In the fall of 1996, I sat inside weekly strategy meetings of conservative activists as part of research for my book, 'Gang of Five,' chronicling the rise of the baby-boomer Right.

One of my most vivid memories from 1974 was the gas station at the foot of the hill below my Southern California high school - car lines snaking out into the street, heralding the failure of the government's price controls and lame ideas such as odd-even rationing.

To avoid becoming chronically unemployed, people need more than platitudes offering sympathy. Career reinvention requires encouragement and guidance.

I've been awed by the incredible opportunities that automatically float to the Harvard undergrads I once taught - from building homes for the poor in Nicaragua to landing prime White House internships.

I think your children are your measure of success, regardless of work and career.

I've always had an explorative drive to my art, as opposed to wanting to achieve some certain goal.

Fun opens the doors to creativity, which then leads to inspiration, which then births passion, which all together equals both happiness and success!

I've found that entrepreneurial success usually comes through great execution, simply by doing a superior job of doing the blocking and tackling.