Religion is to do right. It is to love, it is to serve, it is to think, it is to be humble.
I wanted a bookstore because the book business is the business of life.
All the world is my school and all humanity is my teacher.
The business of books is the business of life.
Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise.
Give what you can, take what you need.
In 1979 I teamed up with my friend and business partner, Bill DeWitt, and together we formed an oil and gas company that invested through limited partnerships in oil and gas exploration.
I became CEO at the beginning of the hit on old economy stocks. When something like that occurs in your first six months as a CEO of a more traditional branded firm, it makes for a fast learning curve.
I know many of you thought that I would be retiring today, but if I was ever going to announce my retirement it would not be in a downtown Los Angeles hotel with this fairly ugly carpet.
I basically have two ways I start writing. Either I'll start with something about myself, or something that happened to me that seemed important, or I'll start with some idea I have that doesn't have much to do with me. But one will always lead to the other.