It is easy to get distracted by minor moves when in the end you are (and you should be) judged by your entire body of work. It is the best (and the hardest) lesson of life, one that sadly acquires with age.

But his more important goal, he said, was to do what Hewlett and his friend David Packard had done, which was create a company that was so imbued with innovative creativity that it would outlive them. —Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

We are willing to think long-term. We start with the customer and work backwards. And, very importantly, we are willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time. — Jeff Bezos, founder & CEO, Amazon.com.

“Mercenary C.E.O.’s are always preparing for a sale, and missionary ones are always preparing for the long term. I’m clearly in the latter camp.” Reed Hastings, co-founder & CEO, Netflix

Here is Kevin Kelly on long-term-ism. A must read.