The most important decision I've made in business? The choices of people I have around me. When I first started I brought everybody with me my homies from the neighborhood criminals. I just said 'Come on everybody we made it.' Then I had to realize we didn't make it. I made it.

Life... is not simply a series of exciting new ventures. The future is not always a whole new ball game. There tends to be unfinished business. One trails all sorts of things around with one things that simply won't be got rid of.

It's not hard to get your way when it's your way or the highway. People either follow suit or they're not around. I don't really like the sound of that 'cause that sounds like a temper tantrum. I'm just very black and white when it comes to my business. There's really no gray area.

Losses have propelled me to even bigger places so I understand the importance of losing. You can never get complacent because a loss is always around the corner. It's in any game that you're in - a business game or whatever - you can't get complacent.

One thing is certain in business. You and everyone around you will make mistakes.

I do not understand how it is that financial institutions could think that they could take taxpayer money and then turn around and act like it's business as usual. I don't understand how they can't see that the world has changed in a fundamental way that it is not business as usual when you take taxpayer dollars.

Los Angeles is such a town of show business and I'm a terrible celebrity. I find it difficult - it's the beast that must be fed. There's this big wheel of pictures and articles that goes around and you get pinned on it.

Somebody has to tell the E.P.A. that we don't need you monkeying around and fiddling around and getting in our business with every kind of regulation you can dream up. You're doing nothing more than killing jobs. It's a cemetery for jobs at the E.P.A.

In the social business marketplace brands that hope to build loyal and growing communities do so most effectively when they demonstrate their core values and allow a community to build and engage around it.

The chances of a bank going out of business are extremely slim but it's always a good idea to spread around major sums so every penny is backed by insurance.