I always marked up a piece of paper before taking a job, looking at the pluses and minuses. If the latter outnumbered the former, I would pass.
I went to several different grade schools all over the West Coast. I got polio when I was 8 and spent eight months in the hospital and a rehab clinic in Seattle.
The day after my high school graduation in 1952, I headed to Alaska. I was 17. I started out greasing equipment, then became a heavy-crane operator. I made and saved good money there for two years.
People always ask me for my secret. There isn't one. You've just got to keep a level head and stay away from greed, which is the worst thing that can happen to a successful person.
I love boats. Anything that runs, anything mechanical. It's my God-given passion in life.
I've made more money than I could spend in five lifetimes.
