Father, inventor, pioneer, and founder/CEO of Amazon are just a few of Jeff Bezos’ name badges. His unique way of approaching opportunities in the world and not taking situations for what they seem is admirable and evident in his speech for the Princeton Class of 2010 Baccalaureate. This challenging talk closed with a series of questions that make a powerful list worth reviewing often to realign our vision this Small Business Week as dreamers, doers, shakers, and makers:

How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?

Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?

Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?

Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?

Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?

Will you bluff it out when you’re wrong, or will you apologize?

Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?

Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling?

When it’s tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?

Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?

Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?

The most personally convicting question in this list is probably the second-to-last. This careful wording implies one cannot be both a skeptic and a creator. Keep that idea close this week.

Happy Small Business Week to all you ladies and gentlemen out there spending each day changing between your CEO suit and cashier apron.

Keep building.