Jeff Bezos sat down with Andrew Ross Sorkin this week at the 2024 New York Times DealBook Summit to discuss what’s next for Amazon and Blue Origin, share business insights, and more. Bezos doesn’t do a lot of interviews but when he does he delivers. This is so good. You can find the full hour-long interview here, with some of my favorite parts below (paraphrased).

1. Advice for building businesses at scale: One observation I would have is that I think it’s generally human nature to overestimate risk and underestimate opportunity. I think entrepreneurs, in general, would be well advised to try and bias against that piece of human nature. The risks are probably not as big as you perceive, and the opportunities may be bigger than you perceive….The second thing I would point out is that thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

2. People wonder why the United States has so much tech and business success and dynamism. There are many reasons but the biggest is that we have an incredible risk capital system that is very hard to duplicate in other countries. You can raise $15MM of seed capital to do something that only has a 10% chance of working — and that’s crazy! But the investor’s expected value is still positive.

3. The world is so interesting right now. We are in multiple golden ages at once, including robotics, where I’m a big believer.

4. On spending time between Amazon and Blue Origin: I’m really lame at this retirement thing. I’m in meetings from 9am to 7pm and then read technical documents. Ninety-five percent of my time with Amazon is in AI. AI is like electricity - it will go everywhere into every application.

5. Big leaders have to do just a few things — they have to identify big ideas; they have to enforce execution of those ideas; and they have to develop the next generation of leaders.

6. You have to have optimism and energy to be a founder. I don’t know how you can be a glum Eeyore-type founder.

7. I gave up on being well understood a long time ago. It takes a lot of energy and I would probably fail, as a public ​figure.​ People overfocus on wealth in our culture and they think I’m focused on it. I don’t wake up asking ​myself how I will exercise my power.​ I consider myself an inventor and a wanderer. I’m a tinkerer, and having a whiteboard and a group of people around me to invent makes me happy.

8. On Blue Origin: I think it’s going to be the best business that I’ve ever been involved in, but it’s going to take a while.

Comedian Matteo Lane has a bit about this — his barista once wrote “Potato” on his cup. His stand-up routine is gold:

Here's the thing.. um..when you hear potato — just stop writing on the cup. That's when you say: “I'm sorry, I heard potato. Wow, what is your name??” I mean, what barista is like “Ugh! The fifth potato today!?"

Taking the effort to personally write down a customer’s name is winning customer service. We find our baristas endearing, we talk and post about it, and sometimes add it to our stand-up routine. Starbucks gets free advertising, and we get a reminder to visit. Frankly, it’s sometimes disappointing when my name doesn’t come out funny. By the way, if you want a funny version of your Starbucks name, there’s a website you can try called What’s My Starbucks Name?

Remember this the next time you consider taking away an opportunity for human connection in customer service, and replacing it with “technology that’s better”, like a computer-printed sticker that you place askew on a coffee cup. Sometimes, all you need is a sharpie to create moments that matter.

I was reminded today that seven years ago I had the good fortune of a barista naming me “Singh”. I found it so funny and heart warming that I took a picture of it, shared it with my friends, and created a moment of connection. And, I’m doing it again now. A big thank you from me to that barista.

What are some of your memorable Starbucks names?

Niccol previously spent an impactful six years at Chipotle, including tackling food safety concerns, doubling Chipotle’s revenue, increasing profits by seven times, and the stock price by eight times.

Hired to turnaround Starbucks’ decline, Niccol’s letter reminds us what Starbucks stands for, and what it’s North Star is. He shares it’s existing problems, identifies the U.S. stores as an early opportunity for improvement, and the four areas that he will begin working on.

His writing is clear, concise, and doesn’t use corporate jargon. It has a regular cadence, making it easier to follow.

As a fan and long time customer of Starbucks, I’ve been sad to experience their declining customer experience, food quality, and store cleanliness — as recently as this morning (even the process to send store feedback via the Starbucks website leaves a lot of room for improvement). I’m rooting for their turnaround.

Niccol and his team have a lot of hard work ahead to right the ship. But, a CEO who can communicate clearly to 400,000+ employees and hundreds of millions of customers and shareholders around the world is a good start.

Today, I’m making a commitment: We’re getting back to Starbucks. We’re refocusing on what has always set Starbucks apart — a welcoming coffeehouse where people gather, and where we serve the finest coffee, handcrafted by our skilled baristas. This is our enduring identity. We will innovate from here.

