If I got a chance to take one percent of the deal either way, I would make that bet.

I don't want to be on the other side of the table from the customer. I was never selling anything that I didn't believe in myself or use myself.

None of this means, however, that a business or stock is an intelligent purchase simply because it is unpopular; a contrarian approach is just as foolish as a follow-the-crowd strategy. What's required is thinking rather than polling. Unfortunately, Bertrand Russell's observation about life in general applies with unusual force in the financial world: "Most men would rather die than think. Many do."

You have to be able to communicate in life and probably schools underemphasize that. If you can't talk to people or write, you're giving up your potential.

It irritates the hell out of me but you can't buy love.

We make investment decisions based on our evaluation of the most profitable combination of probabilities.

Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn't. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value.