Sublime

The line between what he owned and what he could lay his hands on was evidently fluid and nor was there any clear link between what he did and the money he had at his disposal. All the money he made, and frequently it was not trivial amounts, he used to gamble. He would gamble on anything that moved.

Unwilling to wait for the resources God will provide, we resort to credit, stretching beyond our means in an attempt to create immediate outcomes. Our temptation to control often results in slavery to the unintended consequences of our fear-driven decisions.

I am a big spender, I freely admit, but a careful one: I have kept my accounts. I cannot say that nothing has been wasted, but at least I can say what, and why, and how; I can state the causes of my impoverishment. But it is with me as with many others who have been reduced to penury through no fault of their own: everyone forgives them, but no one

profligacy.

The company is an OPM addict, borrowing debt or selling stock to raise boatloads of Other People’s Money.

My cash policy was this: we would always have cash at least equal to two weeks’ sales. (I think this is called an “heuristic” decision in business school.) Any month we didn’t meet the test, I would borrow from Bank of America on a five-year term loan ostensibly secured by store fixtures. But I wasn’t borrowing for fixtures and inventory, as I took