Gifts vs Choices
I came across a great post on Fred Wilson’s Tumblr. It was a quote from Jeff Bezos Princeton Commencement speech (if you have a minute its worth the read!) where he recalls something his grandfather told him…
“My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said,
‘Jeff, one day you’ll understand that it’s harder to be kind than clever.’
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.”