I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.

The most important investment you can make is in yourself... nobody can tax it or take it away from you.

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 only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong.

We have learned to turn out lots of goods and services, but we haven't learned as well how to have everybody share in the bounty. The obligation of a society as prosperous as ours is to figure out how nobody gets left too far behind.

Anything can happen anytime in markets. And no advisor, economist, or TV commentator-and definitely not Charlie nor I-can tell you when chaos will occur. Market forecasters will fill your ear but will never fill your wallet.

I have a wonderful family. I have a job that I love and wonderful people who help me with it. It can't get any better than that.