A market economy is to economics what democracy is to government: a decent, if flawed, choice among many bad alternatives.

Being great involves luck, and unique circumstances, and a lot of other forces beyond your control. You can’t just make it happen by working more or trying harder. There is an irony here, of course. The less you think about being great, the more likely it is to happen. And if it doesn’t, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being solid.

Change is inevitable but progress depends on what we do with that change.

Economics is like gravity: Ignore it and you will be in for some rude surprises.