One of the things that I hope will distinguish Amazon.com is that we continue to be a company that defies easy analogy. This requires a lot of innovation, and innovation requires a lot of random walk.

The great thing about fact-based decisions is that they overrule the hierarchy.

Entrepreneurs must be willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time.

There are two ways to extend a business. Take inventory of what you're good at and extend out from your skills. Or determine what your customers need and work backward, even if it requires learning new skills. Kindle is an example of working backward.

I think that, ah, I'm a very goofy sort of person in many ways.

What I want to talk to you about today is the difference between gifts and choices. Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy - they’re given after all. Choices can be hard. You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you’re not careful, and if you do, it’ll probably be to the detriment of your choices.

We were hoping to build a small profitable company; and of course, what we've done is build a large, unprofitable company.