Jeff Bezos wrote his first letter to Amazon shareholders in 1997. Amazon had just gone public and Bezos told investors he would be making decisions for the long term and that short term Wall Street reactions would not influence his direction and decisions for the company. In 1999, Barron’s put “Amazon.bomb” on its cover. By late 2001, Amazon’s stock suffered a major fall. It plummeted below $6 per share. Investors were not happy. But Bezos kept building warehouses, improving Amazon software, and working on customer trust. And he attached his first 1997 letter to every annual report. He wanted investors to trust his long term vision. 

With his long-term ideas and principles for making Amazon work and delivering on investor expectations, Bezos invested in a system to make his company thrive. These are four things you need to become a long-term thinker yourself.

Long-term thinking is almost always useless if it’s ambiguous. That’s why you need to pick a number. You could start with five years. Or ten years. Any number that works for you. Now write that number in a notebook and tie it to your goal . Bezos linked Amazon’s long-term success to market leadership and consistent customer trust. You can use the same approach or principle for your life or career. What do you want in your life? What are your future career goals? Are you working towards a specific health goal? What’s your goal at your present job? Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

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