
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

If you can't tolerate critics, don't do anything new or interesting.

2014 — Letter to Shareholders
Controversial Confirmed

Complaining is not a strategy. We have to work with the world as we find it, not as we would like it to be.

2018 — Interview with Recode
Controversial Unverifiable

It's not an experiment if you know it's going to work.

Undated — Interview (general sentiment, often quoted)
Controversial Unverifiable

I believe in the long term. I believe in the customer.

2013 — Interview with Charlie Rose
Controversial Unverifiable

We are not competitors with bookstores. We are competitors with sleep.

1990s — Early Amazon interview (paraphrased, exact quote hard to pinpoint)
Controversial Unverifiable

If you don't understand the details of your business, you are going to fail.

2010 — Interview with Harvard Business Review
Controversial Unverifiable

It's always Day 1.

2016 (most prominent letter) — Frequent mantra at Amazon, explained in Letters to Shareholders
Controversial Unverifiable

We've had three big ideas at Amazon that we've stuck with for 18 years, and they're the reason we're successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.

2016 — Letter to Shareholders
Controversial Unverifiable

I believe in the wisdom of crowds, and I believe in the wisdom of two pizza teams.

Undated (widely discussed concept) — Interview about Amazon's 'two-pizza team' rule
Controversial Unverifiable