Q: How do you deal with stress, with pressure, with setbacks, with disappointments?

Jeff Bezos:

Do something you're very passionate about, and don't try to chase what is kind of the "hot passion" of the day. I think we actually saw this- I think you see it all over the place in many different contexts. I think we saw it in the Internet world quite a bit, where, you know, at the sort of the peak of the Internet mania in-say, 1999, you found people who were very passionate of something, and they kind of left that job and decided, "I'm going to do something on the Internet" because it's, you know, it was almost like the 1849 Gold Rush, in a way. And that almost never works.

So you really need to be very clear with yourself. And I think one of the best ways to do that is this notion of projecting yourself forward to age 80, looking back on your life, and trying to make sure you've minimized the number of regrets you have.

That works for career decisions. It works for family decisions. I have a, 14-month-old son, and it's very easy for me to--if I think about myself when I'm 80, I know I want to watch that little guy grow up, and I don't want to be 80 and think, "Shoot! You know, I- I missed that whole thing, and I don't have the kind of relationship with my son that I wished I had;" and so on.

Q: If a young person came to you for advice- "How do I make the most out of my life?"-what would you say to them?

Jeff Bezos:

Do something you're very passionate about, and don't try to chase what is kind of the "hot passion" of the day. I think we actually saw this- I think you see it all over the place in many different contexts. I think we saw it in the Internet world quite a bit, where, you know, at the sort of the peak of the Internet mania in-say, 1999, you found people who were very passionate of something, and they kind of left that job and decided, "I'm going to do something on the Internet" because it's, you know, it was almost like the 1849 Gold Rush, in a way. And that almost never works.

So you really need to be very clear with yourself. And I think one of the best ways to do that is this notion of projecting yourself forward to age 80, looking back on your life, and trying to make sure you've minimized the number of regrets you have.

That works for career decisions. It works for family decisions. I have a, 14-month-old son, and it's very easy for me to--if I think about myself when I'm 80, I know I want to watch that little guy grow up, and I don't want to be 80 and think, "Shoot! You know, I- I missed that whole thing, and I don't have the kind of relationship with my son that I wished I had;" and so on.