- Brian Niccol | September 10th, 2024

Read the full letter here.

"Dreams are fun when they are distant. The imagination loves to play with possibilities when there is no risk of failure.

But when you find yourself on the verge of action, you pause. You can feel the uncertainty of what lies ahead. Thoughts swirl. Maybe this isn't the right time? Failure is possible now.

In that moment—in that short pause that arises when you stand face to face with your dream—is the entirety of life. What you do in that pause is the crucible that forges you. It is the dividing line between being the type of person who thinks about it or the type of person who goes for it.

When I really think about it, I want that moment to be my legacy. Not that I won or lost. Not that I looked good or looked like a fool. But that when I had something I really wanted to do, I went for it."

- James Clear

If you’ve ever taken a risk, made a hard decision, or ventured towards something you’ve yearned for — remember the pause of uncertainty that preceded you going for it. Appreciate and be grateful for that moment, for it is a moment that forged you.

What I love about this discussion (it’s over three hours long — treat it like a mini audio book rather than a long interview) is how Schultz compellingly explains the entire story of Starbucks, including the economic model and challenges of creating a speciality coffee category, and ties it back to the every day mission of the company.

I appreciate his missionary zeal and obsession for the customer experience, while speaking plainly and simply. This discussion, recorded in June 2024, includes problems Starbucks is currently facing, and foreshadows the appointment of Starbucks’ newest CEO, Brian Niccol, to turn around the company.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

1. We’re not a beverage company serving coffee. We are a coffee company serving people.

2. We’re not in the transaction business. We have to execute transactions, but that has to go through the lens of being an experience business, an experience place. People are longing for human connection.

3. We cannot continue to allow the mobile app to be a runaway train that is going to consistently dilute the integrity of the experience of Starbucks…The mobile app is the biggest Achilles heel for Starbucks….Everyone shows up, and all of a sudden we got a mosh pit, and that’s not Starbucks.

4. The problem when you get this big is you start thinking about large numbers. But if you reduce it to the lowest common denominator, one store, one cup of coffee, one customer, one partner, and what if all of that works?

5. The shareholder is not the primary person. It’s the Starbucks partner in the green apron, which is the cloth of the company. If we exceed the expectations of the cloth of the company and our people, shareholders and customers are going to win.

6. The worst thing that Starbucks could become is a utility. Scale and ubiquity creates complexity. Complexity demands efficiency. But we are in a business where that touch point between the customer and the barista has to be protected and has to be elevated. Now, you get stores that are so busy where the barista can’t even look up.

7. Most founder-led companies are entrepreneurially driven. It’s not that they’re not following the rules. They’re making the rules, especially if you’re creating an industry that did not exist. Founder leaves…and companies lose not only the extent of the entrepreneurial DNA, but they lose the ability to be on offense. The worst thing that a company can do like a sports team, is start playing defense because you’re afraid to fail.

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Three Larson books I’ve enjoyed:

1. The Devil in the White City: This book is a New York Times best-seller, National Book Award finalist, and winner of the 2004 Edgar Award in the Best Fact Crime category. Leonardo DiCaprio liked this book so much he bought the film rights. Set around the time of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, this book details the fascinating lives of two main characters set against the splendor of the city and the gilded age: Daniel Burnham, the brilliant architect of the World’s Fair; and Henry Holmes, a charming doctor who is widely considered to be the United States’ first serial killer.

2. Thunderstruck: This book is an engrossing tale of how Marconi establishes wireless communication as a viable commercial technology while he races to raise funds, establish his fledgling firm, and battle competitors. What makes this book remarkable is how Larson masterfully interweaves Marconi with Hawley Crippen — a fugitive who has nearly committed the perfect murder.

3. In The Garden of Beasts: This book details a four year period in 1930’s Germany after Hitler came to power and President Roosevelt chooses William Dodd to be US Ambassador to Germany. This is a fascinating window, via Dodd and his daring daughter, into Berlin diplomatic circles and the Nazi regime, where diplomats regularly mixed with Nazi leaders like Goebbels, Goring, and Rudolf Diels (one time head of the Gestapo) and life seemed normal until it didn’t. It is an example of how things can change slowly, then suddenly. Dodd’s meetings with Hitler are also recorded.

One of the many things Amazon has taught me is how to be a better writer; and one of my great joys of the blog has been sharing and connecting with hundreds of people, while leaving behind notes for my two boys.

The past year has taught me that managing my energy is more important than managing my time. If I do more things that give me energy I’ll manage to find the time to do them. It’s how I’ve managed to average more than a post per week, and publish sixty times.

