Quotes from William Green

Asked about China, he marvels at its economic transformation, but laments that too many Chinese "like to gamble, and they actually believe in luck. Now, that is stupid. What you don't want to believe in is luck. You want to believe in odds.

It's simple. If your life is more important than your principles, you sacrifice your principles. If your principles are more important than your life, you sacrifice your life.

His psychiatrist told him that he had triumphed back then by adopting mental strategies that professional athletes used routinely—setting clearly defined goals, visualizing themselves performing flawlessly, and repeating affirmations that crowded out all doubts and fears until they were replaced with unshakable self-belief.

A television reporter once asked Bob Marley, "Are you a rich man?" The musician replied warily, "What you mean rich?" The reporter clarified his question: "You have a lot of possessions? A lot of money in the bank?" Marley responded with a question of his own: "Possessions make you rich? I don't have that type of richness. My richness is life, forever.

Blaise Pascal: "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.

One of the nice things about video games as a metaphor is that you die all the time," he explained. "You play, you play, you play, you die. You play, you play, you die." It's a harmless way of learning "to accept constant loss and defeat over and over again. And it doesn't bother you. You just keep doing it. And that's what investing is.

They succumb to the egotistical delusion that they can predict the future, instead of recognizing the limits of their knowledge. And they leap blindly into manias, their judgment fogged by "return envy" and the fear of missing out.

They sought to answer such questions as What is the intended destination for this business in ten or twenty years? What must management be doing today to raise the probability of arriving at that destination? And what could prevent this company from reaching such a favorable destination?

Is the CEO allocating capital in a rational way that will enhance the company's long-term value? Is the company underpaying its employees, mistreating its suppliers, violating its customers' trust, or engaging in any other shortsighted behavior that could jeopardize its eventual greatness?

Second, there is the idea of focusing on whatever has the longest shelf life, while always downplaying the ephemeral.

First, they provide a compelling example of what it means to pursue quality as a guiding principle in business, investing, and life—a moral and intellectual commitment inspired by Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Third, there is the realization that one particular business model—scale economies shared—creates a virtuous cycle that can generate sustainable wealth over long periods.

Fifth, in a world that's increasingly geared toward short-termism and instant gratification, a tremendous advantage can be gained by those who move consistently in the opposite direction

It's all about deferred gratification," says Sleep. "When you look at all the mistakes you make in life, private and professional, it's almost always because you reached for some short-term fix or some short-term high. . . . And that's the overwhelming habit of people in the stock market.

They stayed by my side the whole time - my teammates, family and all the fans.

I feel like I have a new life and I'm going to take full advantage of it.

I've been doing a lot of learning from mistakes, first and foremost, and building off that.

Football is what keeps me going, what makes me prosper, and what will keep me straight.

I'm using all my resources to help me with that and I feel the sky is the limit for me.

It's just good to be back in the locker room.