I feel like everything I ever did in my life led me to the Franklin Mint.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
In the first three years of Mint, from when it was founded to when it was sold, I can honestly say that in a sustainable way, I couldn't have worked any harder on it.
I've always had a strong feeling for the Statue of Liberty, because it became the statue of my personal liberty.
The start-up life kept me busy and surfaced the problem of not being able to stay on top of my personal finances, which led me to invent Mint.com. I was working 80-hour weeks, and had done enough preliminary work and research to know I had a big idea: To make money management effortless and automated.
The blues are what I've turned to, what has given me inspiration and relief in all the trials of my life.
Somehow I got the feeling at an early age that I had to do something important with my life.
Listening to Dr. King on the radio inspired me. Coming under the influence of Jim Lawson inspired me to think that I, too, could do something.
Last year, I finally got my own grand piano, and that was a big thing for me because it's always been and always will be a very important part of my life.
My father earned every penny he had, and I would have loved to have bought him a Rolls-Royce because his whole life was cars. Sadly, he didn't live to see the day when I could have done that for him, which still hurts.
It is the destiny of mint to be crushed.
I can still remember the feel in my hand of that most wonderful American coin ever minted, a nickel with a buffalo on one side and the head of an Indian on the other. That nickel was a daily proof of our country's past. Bring it back!