You need a great deal of optimism, almost to the point of blindness to the facts of reality. And you need confidence to get around whatever it is that’s blocking you. When I opened the first store, everybody freaked out except my wife. The first day, the store did $8.37. But every day was better than the last. Once the store started doing well, I said I wanted to start a publishing company, and everybody freaked out again. When I said I’d make movies, they freaked out again. Now, they don’t say much. I was told growing up I could do anything I wanted. I worry sometimes that that message isn’t out there anymore, because it really is true.
—Mike Richardson, co-founder and publisher, Dark Horse