For this occasion, I’ll share four popular posts that you might find useful:

1. Learning from Amazon: If you'd like to learn how Amazon operates, innovates, and became an invention machine, here are three book recommendations.

2. Write For Your Life: A book recommendation that hopefully encourages you to write more.

3. Did What I Say Mean Anything To You? One of my most popular posts, sharing insightful advice from Oprah Winfrey on the most important thing we can give to each other.

4. Paying With Your Life: Powerful advice, from Oliver Burkeman, for managing our most valuable currency.

Thank you for reading, and for your connection and encouragement. I appreciate it, and it means a lot to me.

If you’d like to learn how public opinion can be created and changed, it helps to understand the fascinating theory of the “Spiral Of Silence”.

The “Spiral Of Silence” is a communication theory proposed by political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in the 1970s.

The theory claims that people are less likely to express their opinions if they believe their views are in the minority. The fear of social isolation and rejection will cause people to remain silent, even on issues they feel passionately about. This silence reinforces views that have the loudest voices and are perceived to be in the majority.

The spiral works as follows:

1. People notice that their opinions are losing ground, and become more reserved when expressing their opinions in public.

2. This reluctance to speak up reinforces the perception that the minority opinion is marginalized, which causes further self-censorship.

3. This cycle continues, creating a "downward spiral" effect, until no one in this group speaks up.

The spiral of silence, and need for social acceptance, can have a chilling effect on the free exchange of ideas, critical thinking, and innovation, as individuals become hesitant to challenge the “perceived majority” opinion.

For an example of the Spiral of Silence, read the classic book “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Andersen. It takes a child to call out what the adults refused to acknowledge.

When you recognize and counter the Spiral of Silence, you may be surprised to find how popular a previously "unpopular" opinion is.

Andre Agassi is an eight-time major champion (seven-time runner-up), and the first of two men to achieve the career Golden Slam (career Grand Slam and Olympic gold medal). He achieved the #1 ranking in 1995, sank to No. 141 in 1997 after a number of personal problems, and returned to #1 in 1999, after which he had the most successful run of his career.

What I love about this book is how Agassi tells a relatable story about the triumphs and struggles of life, through the lens of his tennis. The book masterfully weaves the big and the small: including his tormented relationship with his father; his intricate internal dialogue during pivotal tennis points; and his courtship of Steffi Graf.

Here are some quotes that resonated with me:

1. It's no accident, I think, that tennis uses the language of life. Advantage, service, fault, break, love, the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature. Even the structure of tennis, the way the pieces fit inside one another like Russian nesting dolls, mimics the structure of our days. Points become games become sets become tournaments, and it's all so tightly connected that any point can become the turning point. It reminds me of the way seconds become minutes become hours, and any hour can be our finest. Or darkest. It's our choice.

2. Freed from the thoughts of winning, I instantly play better. I stop thinking, start feeling. My shots become a half-second quicker, my decisions become the product of instinct rather than logic.

3. In tennis you stand face-to-face with the enemy, trade blows with him, but never touch him or talk to him, or anyone else. The rules forbid a tennis player from even talking to his coach while on the court. People sometimes mention the track-and-field runner as a comparably lonely figure, but I have to laugh. At least the runner can feel and smell his opponents. They're inches away. In tennis you're on an island. Of all the games men and women play, tennis is the closest to solitary confinement.

4. Life will throw everything but the kitchen sink in your path, and then it will throw the kitchen sink. It's your job to avoid the obstacles. If you let them stop you or distract you, you're not doing your job, and failing to do your job will cause regrets that paralyze you more than a bad back.

5. There's a lot of good waiting for you on the other side of tired. Get yourself tired, Andre. That's where you're going to know yourself. On the other side of tired.

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I very frequently get the question: 'What's going to change in the next ten years?' And that is a very interesting question; it's a very common one. I almost never get the question: 'What's not going to change in the next ten years?' And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important of the two -- because you can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time.

In our retail business, we know that customers want low prices, and I know that's going to be true ten years from now. They want fast delivery; they want vast selection. It's impossible to imagine a future ten years from now where a customer comes up and says, 'Jeff I love Amazon; I just wish the prices were a little higher,' or 'I love Amazon; I just wish you'd deliver a little more slowly.' Impossible. And so the effort we put into those things, spinning those things up, we know the energy we put into it today will still be paying off dividends for our customers ten years from now.

