Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, was this year’s commencement speaker at Princeton. In his address he tells the story of his summers in Texas on his grandparent’s ranch and the lesson he (painfully) learned about the difference between being clever and kind.

“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.”

It’s a wonderful speech, and I highly encourage you to read the whole thing.

Tags: AOK Thursday, Jeff Bezos, kindness, Princeton University