MacKenzie Scott says everyone should heed this book—if not read it

MacKenzie Scott helped build one of the most recognizable companies in modern history—all while writing her first novel. As Amazon scaled from a fledging startup to a global force, Scott was simultaneously cultivating a literary life. 

Long before Amazon, Scott launched her literary career. While studying creative writing at Princeton University, Scott landed herself a highly coveted spot as one of Toni Morrison’s advisees, a relationship that would shape her literary pursuits. 

“This writer that I admired so much also turned out to be such a gifted and devoted teacher,” Scott said at the dedication for Princeton’s Morrison Hall. “She has given me a real example of a life of passionate devotion to more than one calling.”

For some time, those callings competed. In Amazon’s early years, Scott’s writing necessarily receded as she supported the company’s founding and expansion. But by 1996, she stepped into a less involved role, carving out space for her literary ambitions and for her family. 

She consequently forged a slow, deliberate writing life. And after a decade of work—balanced alongside raising her children and supporting Amazon’s growth—Scott published her debut novel, The Testing of Luther Albright. 

Morrison continued to mentor her through the process, offering advice and encouragement. “Your hand is sure, your technical ability sophisticated,” Morrison said, according to Howard University. “Don’t worry about overdoing it at this point. It is so much easier to cut back than to write up.” 

Morrison’s mentorship proved pivotal, as Scott went on to win the American Book Award for her novel, cementing her literary career. 

Morrison, however, was not the only writer to leave a lasting imprint. In her Giving Pledge letter years later, Scott returned to The Writing Life by Annie Dillard, a slim meditation on the discipline and solitude of writing with no promise of success.

Scott rediscovered the book on a shelf of college-era favorites, its pages underlined and started. One passage, in particular, stuck with her. 

For Scott, the advice was no longer just about writing. It became a framework for philanthropy. “I have no doubt that tremendous value comes when people act quickly on the impulse to give,” she wrote in her pledge letter. 

The same philosophy that propelled Scott’s literary success also undergirds her philanthropic pursuits, treating wealth not as something to preserve, but as something meant to be spent with intention.

—By Leila Sheridan

This article originally appeared on Fast Company’s sister site, Inc.com.

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