When you have something that you know is true, even over the long term, you can afford to put a lot of energy into it.

What’s not going to change in the next ten years, and will remain stable in time? What can you invest in or put energy into now, that will still pay dividends in an uncertain future? It’s something worth pondering, professionally and personally.

What I love about this book is the vivid story telling, the laugh-out-loud humor, and Smith’s down-to-earth insights on his sacrifices and emotional turmoil. This book also educates — Smith details the early hip-hop movement, how “break dancing” arose, and how an A-list Hollywood celebrity has to travel and protect themselves.

Here are some quotes that resonated with me:

1. If you think about any movie you’ve ever liked, any character you’ve ever rooted for, it’s because they wanted something you could relate to and they struggled, risking life and limb, to achieve it. What’s true about movies is also true about life: You tell me what you want, and I’ll tell you who you are.

2. Being realistic is the most common path to mediocrity.

3. For my entire career, I have been absolutely relentless. I’ve been committed to a work ethic of uncompromising intensity. And the secret to my success is as boring as it is unsurprising: You show up and you lay another brick. Pissed off? Lay another brick. Bad opening weekend? Lay another brick. Album sales dropping? Get up and lay another brick. Marriage failing? Lay another brick.

4. Life isn't how many breaths you take, but it's the moments that take your breath away.

5. Life is learning. Period. Overcoming ignorance is the whole point of the journey. You’re not supposed to know at the beginning. The whole point of venturing into uncertainty is to bring light to the darkness of our ignorance. I heard a great saying once: ‘Life is like school, with one key difference — in school you get the lesson, then you take the test. But in life, you get the test, and it’s your job to take the lesson.

6. It’s respectable to lose to the universe. It’s a tragedy to lose to yourself.

7. Change can be scary, but it’s utterly unavoidable. In fact, impermanence is the only thing you can truly rely on. If you are unwilling or unable to pivot and adapt to the incessant, fluctuating tides of life, you will not enjoy being here. Sometimes, people try to play the cards that they wish they had, instead of playing the hand they’ve been dealt. The capacity to adjust and improvise is arguably the single most critical human ability.

8. Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.

9. The thing about money, sex, and success is that when you don’t have them, you can justify your misery—shit, if I had money, sex, and success, I’d feel great! However misguided that may be, it psychologically permeates as hope. But once you are rich, famous, successful—and you’re still insecure and unhappy—the terrifying thought begins to lurk: Maybe the problem is me.

10. Money & success don't change people; they merely amplify what is already there.

1. “We punish ourselves for not knowing. We always complain about what we could and should have done, and how much of a mistake it was that we did that thing, that unforgivable thing. We beat on ourselves for being so stupid, regretting our choices and lamenting the horrible decisions we make. But here’s the reality — that’s what life is.” ― Will Smith

2. “And when each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.” — Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

3. “The cost of overthinking is the life you could have lived.” — Unknown

4. The song: "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of" by U2. A tribute to Michael Hutchence, the lead singer of INXS, this song is meant to let you know that your hard times will pass. This acoustic performance by Bono and The Edge, on David Letterman, is my favorite version.

As the song goes, “It’s just a moment. This time will pass.”

Perry doesn’t hold back, and shares his journey as a kid growing up in Canada (his mom was press secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, father of Canada’s current Prime Minister), to becoming one of the most famous actors in the world, to falling into the throes of addiction and countless rehabs. 

What I like about the book is learning how Perry ended up as Chandler Bing on Friends, his well-written Hollywood stories, and learning about the disease of addiction.

Some quotes from the book that stood out to me:

1. When I was alone, I was lonely, and then when I was with people, I was lonely, too.

2. You have to get famous to know that it’s not the answer. And nobody who is not famous will ever truly believe that.

3. I think you actually have to have all of your dreams come true to realize they are the wrong dreams.

4. [about Friends]: “You can track the trajectory of my addiction if you gauge my weight from season to season—when I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny, it’s pills. When I have a goatee, it’s lots of pills.”

5. Alcoholics hate two things: the way things are and change.

6. Addiction is like the Joker. It just wants to see the whole world burn.

7. To quote my therapist, “Reality is an acquired taste,” and I had failed to acquire it.

8. Martin Sheen turned to me and said, 'Do you know what Saint Peter says to everyone who tries to get into heaven?' When I looked blankly, the man who was once president said, 'Peter says, 'Don't you have any scars?' And when most would respond proudly, 'Well no, no I don't,' Peter says, 'Why not? Was there nothing worth fighting for?’

