There is nothing else that so kills the ambitions of a person as criticisms from superiors. I never criticize anyone...If I like anything, I am hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise.

Nobody wants to be passive; indexing is not passive - much more goes into indexing than watching a stock become the next buggy whip.

I am like a chief. I like to taste the food. If it tastes bad, I don't serve it. I'm constantly monitoring what we do, and I'm always looking for better ways we can provide financial services, ways that would make me happy if I were a client.

The man who has done less than his best has done nothing.

I did as much as I could: raising chickens, pushing an ice-cream cart, bagging walnuts, driving a tractor on a beet farm, working on the railroad. I think this eclectic career helped me a lot in life.

The nasty little secret was that I couldn't read worth a darn. In my case, I still read very slowly to this moment.

I have yet to find the man, however exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism.