The Secret to Wealth: A Jeff Bezos Perspective

Beginner

Task 1: Listen for Key Information 👂 Listen to the video and write down the answers to these questions with a short phrase or a single word.

1. What did the speaker want to sell on the internet?
2. What did Jeff Bezos want to start in his garage?
3. What are you told you should be proud of: your gifts or your choices?
4. What does the speaker say about a life of ease and comfort?

Task 2: Identify Who’s Who 🤔 Listen to the video and identify the role of each person.

• Dave: The narrator of the story
• Jeff Bezos: __________________
• Dave’s brilliant boss: __________________

Task 3: Complete the Sentence 📝 Listen to the video and complete the sentences with the missing words.

1. “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good __________________.”
2. “The choices that __________________ us, not our gifts.”
3. “Will you choose a life of ease or a life of service and __________________?”
4. “If you don’t love your work, you’re never going to be __________________ at it.”

Intermediate 

Task 1: Listen for Main Ideas 📖 Listen to the video and summarize the main idea of the following sections.

• Section 1 (0:00 – 1:10): The story of the speaker’s decision to leave his job to start a business.
• Section 2 (1:10 – 2:00): The story of Jeff Bezos’s initial idea and the speaker’s reaction to it.
• Section 3 (2:00 – end): The main message about being proud of your choices and living a life of service and adventure.

Task 2: Listen for Specific Details 🔍 Listen to the video and answer the questions with complete sentences.

1. What was the speaker’s brilliant boss’s advice?
2. What was Jeff Bezos’s “truth” when he was 26 years old?
3. What is the military phrase the speaker loves, and what does it mean?
4. What is one thing the speaker said he invented as a young boy?

Task 3: Paraphrase the Quote 🗣️ Listen to the video and explain the following quotes in your own words.

1. “I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing, and I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.”
2. “It’s the choices that define us, not our gifts.”
3. “Will you play it safe? Or will you be a little bit swashbuckling?”

Advanced 

Task 1: Listen for Implicit Meaning 🧠 Listen to the video and explain the deeper meaning behind these statements, based on the context.

• “He was already applauding himself going at the right way at the perfect time.”
• “Will inertia be your guide or will you follow your passions?”
• “Will you be a cynic or will you be a builder?”

Task 2: Note-Taking and Analysis ✍️ Listen to the video and take notes on the main concepts presented. Afterward, write a brief analysis of how the speaker uses a series of binary choices (e.g., bluff it out vs. apologize, play it safe vs. swashbuckling) to make his final argument more powerful. How does this rhetorical device make the message more memorable?

Task 3: Analyze the Language 🗣️ Listen to the video and focus on the vocabulary and phrases used.

1. Explain the meaning of the phrase “hit the jackpot” in the context of the video.
2. What does the speaker mean by a “calling“? How is it different from a job or a career?
3. The speaker mentions that a life of “service and adventure” would make you more proud when you are 80. What does the word “adventure” imply in this context?

Beginner 

Task 1: Matching Read the sentences about the video and match the first part of the sentence to the correct second part.

1. The speaker decided to start a company
2. Jeff Bezos wanted to be
3. The speaker said he wouldn’t regret trying and
4. You can be proud of your
5. A life of adventure is better than a life of

Sentences: a. choices. b. the richest man in the world. c. selling books on the internet. d. ease and comfort. e. failing.

Task 2: True or False Read the following sentences. Write “T” if the sentence is true or “F” if it is false, based on the video.

1. The speaker’s boss told him it was a good idea to start the company.
2. Jeff Bezos started a bookstore in his garage.
3. The speaker says you can be proud of your gifts.
4. The military phrase is “slow is smooth and smooth is fast.”
5. When you are 80, you will be more proud of a life of ease.

Task 3: Vocabulary and Definitions Read the following words from the video and match them to their simple definitions.

• brilliant:
• haunted:
• passion:
• dogma:
• relentless:

Definitions: a. a very strong feeling of love or enthusiasm. b. to continue in a determined way without stopping. c. very intelligent. d. to be worried or sad about something for a long time. e. a set of fixed beliefs.

Intermediate 

Task 1: Read for Specific Details Read the video and answer the following questions with details from the text.

