Create more than you consume

[pinkytoe]

I read Jeff Bezos' final letter to shareholders as CEO and he uses the phrase "create more than you consume" several times. What does that mean to you?

[bae]

"Leave the place better than you found it."

[catherine]

Make things rather than take things

[razz]

Give of your uniqueness rather than take of others' efforts.

[Rogar]

Take only photographs, leave only footprints?

It would be interesting to hear Bezos philosophy on consumption, but I think in context he's saying to give more than you take.

[Yppej]

To me it means Bezos sees himself as part of a superior creative class and looks down on people who do uncreative grunt work even though the fact that they do this work frees up his time so he can be creative.

[LDAHL]

Create more than you consume and accumulate the difference.

[Gardnr]

I'm stepping down so you can shop less now:~) https://www.memesmonkey.com/images/memesmonkey/0a/0a297a876d0f031c9bb57887ad3d9f26.jpeghttps://www.memesmonkey.com/topic/baby+laughing#&gid=1&pid=1

[pinkytoe]

I googled the phrase and it is used frequently by those promoting superior human achievement. Excel by not consuming your hours with routine, non-creative actions and thoughts. Innovate and create value through your actions. Blah.

[ApatheticNoMore]

outside of the context of Bezos, a lot of creativity/art consumes stuff as well (well think if it creates physical things anyway).

inside the context of Bezos: it means all the goods will be made in China but won't say where they are made (a question asked of every single product seems to be "where is it made"? but notice despite this interest Amazon never just provides this information), they'll consume way more resources than necessary in the name of 2 day shipping (when really did you need that for most things? how is this not the very definition of excessive consumption?), you'll build your commercial business of leveraging lack of sales taxes and government non-enforcement, and workers will be consumed and ground down in the process, and there is still no union.

[razz]

I googled the phrase and it is used frequently by those promoting superior human achievement. Excel by not consuming your hours with routine, non-creative actions and thoughts. Innovate and create value through your actions. Blah.

It is a good thought to remind oneself of the importance of each individual's contribution and impact. If a phrase has been used before in some form does not make it less worthy. Thanks for posting the OP as it made me aware of it.

[LDAHL]

It’s important to emit inspirational phrases like this to shareholders who might otherwise demand a dividend.

[catherine]

I googled the phrase and it is used frequently by those promoting superior human achievement. Excel by not consuming your hours with routine, non-creative actions and thoughts. Innovate and create value through your actions. Blah.

Yeah, if you consider the source it could be a 'belch..'--keep your workers creating for you--but I like to look at it in another context--a more self-actualizing one. I've also heard this idea in the context of "Do you want to be actualized or entertained?" meaning do you want to be engaged in activities that fulfill you and your potential and make you happy or do you want to passively sit though life as a spectator?

I think of that author I've mentioned before, William Coperthwaite, who wrote "A Handmade Life" and he had no TV or any entertainment devices, but he crafted his own chairs and his own eating utensils, getting joy out of making things that were both beautiful and functional. You don't have to sit in a yurt carving spoons, but you could spend your days "creating" health in people like Gardnr does, or "creating" safe communities like bae does, or creating fields of lilies like iris lilies does. Or, you could shop till you drop.

I prefer to interpret Bezos's saying that way.

[happystuff]

Don't care about the "who" that is saying it, but I like the phrase as well as the ones others have posted. To me, it is a reminder of many things as well as to be aware of my own unnecessary excesses.

[iris lilies]

Pinkytoe, this is a wonderful idea for a thread!

[LDAHL]

I prefer to interpret Bezos's saying that way.

I interpret it as persuade your workforce and shareholders to contribute more for less, and you’ll be able to afford an ex wife and and a fleet of space ships.

[KayLR]

Make the best of the time you have---and determine for yourself what your "best" is.

[catherine]

I interpret it as persuade your workforce and shareholders to contribute more for less, and you’ll be able to afford an ex wife and and a fleet of space ships.

You are so. cynical. Thou doth protest too much. I think you're a closet socialist.

[LDAHL]

I think you're a closet socialist.

To paraphrase a great man, I will not insult your intelligence by inferring you believe what you just said.

I spent seven years in an unflattering uniform because I wanted to spare my country the misery the great socialist tyrannies were inflicting on anyone in their power.

I spent forty years or so building up a pool of capital that I would be loathe to exchange for a ration card.

I would not trust Bernie and AOC with my lunch order, much less my liberty and economic future.

When the left talks about “unfettered capitalism”, I can easily imagine being one of the people they slap the cuffs on.

I will take the occasional billionaire uttering platitudes over a bureaucracy issuing diktats anytime.

If our culture has indeed become so degraded that we allow ourselves be herded down the road to serfdom, I promise to “stand athwart history yelling stop”.

[catherine]

To paraphrase a great man, I will not insult your intelligence by inferring you believe what you just said.



I'm not insulted. It was a joke. I thank you for your service, and I respect you opinion, however it may differ from mine.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I googled the phrase and it is used frequently by those promoting superior human achievement. Excel by not consuming your hours with routine, non-creative actions and thoughts. Innovate and create value through your actions. Blah.

yea for the original quote the concept is supposed to be artistic I suppose and the consumption non-material (mostly), so it's supposed to be don't just consume content, create it or something (we will leave aside how much value a lot of "content" has anyway ha). Don't just consume news, create. But I don't see why Bezos is anyone I should take life advice from, so probably kind of just mouthing meaningless platitudes going on there.