I started sharpening pencils at the census and how that was a difficult time in my life because my marriage was ending and I had quit cartooning and I didn't know what to do with myself.

It would be amazing to tell my grandchildren, like, 'Yeah, I was paid to sharpen 1,000 pencils.'

I had good relationships with stores. And I was like, "All right, I'll self-publish it. But I'm only going to do 1,000."

People think, "Wow, people in America have so much money, they're sending hundreds of pencils to this guy." I don't think those people realize that most people who are buying these pencils are buying them as art objects or conversation pieces.

I like to do things that are new, where I feel the sense of discovery.

I didn't dare to dream of making money. But now of course, I've made many thousands of dollars sharpening pencils.

The way you make money is to do something you don't like to do. And that's how you know you're a virtuous person.