[xyzelement]

> Just observe the colorful language from Bezos’ 2016 letter to shareholders: “Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1.” Is it just me, or is this just another way of saying: work hard or you will die.

The reason this author is confused/upset by the Bezos quote is because they are talking about the same sport but a different class.

If an olympic champion told you about their training and diet regiment, you'd say "this sounds horrible" but what you'd mean is "it's not for me, because I am not training for the olympics." On the flip-side if your goal was to be an olympic champ too, your reaction would be "this is what it takes, good to know."

Bezos wasn't setting himself up for an easy 9-5 and he wasn't building a me-too company. He was building Amazon into.. well.. what it is, an absolute champion across multiple industries. And perhaps doing that requires what he describes.

If you're not looking to build an Amazon and you're not looking to be a part of the culture that can do it, then of course "this sounds horrible." And that's OK, just realize you're saying that because "it's not for me, because I don't care about that." It could very well be for other people - and those people might have greater wealth and work engagement than you do as a result. And that's OK too.