To build a better world we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages today that determine success--the fortunate birth dates and the happy accidents of history--with a society that provides opportunities for all.

We prematurely write off people as failures. We are too much in awe of those who succeed and far too dismissive of those who fail.

That was it! The whole Redwood City philosophy was based on a willingness to try harder than anyone else.

It wasn't an excuse. It was a fact. He'd had to make his way alone, and no one - not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses - ever makes it alone.

Lesson Number One: The Importance of Being Jewish

Now I basically just read spy stories because they're about solving a puzzle within the constraints of history. It's the tick tock, the clockwork that I'm interested in.

Incompetence annoys me. Overconfidence terrifies me.