Conform or ?

March 19, 2025

Jeff Bezos' final letter as Amazon CEO is a masterpiece:

The world wants you to be typical – in a thousand ways, it pulls at you. Don’t let it happen... You have to pay a price for your distinctiveness, and it’s worth it.

That's how trillion dollar companies are built.

Perspective.

The world - or more precisely, the people around you - aren't invested in your uniqueness. If anything, your environment is always seeking equilibrium, and most often at your expense. "Conform - or else!" is the message. Even in celebrating your exceptionalism, there is a frame being fitted around its definition - exceptional, sure, but not too exceptional lest it make the grey masses uncomfortable.

The price you pay for truly breaking the frame and charting your own path is worth it, says Jeff Bezos, but only if you're prepared to pay it.

Comfort or strife. Exponential growth or a nice cozy lifestyle business you can leave to your kids (who'll sell it off the minute you hand it over). It's not a choice most will ever face - or want to face.

But it's worth contemplating.