In this short interview of Jeff Bezos, now CEO/Founder of Amazon.com, he talks about how he decided to leave his safe cushy job for a startup, Amazon.com. I’ve shared many of his exact thoughts in the process to leaving my safe cushy job at GE to join a startup, UberCab. I really dig his outlook on the decision and his ability to simplify the decision making process.

No matter what your doing, in order to invest well you must be able to look past the immediate to see the future potential return. Luckily for me the decision to join a very early stage startup is an immediate gratification as well. I now have passion for what I’m working on, and this passion is a highly underrated thing. Passion is what will get you up in the morning with a hop in your step. It’s what will push you to call 5 more numbers after being hung up 10 times in a row. It gets you through the suck, and onto the fun.

I think the immediate passion Bezos had for the potential idea of Amazon is what allowed him, and what now allows me to to look past the potential short term risks, which probably aren’t even that significant, and invest in the future. When we define success in the shorter and long term with some level of passion required we see the best possible outcome. Amber says it well:

when we establish a personally relevant framework for success, we become more decisive and action-oriented. when we focus on minimizing regret rather than risk, we become more comfortable in the notion of taking risk. (which i then ask, which involves more risk: having regret or embracing uncertainty?)

establishing a framework allows us to make more decisions faster as we’re able to more easily see the big picture.

My framework for success includes enjoying the process. I wasn’t enjoying that process until very recently but keeping passion for my work at the forefront of my framework allows me to minimize the risks of a startup and invest in the future. Thanks Jeff.

Dear Associate,

Today we are excited to announce the launch of a new feature called Share on Twitter. You can access Share on Twitter from the Site Stripe and post to your Twitter account from Amazon detail pages in just two clicks.

The Share on Twitter feature is easy to use. Simply log in to your Amazon Associates account and then visit any detail page on Amazon.com. By clicking on the Share on Twitter button in the Site Stripe, a new window will open and an Amazon-generated message is pre populated in the ‘What are you doing?’ text area of your Twitter account (you may be asked to log in to your Twitter account). That message will include a shortened URL that already includes your Associates ID. You’ll have the option to edit this message or simply hit the ‘Update’ button to post to your Twitter account. When Twitter users click on the link in your post and make a qualifying sale, you’ll earn referral fees. That’s it.

Also, did you know that you can stay connected with Amazon Associates by following us on Twitter, becoming a fan on Facebook and joining our group on Linkedin?

Please tell us what you think of our new Share on Twitter feature using hashtag ‘#AMZNSOT’ on Twitter or contact us via the contact form. We want to hear from you!

Sincerely,

The Amazon Associates Program

Side note: In my opinion Amazon is a perfect acquirer for AdaptiveBlue who makes the in browser social tool GetGlue.com. It’s a perfect opportunity to immediately bring their customers all together and have probably the largest social network on the web. Yes, with the Glue technology implemented  correctly they could surpass FB and the social graph would all center around REAL PRODUCTS. The potential is ridiculous…this topic will get it’s own post in the future.