Thinking long-term, optimism, and what to work on

Welcome back to the Z Fellows newsletter! Every Monday we share 3 ideas - to help you build companies, ship products, and create your life's work.

1: Jeff Bezos on Thinking Long-Term

“In this turbulent global economy, our fundamental approach remains the same. Stay heads down, focus on the long term, and obsess over customers. Long-term thinking levers our existing abilities and lets us do new things we couldn’t otherwise contemplate. It supports the failure and iteration required for innovation, and it frees us to pioneer in unexplored spaces. Seek instant gratification—or the elusive promise of it—and chances are you’ll find a crowd ahead of you.”

— Jeff Bezos (2008 Shareholder Letters)

Source: Invent & Wander

2: Sam Altman on Optimism, Iteration, & Inspiration

“Optimism, obsession, self-belief, raw horsepower, and personal connections are how things get started.”

“Fast iteration can make up for a lot; it’s usually ok to be wrong if you iterate quickly. Plans should be measured in decades, execution should be measured in weeks.”

“Inspiration is perishable and life goes by fast. Inaction is a particularly insidious type of risk.”

— Sam Altman

Source: What I Wish Someone Had Told Me

3: Naval Ravikant on What to Work On

"What you should be doing when you're creating a startup, is not 'what space is hot', or 'what resources can I bring to there.' It's what knowledge do I have? As Peter Thiel says - what is a secret, what is a thing that I believe to be true that other people don't - that I have an intellectual obsession around.

If you've been obsessed with the space for some time - for whatever reason. It was a hobby, you couldn't look away, you were really fascinated by it, you figured something out.

And because you figured something out, you can bet on that with deep conviction."

Source: Fireside Chat with Naval Ravikant

Best of The Week

See you next Monday,

- Jay + The Z Fellows Team

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