It does not matter how frequently something succeeds if failure is too costly to bear.

Failure saves lives. In the airline industry, every time a plane crashes the probability of the next crash is lowered by that.

In poor countries, officials receive explicit bribes; in D.C. they get the sophisticated, implicit, unspoken promise to work for large corporations

...maximize the serendipity around you.

Dress your best on your execution day. Be extremely courteous to your assistant when you lose money. Try not to blame others for your fate, even if they deserve blame. Never exhibit any self-pity. Do not complain.

I lift heavy weights and sprint, but I am so bad at it that I develop severe injuries.

Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises with debt spending