Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon.com (the largest retailer on the web).
In this Princeton University graduation address, he tells the story about the difference between gifts and choices.
In his introduction he tells the story of a caravan ride with his grandfather and grandmother over a summer vacation. His grandmother was a smoker and he hated the smell. During the course of the ride he tried to keep himself busy making useless calculations about gas milage and grocery spending, when he remembered an ad campaign that said: 'for every puff on a cigarette, two minutes is taken from your life.' So he did the math for his grandmother, expecting to be applauded for his cleverness.
“At two minutes per puff, you’ve taken nine years off of your life.”
His grandmother burst into tears.
His grandfather pulled off the road and said to him: “Jeff, one day you will understand that it is harder to be kind than clever.”
Some questions to think about:
"When you are 80 years old and quietly narrating back the story of your life, the telling that will be most meaningful will not be the gifts you were given, it will be the series or choices you have made." - Jeff Bezos