If you have a business model that relies on customers being misinformed, you better start working on changing your business model.

I think if people read more, that is a better world.

I try to spend my time on areas that I think are important for the future, and where I think I can add value.

If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.

If you invent frequently and are willing to fail, then you never get to that point where you really need to bet the whole company.

If everything you do needs to work on a three-year time horizon, then you’re competing against a lot of people, But if you’re willing to invest on a seven-year time horizon, you’re now competing against a fraction of those people, because very few companies are willing to do that. Just by lengthening the time horizon, you can engage in endeavours that you could never otherwise pursue. At Amazon we like things to work in five to seven years. We’re willing to plant seeds, let them grow—and we’re very stubborn. We say we’re stubborn on vision and flexible on details.

Advertising is the price you pay for unremakable thinking.