You have an advantage that neither education nor upbringing can buy - you have almost nothing. And therefore you have almost nothing to lose.

Anyone not busy learning is busy dying.

The belief that you have a great idea is not worth cuckoo spit. Ideas are ten a penny while the ability to execute counts for a great deal more.

People who get trapped in the tunnel vision of making money think that is all there is to life.

Without self belief nothing can be accomplished. With it, nothing is impossible.

Say to yourself: The world is full of money. Some of it has my name on it. All I have to do is collect it.

Teamwork is the glue which binds losers together

Obviously, waste disposal is an enormous and fantastic industry.

I think having a great idea is vastly overrated. I know it sounds kind of crazy and counterintuitive. I don't think it matters what the idea is, almost. You need great execution.

Most of the worst errors I made in my life came from forgetting to act small.

Rich people always have a certain degree of debt. Apparently it helps to reduce taxes. I'm not so hot on the bean-counting side.

Always be yourself, there's no one better!

When business accepts help from the government, it can be like going to bed with a hippopotamus. It's nice and warm for the moment, but then your bedmate rolls over and crushes you.

No mistake, I shall regret the absence of your keen mind; unfortunately, it is inseparable from an extremely disturbing body.

My grandfather taught me that it is harder to be kind than it is to be clever.

The way Japan had tried to build up a modern state modelled on the West was cataclysmic.

Never knew how poor I was until I started making money.

Sometimes the child in one behaves a certain way and the rest of oneself follows behind, slowly shaking its head.

The US needs military/defense, economic, and social strategies. A medium-sized business, by contrast, is normally best off focusing its efforts on a single crucial objective.

Virtue is too often merely local.

Don’t worry. You may think you’ll never get over it. But you also thought it would last forever.