Today marks my 12th work anniversary at Amazon, coincidentally also my last day. As I've weighed leaving a company I’ve spent so much time at, I've spent a lot of time pondering recently. One of the many skills I've learned from my time at Amazon is long-term thinking. Where I once thought in days, weeks, and months, I now spend a lot more time thinking in decades. And in this case here, reflecting on my past few decades, and contemplating the next few. My time at Amazon is filled with memories of working with incredible people at the very top of their field. Seemingly every day I've learned something new from the people around me. These lessons have turned to growth opportunities for myself, which in turn have turned to new career opportunities. This cycle has been my recipe for success, and if there's one thing I could share about how to be successful at Amazon, it would be this. But just a decade or so prior to Amazon, I had a period of pretty intense struggle. High school wasn't for me, so I dropped out and worked in warehouses and fast-food jobs. Living at the minimum wage in the US as a young adult eventually led to losing housing, where I spent some time sleeping on friends couches - and at what was probably my rock bottom - living in a friends broken down car, which I would push to a new spot each night to keep it from getting impounded. While this was one of the most challenging periods of my life, I have no doubt that this also fundamentally shaped who I've become. I saved every extra dollar I could to spend on books, self-educating in the absence of a formal education. I began working harder and longer hours than anyone around me. I'd go out of my way to find projects that nobody else took on, whether it be organizing and cleaning a back room that customers never saw, or pushing to take on a second job function. I took every opportunity that I could to better myself. This general approach and work ethic is exactly what enabled me to do well at Amazon, and I'm forever grateful for finding my way here in the first place, where I could experience so many new opportunities. So why share this manifesto that nobody asked for? Today I am leaving at the apex of my time at Amazon, and what I'd consider to be my dream role. I have spent the past 5 years working for the CTO of Amazon (Werner Vogels) who I'm fortunate to say has become a good friend, traveling to incredible places across the globe with him, and building and leading a team where I was able to hand pick the very best of the best. But I also have a new opportunity on the horizon, and for my next few decades to be as rich as the last few, it's time to again push forward. Take every opportunity life gives you, and do everything you can to be the absolute best at it. Never settle, think long-term, and find ways to have some fun along the way. Thank you to everyone who has been part of my journey at Amazon. I'll share what's next for me in a few weeks.
MAN, you've come a long way from our old days tracking down slow EBS volumes and paging EC2 to unbrick stuck droplets. Super amped for you, can't wait to see what comes next.
Well done and best wishes on the next adventure. Thank you for hiring me back in 2012 into premium support. Your loop was the hardest but the one I enjoyed the most.
Loved getting the chance to collaborate with you over the years! Excited to see you continue doing great things.
Travis Grizzel, you are good people. Your kindness, curiosity, and partnership was one that made working with you such a delight! Excited to see what’s next for you!
Travis Grizzel your story serves as an inspiration, reminding us that life is an adventure guided by a greater purpose. It encourages people to cultivate their "hustle muscle" and persistently pursue their goals. Your experiences offer a beacon of hope, demonstrating the possibilities that arise when we approach life with resilience and faith. Wishing you the best! ##beintentional
Love this - thanks for the vulnerability to share! I share some parallels and can appreciate how this is hard to share and yet it’s a great lesson for others. For me, seeing the Ted talk (and reading book) on grit was eye opening as it connected some dots for me. I can only imagine what working for Werner has been like! Kudos and “now go build!”
Mate…wow! I cannot articulate how much you and entire team mean to us at Veo. We bonded over a love of MMA and your forensic eye for detail included spotting my limited edition AJII’s at re:Invent… You are an absolute bloody legend mate - forza to the next chapter!
Incredible story…very inspiring. I hope you take this story and share it with the world. There are so many people still sleeping on couches, feeling lost and in the struggle that need to hear it. If and when you are ready to make public speaking a part of your gift to the world, hit me up. Your story matters. Best of luck to you.
It is so nice to see a post about Amazon that is not filled with anger. I realize not everybody's journey is equal. I worked for Amazon for 12 years and I loved it. Sure, I had moments that I did not like, I had people I worked with that were not my favorite colleagues, I worked hard and made long hours but I would do it all over again. What I learned at Amazon is beyond what I thought I would learn. The people I met are some of the smartest and best people I worked with. Good luck with your next journey.