The fact that we heated most of the old farmhouse with nothing but a woodstove was a source of great pride for my father and endless inspiration for witticisms like, “Chop your own wood it’ll warm you twice!
I wouldn’t wish any specific thing for any specific person – it’s none of my business. But the idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane. It’s insane.
Good jobs look a lot like kids playing and adults working.
I always complain because I’m old now and everything hurts.
People with dirty jobs are happier than you think. As a group, they’re the happiest people I know.
You’ve got a lot of very, very smart people standing by waiting for somebody else to do the work. Not a recipe for long-term solvency in my opinion.
I’m looking forward to the future, and feeling grateful for the past.
Innovation without imitation is a complete waste of time.
The thing that makes ‘Dirty Jobs’ different is that it’s one of the few shows that portrays work in a way that doesn’t highlight the drudgery. Instead, it highlights the humor.
Short-cuts lead to long delays.
I’m allergic to rocks hitting me in the face.
There’s really not a difference between an octopus and, like, a giant pile of snot.
The search for truth in cyberspace will take you through the wormhole, and there’s nothing on the other side but pedants and nitpickers and bottomless ambiguity. If you’re not careful, you’ll spend all your time proving everything and understanding nothing.
Anything worth doing hurts a little.
Always flat front. You’ve got to be deeply suspicious of a man who consciously goes with pleats. Why would you do that?
Most of the things I do brand wise are both missionary and mercenary in their position, and that’s really important to me; that’s one of the first things I look at when I say, ‘does it make sense to do a deal?’
It’s about, when did it make sense to say one size fits everybody? It never ever ever made sense to do that, and yet we’re still selling education the same way we sold it when you and I were in high school.
Why worry about doing something you love? Figure out what the opportunity is. Find a thing, get good at it, learn to love it later.
Spend a few hours every week studying American history, human nature, and economic theory. Start with “Economics in One Lesson.” Then try Keynes. Then Hayek. Then Marx. Then Hegel. Develop a worldview that you can articulate as well as defend. Test your theory with people who disagree with you. Debate. Argue. Adjust your philosophy as necessary.
My father has a tendency to start conversations in the middle of sentences. He’s also suspicious of anything modern – like nouns.