On being self-sufficient.

You know, I always sort of thought that was the point of owning your own business. You make the decisions, you take the consequences. It's all yours. Ultimately, it comes back to you -- both success and failure.

I'm O.K. with that.

There was a time after the sports card bubble, around 1992, when I was so broke and disgusted I was ready to quit. And I realized that while some people would be sad, and some others would cry crocodile tears, and in a few cases some would actually be happy -- they'd all get over it pretty quick and get on with their lives.

It concentrated the mind, wonderfully. I had to figure a way through it -- I had to make decisions that were in the best interests of me and my family.

There is a tendency, I think, for some of us to think we're somehow providing a public service, and while that can be true, the real reason we are in business is to earn money. Nothing beats the profit motive for motivation. Nothing.

You can't do anyone any good if you can't survive.

I have a couple of corollaries to this notion: Even if you try your best to earn a profit, you often won't. I can almost guarantee you that if you don't set out to earn a profit, you will lose money. And secondly, no one will run a business for very long without earning a profit, no matter how wealthy they are, no matter how much they maintain they "don't need the money."

The work is just too hard and stressful to be treated as a hobby. There is too much risk -- and while you may truly think you "don't need the money" no one likes losing money, which is what will happen.

You want a hobby? Take up painting, or biking, or something.