1. What was the speaker doing at the financial firm in New York?
2. What did Jeff Bezos tell the speaker he was going to be someday?
3. What are some of the things the speaker invented as a young boy?
4. According to the speaker, what is the difference between a “job,” a “career,” and a “calling”?

Task 2: Find the Quotes Read the video carefully and find the quotes that match the descriptions below.

1. The quote that describes how the speaker felt about not trying at all.
2. The quote that defines what a “calling” is.
3. The quote that tells you what you should be proud of.
4. The quote that asks what you will do when you are in a tough situation.

Task 3: Summarize a Section Choose one of the following key ideas from the video and write a short paragraph (4-5 sentences) summarizing it. Explain the idea and use one of the examples from the video to support your summary.

• The importance of following your passion.
• The difference between gifts and choices.
• The choice between a life of ease and a life of service and adventure.

Advanced 

Task 1: Analyze Text Structure Read the video and analyze its structure. Answer the following questions.

1. How does the speaker’s use of a personal story about Jeff Bezos serve to introduce the broader themes of the talk?
2. The speaker presents a series of binary choices at the end of the video. What is the purpose of this rhetorical device? How does it make the message more impactful for the audience?
3. How does the final paragraph about “Jules Vern, Mark Twain, Galileo, Newton” tie all the ideas of the video together? What is the speaker’s overall message about the present time?

Task 2: Critical Reading and Interpretation Read the video and write a short response to the following questions.

1. The speaker says he was “laughing, scoffing, and justesting” at Bezos’s idea. What does this tell you about the speaker’s perspective at that time? How does it contrast with Bezos’s “truth”?
2. Explain the concept of “inertia” in the context of the video. How can it prevent a person from achieving their goals?
3. The speaker mentions being “proud of that choice” to follow a less safe path. What is the difference between being proud of a choice and being proud of the result of that choice?

Task 3: Vocabulary in Context Read the video and explain the meaning of the following words as they are used in the text.

• scoffing (Paragraph 2)
• haunted (Paragraph 3)
• entrap (Paragraph 4)
• swashbuckling (Paragraph 6)
• cynic (Paragraph 6)

Beginner

Task 1: Fill in the Blanks 📝

Read the following sentences about the video and fill in the blanks using words from the video.

• The speaker’s brilliant boss said that starting a company was a good idea, but an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good __________________.
• Jeff Bezos wanted to start a __________________ in his garage.
• As a young boy, the speaker was a garage __________________.
• The choices that __________________ us, not our gifts.
• You can choose a life of ease or a life of service and __________________.

Task 2: Write a Short Summary ✍️

Write a short paragraph (3-4 sentences) summarizing the story of Jeff Bezos. Explain his big idea and how the speaker reacted to it.

Task 3: Write a Short Story 📖

Imagine you have to make a difficult choice between something easy and something hard. Write a short story about the two choices and which one you would pick, based on the video’s advice.

Intermediate 

Task 1: Write a Persuasive Note 💌

Write a note to a friend who is afraid of trying something new because they might fail. Use the video’s ideas about being “haunted by a decision to not try at all” and being proud of your choices to persuade them to take a chance.

Task 2: Write a Journal Entry 📓

Imagine you are the speaker’s boss. Write a journal entry about your walk with him in Central Park. Explain why you gave him the advice you did and what you think about his decision to follow his passion.

Task 3: Write a Short Blog Post 💻

Write a short blog post titled, “Gifts vs. Choices.” Explain the difference between the two and why the speaker says it is more important to be proud of your choices. Use the example of being good at math to illustrate your point.

Advanced

Task 1: Write an Essay 📚

Write a short essay (2-3 paragraphs) analyzing the statement, “It’s the choices that define us, not our gifts.” Discuss how the video illustrates this idea through the stories of the speaker’s career change and Jeff Bezos’s ambitions.

Task 2: Write a Letter of Advice ✉️

Write a formal letter to a graduating high school or university student. Offer advice on how to live a meaningful life, using the video as a source. Use the concepts of a “calling,” a life of “service and adventure,” and the importance of being a “builder.”

Task 3: Analyze and Respond 🧐

The speaker presents a series of binary choices (e.g., “Will you bluff it out when you’re wrong? Or will you apologize?”). Choose three of these pairs and write an analysis of them. Explain what each choice means and why the speaker believes one is better than the other. Finally, respond with your own opinion on the choices.