I think it's been, you know, kind of like a tragic play to this point. But at this point, I think it's clear, and will be clear to the majority of the Congress. I think it's clear to the American people that there is only one countervailing force to a world where financial institutions are trying to sell instruments every day and where credit has dried up, and that's the United States Treasury.

Writing checks to the IRS that include strings of zeros does not bother me ... Overall, we feel extraordinarily lucky to have been dealt a hand in life that enables us to write large checks to the government rather than one requiring the government to regularly write checks to us-say, because we are disabled or unemployed.

I'd rather have a $10 million business making 15 per cent than a $100 million business making 5 per cent.

I think that trying to invest through 535 people is a tough job, you know, and so I would give more latitude.

I bought a company in the mid-90s called Dexter Shoe and paid $400 million for it. And it went to zero. And I gave about $400 million worth of Berkshire stock, which is probably now worth $400 billion. But I've made lots of dumb decisions. That's part of the game.

The managers at fault periodically report on the lesson they have learned from the latest disappointment. They then usually seek out future lessons.

Focus alone is not enough; putting in the time to commit is also crucial to achieve success.