“It is regrettably the way human nature functions, whether we like it or not. What successful economies do is keep it to a minimum.”

I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain, those you deal with should gain as well.

Credit-default swaps, I think, have serious problems associated with them.

Everyone has one. You have to, to exist you need an ideology. The question is whether it is accurate or not.

[Republicans] swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose.

An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions.

This decade is strewn with examples of bright people who thought they built a better mousetrap that could consistently extract abnormal returns from the financial markets.

History has not dealt kindly with the aftermath of protracted periods of low risk premiums.

Such caution seems especially warranted with regard to the sharp rise in equity prices during the past two years. These gains have obviously raised questions of sustainability.

Derivatives have permitted the unbundling of financial risks.

Greenspan, who knew so much more than most, knew far less than most supposed.

It has been my experience that competency in mathematics, both in numerical manipulations and in understanding its conceptual foundations.

If I’ve made myself clear, I’ve misspoken.

…our market system depends critically on trust-trust in the word of our colleagues and trust in the word of those with whom we do business.

Excessive optimism sows the seeds of its own reversal.

Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the ‘hidden’ confiscation of wealth.

Regulation – which is based on force and fear – undermines the moral base of business dealings. It becomes cheaper to bribe a building inspector than to meet his standards of construction. Protection of the consumer by regulation is thus illusory.

Externally keep yourself away from all relationships, and internally have no pantings in your heart; when your mind is like unto a straight-standing wall, you may enter into the Path.

Tris.” I keep staring. “Tris.” I finally look at him. “I just don’t want to lose you.

Grittier soldiers are more likely to complete their training, and grittier salespeople are more likely to keep their jobs. The more challenging the domain, the more grit seems to matter.

Are you keeping anything else from me? Im keeping a lot of things from you. Like? Like the way i feel about being locked up in here with you. You have no idea what you do to me.

There must be something about art… almost all cultures have done art. It’s a refining of the senses, which are there to keep us alive. As far as we know, no other animals do that.

Creativity is people who care enough to keep thinking about something until they find the simplest way to do it.

But deluded people don’t realize that their own mind is the Buddha. They keep searching outside.

No matter how bad a state of mind you may get into, if you keep strong and hold out, eventually the floating clouds must vanish and the withering wind must cease.