9. Nobody ever thinks that something really bad is going to happen to them. Until it does.

10. It is very odd to live in a world where if you died, it would shock people but surprise no one.

Seven years ago, on May 25th, 2017, I was at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, NYC, anticipating the ringing of the market’s opening bell.

Our company (Appian) was about to transition to life as a public company. I had begun working here fifteen years earlier, a week after completing graduate school, and was the sixteenth longest tenured employee at the time. That day, our opening bell ceremony and IPO was broadcast live to colleagues, family, and friends, who were celebrating around the world.

I can tell you that the “going public” communication to employees started more than a year before, and created both excitement and nervousness for many of us. In the time leading up to the event, we discussed it’s significance, talked about company history, and heard updates from our CEO about the process. Some of us felt nervous because we didn’t know if or how it would change the culture of the company (it did). On the day of the IPO, it felt surreal to be at the Nasdaq, and photos of us were even projected onto their billboard in Times Square (I’m pictured below with Mark Lynch, Appian’s CFO at the time, and current board member).

But, here’s my main takeaway. The euphoria of the actual IPO event wore off after a few months. And, what has remained to this day, is a deep feeling of gratitude for the opportunity of fifteen years of hard work, customers who believed in us, and the group of talented people that I spent countless hours building and experimenting with.

It is a magical feeling to be able to build something with a talented group of people, to learn and grow together, and compare battle scars with. When I add the close friends and relationships I developed over that time, and still maintain, I feel additionally blessed for the good fortune that things turned out the way they did.

Nothing is guaranteed, and luck plays a part in every outcome. But, I can tell you that when I was looking to join a tribe and make an impact, I intentionally optimized for learning, growth, and surrounding myself with talented and motivated people who I could learn from. I was fortunate to find it here. The IPO was an incredibly exciting bonus.

What stood out to me from this interview was his self-awareness and clear sense of what he was best at, as a guide to what the future would hold for him.

His interview is a good reminder for each of us to identify what we are best at and most enjoy doing, in order to best contribute to society.

Seven of his quotes that resonated with me:

1. If I look at myself and ask, "What am I best at and what do I enjoy most doing?" I think what I'm best at is creating sort of new innovative products. That's what I enjoy doing. I enjoy, and I'm best working with, a small team of talented people. That's what I did with the Apple II, and that's what I did with the Macintosh.

2. I personally, man, I want to build things. I'm 30. I'm not ready to be an industry pundit. I got three offers to be a professor during this summer, and I told all of the universities that I thought I would be an awful professor.

3. I don't think that my role in life is to run big organizations and do incremental improvements.

4. What I'm best at doing is finding a group of talented people and making things with them. I respect the direction that Apple is going in. But for me personally, you know, I want to make things. And if there's no place for me to make things there, then I'll do what I did twice before. I'll make my own place. You know, I did it in the garage when Apple started, and I did it in the metaphorical garage when Mac started.

5. I think the best use that society can put me to is to really do what I know how to do.

6. My philosophy is that everything starts with a great product. So, you know, I obviously believed in listening to customers, but customers can't tell you about the next breakthrough that's going to happen next year that's going to change the whole industry. So you have to listen very carefully. But then you have to go and sort of stow away—you have to go hide away with people that really understand the technology, but also really care about the customers, and dream up this next breakthrough. And that's my perspective, that everything starts with a great product. And that has its flaws. I have certainly been accused of not listening to the customers enough. And I think there is probably a certain amount of that that's valid.

7. If Apple just becomes a place where computers are a commodity item and where the romance is gone, and where people forget that computers are the most incredible invention that man has ever invented, then I'll feel I have lost Apple. But if I'm a million miles away and all those people still feel those things and they're still working to make the next great personal computer, then I will feel that my genes are still in there.

Jobs did get at least one thing wrong in the interview: “I helped shepherd Apple from a garage to a billion-and-a-half-dollar company. I'm probably not the best person in the world to shepherd it to a five- or ten-billion-dollar company, which I think is probably its destiny.”

What I love most about watching this show (seven episodes released thus far) is how much more fun and enlightening it makes watching a basketball game. It’s like visiting a country after learning the local language.

The hosts cover a vast variety of basketball concepts in depth, including Inverted Pick-and-Rolls, Post Splits, Ghost Screens, Top Locking, defensive schemes, optimal spacing, adjustments teams make in playoff series, and the evolution of the game.

