Jeff Bezos - Regret Minimization Framework

Jeff Bezos has a great interview where he talks about his decision to leave his cushy Wall Street job and start a website selling books. He talks about how he used a "regret minimization framework" where he projects himself into the future and imagines which decision he would regret the least. I have used this technique multiple times myself to help with otherwise fraught or overwhelming decisions, and I think it's a great way to shift your frame of reference. Interview where he describes it here: ▶ this video

Use Jeff Bezos 'Regret Minimization Framework' to decide [1]. Basically, when you are 80, will you regret having tried and possibly failed or regret having not tried at all? Granted you aren't going to be Amazon probabilistically but it will definitely make your life more interesting and put you in control of it and fully responsible for it. Personally I'd rather try and succeed or fail on my own than just be a cog in the machine and possibly be on a ship that sinks out of my control or merely latching onto success. I'd rather be the captain whether she sinks or sails smoothly, hopefully the latter. I went fully independent six years ago, originally just planning on a year, and there have been times of awesome and times of rough waters, but she is still sailing and it has been an adventure I know I won't regret having embarked on. Three of my six years are the highest revenues/income I have had annually in my career but one was the lowest ever, prepare for more volatility if you do. If you do, my recommendation is make good habits early, cut your costs, be disciplined, aim for revenues as early as possible, work hard but work smart, be sure to take time off, and especially enjoy your successes and learn from your failures. Ship on the regular, and if you aren't, kick it in gear to go all in. [1] ▶ this video

This question is eerily similar to my current situation: hoping to go on a 6 month sabbatical starting in 2017. My goal is to, basically, work on things that I've always dreamed of doing but haven't pursued because of the demands of everyday life. See Jeff Bezos' regret minimization framework for inspiration: ▶ this video . Imagine yourself at 80. What would you regret not doing?

Hearing Bezos's regret minimization framework was one of the things that helped to make an easier decision to leave my job to start a company (I left Amazon, ironically). Here is the original video which this quote is taken from: ▶ this video

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." -- Mark Twain "So I wanted to project myself forward to age 80 and say, 'Okay, now I’m looking back on my life. I want to have minimized the number of regrets I have.' I knew that when I was 80 I was not going to regret having tried this. I was not going to regret trying to participate in this thing called the Internet that I thought was going to be a really big deal. I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried. I knew that that would haunt me every day, and so when I thought about it that way it was an incredibly easy decision. And I think that’s very good." -- Jeff Bezos, Regret Minimization Framework ( ▶ this video )

Because I know such people, and it is inconceivable that one would notice one's childless status only before dying. Why does it seem strange to act so as to minimize future regret? That's just common sense. This principle guided Jeff Bezos, for one: ▶ this video

Jeff Bezos "Regret Minimization Framework" [1] A regret minimization framework "I wanted to project myself forward to age 80 and say, 'Okay, now I'm looking back on my life. I want to have minimized the number of regrets I have,'" explains Bezos. "I knew that when I was 80 I was not going to regret having tried this. I was not going to regret trying to participate in this thing called the Internet that I thought was going to be a really big deal. I knew that if I failed I wouldn't regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried. I knew that that would haunt me every day, and so, when I thought about it that way it was an incredibly easy decision." [1] ▶ this video

Jeff Bezos had some thoughts on this: ▶ this video Personally, I think you should get out of there before your brain turns to mush and falls out. Other posters are telling you to instead perceive it as a blessing to work on these things that you find mundane and boring, but I strongly disagree. To quote Paul Graham, "If you're worried that your current job is rotting your brain, it probably is." Don't quit, but start applying/interviewing for a new job. You will need to have a good explanation for why you're looking for a new job so quickly after starting, but that's doable. You're in a pretty strong position if you start interviewing for new jobs before quitting -- at least that makes it clear that you weren't fired, and it'll sound credible when you tell them that you're just not challenged enough by your current job.

Jeff Bezos' regret minimization framework: ▶ this video We genuinely wanted to fix the UX problems associated with porn.

wow you have lots of good feedback here in this thread... probably still requires you to parse through it all though... i have a feeling though this question has been asked multiple times by different people on HN i'll just add some thoughts (though it will likely be redundant to large degree) because I empathize with anyone who's seeking for guidance on life decisions (I know what it's like) 1) agree that you should think about product management where technical and social skills combined can be powerful but I'd recommend you do (2) below first 2) based on how you've described your state, inclined to agree that you should take a real hard look at what is the source of discontent with your life and not jump to conclusions that it's being an engineer (as suggested, it can be the project, company, other parts of your life, lack of challenge or growth, etc)... maybe it would help to take a vacation to an international destination in the developing world & rough it (no nice hotels or restaurants etc), live among the local people and think (suggested to get you out of your comfort zone) 3) people who say they are "bored" (even if just trying to simplify the communication in summary form) or describe a lack of passion for anything as an alternative... frankly, those are warning signs that you should iterate on (2) above for a bit. no one can tell you this though, you'll need to be in tune and aware enough to search your own gut for what's going on inside you 4) though self-help fol

mcbeth, We have a similar background, and in similar situation I left my job to go for it. I'll share my story here: After graduating from university, I joined HSBC's international management program where I worked for 3 and a half years. I was living the dream: getting paid a six figure package, living in a nice house and working decent hours (i.e. I had most evenings and weekends free and about 6 weeks of holiday a year). In a large organization like HSBC, getting work done takes time and a lot of consensus building. Sometimes the pace got frustrating but this was compensated by getting to travel the world. As part of the international management program, I moved to a different country about every 2 years to work in a different part of the bank. Traveling when you're young is exciting. I didn't have a girlfriend and in the short time I was with the bank, I lived first in London for 2 months, before moving to Shanghai for a year and a half and finally to Mexico City for two years. 3 months ago, at 25 years old, I left my job to start learning to code from scratch and start a start up. I left for some of the reasons you gave: politics was getting worse and I found myself taking more time trying to convince different parties and teams of my work than the time I took to do the work itself. But I didn't leave because the bank was so much more political than it was when I had started, I left because I wasn't prepared to put up with the politics and the red tape anymore. The diffe

This answer is in response to a question about why I left my job. The question was deleted before I posted my reply below: --------- It came down to asking myself these questions: * Jeff Bezo's Regret Minimization Framework Q: What will I regret when I'm 80 years old? What am I going to regret more: taking a shot at a dream and failing, or never having taken a shot at all? ( ▶ this video ) A: Taking a shot and failing. * Future Utility Framework Q: What's the realistic best case scenario end game? I.e. If I look at someone who's 15 years ahead of my in the same career path and has done a good job of getting promoted, recognized and rewarded, am I happy doing what he's doing in 15 years? A: No. * Money and risk Q: I'm 25 with 3 years of work experience at a major international bank, what's going to happen if I screw this up and waste 3 years of my life? A: I'll get a job at 28. I'll probably make less money, but 3 years of work experience isn't too bad. Q: What if you never get such a sweet job? USD 100k is a lot of money for a 25 year old! A: I don't have kids, I don't have a mortgage, I don't have debts and I do have a enough savings to tide me over for a few years. It means that I won't live with the same degree of financial freedom (e.g. watching my spending, going on fewer holidays, eating out less, etc.) but it's a price I'm prepared to pay. For most people, the last few questions are going to be the most important. Being relatively young, not having liabilities and instead h