My first company was MicroSolutions. I worked 20 hours a day. I didn't take a vacation for 7 years. I didn't even take the time to read a fiction book. It was all about work. When I sold it, I promised myself I would never wear a watch and only wear a suit to weddings, funerals and to meet the President.

There is no sport as competitive as business. It's 24 by 7 by 365 by forever.

I think one of the biggest curses in the U.S. is that we have only two political parties.

As far as businesses, I was always hustling. I had to pay for my own school. I got 20 bucks every week or 2 from my dad and that was it. So I had a "whatever it took" attitude.

A sure sign of failure for a startup is when someone sends me logo-embroidered polo shirts. If your people are at shows and in public, it's okay to buy for your own employees, but if you really think people are going to wear your branded polo when they're out and about, you are mistaken and have no idea how to spend your money.

Do the things that make perfect sense to you, [and] don't be afraid to shout it from the mountain tops just because it's outside the box or against the grain in your industry. More often than not, you're probably going to be right.

When you've got 10,000 people trying to do the same thing, why would you want to be number 10,001?