Lebron even shared this insightful advice on the characteristics of high performing basketball teams:

The great teams know their strengths, and they go to their strengths. They avoid their weaknesses.

A great team would never throw the ball into the post to a guy, and expect him to score when that's not what he does. A great team would never run a pick and roll with a player if he's not a pick and roll player.

Nobody on that floor does something that they shouldn't be doing. This means a great team won't go through too many games where they have terrible possessions.

That's the difference between a great, a good, and a bad team.

I’ve always found this concept to translate well to the corporate world. Encourage your team and colleagues to identify, use, and celebrate their super powers, instead of dwelling on their weaknesses. Doing so makes for a great team.

Renaissance Technologies is the best performing investment firm of all time, with their flagship Medallion Fund posting 66% (!) average annual returns, before fees, for over 30 years.

More interestingly, Renaissance was founded in 1978 by mathematician Jim Simons, who passed away this week at the age of 85.

Simons has been called the pioneer of quantitative trading, and was one of the first to use machine learning, information theory, and state of the art computing, to build automated trading systems to identify and profit from investment opportunities.

Simons studied mathematics at MIT, and later Berkeley, from where he received his PhD at age 23. He went on to work for the US government on code breaking, taught math at Harvard, won the Oswald Veblen prize in Geometry for major contributions to the field, and chaired the math department at Stony Brook University.

At the age of 40, looking for a new challenge and with no formal training in trading or capital markets, he founded Renaissance to identify trading opportunities using innovative mathematical techniques, and large troves of market data.

In his later years, he founded Math for America, and became an established philanthropist.

What I loved about this story is learning how messy the process of innovation is, and how creativity is often harnessed by bring perspectives and ideas from different fields towards a common problem.

If you'd like to learn more about Jim Simons and Renaissance, besides the podcast, I enjoyed and recommend the excellent book "The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution" by Gregory Zuckerman.

And maybe, like me, you catch yourself worrying that your kids are growing up too fast, and will be leaving the nest before you know it. Or, maybe they already have.

Here are two quotes, about love and distance, that might make you feel better.

“If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together, there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart, I’ll always be with you.” — Winnie the Pooh

and,

How long will I give to you?

As long as I live through you.

However long you say.

How long will I love you?

As long as stars are above you.

And longer if I may.

— Ellie Goulding

Let us embrace fleeting moments with open arms. Let us celebrate unbreakable bonds that defy physical separation. And, let our love be a beacon in the ever-changing tides of life.

Happy parenting. You got this.

Anne Hathaway is an actress who has won numerous awards, including an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Primetime Emmy. Her films have grossed over $6.8 billion worldwide.

In a recent interview with The New York Times magazine, she spoke about her personal growth and evolution after achieving success, including celebrating over five years of sobriety.

Her insights on self-criticism, gratitude, and stress, struck a chord with me:

On self-criticism and not being grateful: “I was just stuck in this feeling. It’s that thing about, I want to achieve things, I want to grow, and you think, mistakenly, that the way you do that is to be really hard on yourself. You drive yourself by self-criticism. I won’t go into the specifics, but there was a moment in which I realized that in order to keep that narrative alive, I was going to have to deny so much. I just said: You’re just going to have to accept that if nothing else happens to you, you’ve had a really great life. You have been given gifts and opportunities. And for you to continue to walk on this path, not being grateful, I don’t think that’s really who you are. It felt like a light went on.”

On stress: “As a formerly chronically stressed young woman, I just remember thinking one day: You are taking this for granted. You are taking your life for granted. You have no idea. Something could fall through the sky, and that would be lights out. So when I find the old instincts rising, I just tell myself, You are not going to die stressed.”

Her words are a good reminder to pause and take note of our lives. You may have achieved a lot, and may continue achieving, growing, and learning.

But, you do not have to drive yourself with self-criticism, or die stressed. You’re just going to have to accept that if nothing else happens to you, you’ve had a really great life.

For the graduating class of 2006 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison , Bradley Whitford, actor on The West Wing, gave this advice, worth considering:

Take action. Every story you’ve ever connected with, every leader you’ve ever admired, every puny little thing that you’ve ever accomplished is the result of taking action. You have a choice. You can either be a passive victim of circumstance or you can be the active hero of your own life. Action is the antidote to apathy and cynicism and despair. You will inevitably make mistakes. Learn what you can and move on. At the end of your days, you will be judged by your gallop, not by your stumble.

At the end of your days, you will be judged by your gallop, not by your stumble.