As you go through life, there are thousands of little forks in the road, and there are a few really big forks-those moments of reckoning, moments of truth.

No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?

Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can't miss.

In times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.

You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere.

The kind of people I look for to fill top management spots are the eager beavers, the mavericks. These are the guys who try to do more than they're expected to do - they always reach.

Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people.

Listening can make the difference between a mediocre organization and a great one.

The right decision is the wrong decision if it's made too late.

We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?

The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family.

If only a stare can kill, I'm already a murderer.

Competition is about passion for perfection and passion for other people who join in this impossible quest.

For better or worse, when you're running for mayor, there's a little bit of a spotlight on you.

I did grow up in a rough neighborhood in Portland, which is an abstract concept for anybody who's rolled through Portland because now it looks like a TV set, literally.

It is better to live in a state of impermanence than in one of finality.

There's not much to know about me other than I like meeting artists and I like yakking.

Children can be harsh judges when it comes to their parents, disinclined to grant clemency.

You're responsible for yourself. You messed up your life, and it's up to you to fix it. No one else is going to do it for you -- for any of you.

Decency, not to dare to do that in public which it is decent enough to do in private.

#3 pencils and quadrille pads.(when asked what CAD tools he used to design the Cray I supercomputer )