Being an economist is the least ethical profession, closer to charlatanism than any science.

Those who were unlucky in life in spite of their skills would eventually rise. The lucky fool might have benefited from some luck in life; over the longer run he would slowly converge to the state of a less-lucky idiot. Each one would revert to his long-term properties.

To succeed in life requires a total inability to do anything that makes you uncomfortable when you look at yourself in the mirror.

Work hard, not in grunt work, but in chasing such opportunities and maximizing exposure to them. This makes living in big cities invaluable because you increase the odds of serendipitous encounters-you gain exposure to the envelope of serendipity.

Never ask anyone for their opinion, forecast, or recommendation. Just ask them what they have—or don’t have—in their portfolio.

Restaurants get you in with food to sell you liquor; religions get you in with belief to sell you rules.

I want them poor and they deserve to be poor. You can't have capitalism without punishment.