RICK HARRISON

I tell everyone that works for me not to look down on people. If you're nice to people and take a minute to talk with them, it's good for business whether or not they buy anything. Just because they don't look like they have money doesn't mean they're poor.

Most people want a lot more from us than stuff is worth because they think we're extremely wealthy or something.

I got the Pawnbroker of the Year award. They said I did more for the pawn business in one year than their media team, in 30 years, has been able to do.

There's just no way I could deal with politics.

I'm not that cool; I'm just a bookworm.

I probably have 15 to 20 Dalis in the store. The secret to buying Dali - never buy one made after 1970.

The part I hate is when we go out to eat. My youngest son, who's 11, doesn't like to eat in more fancy restaurants, so we often go out to places like Red Robin and such. Well, as you can imagine, in that kind of place I probably have to jump up about 10 times during a meal to take a picture with somebody or sign an autograph.

When you come across something, and its quality is just outrageous, that's probably something of value. It's been that way for hundreds and hundreds of years - the really, really expensive stuff is also really, really high quality.

You have to have what your customers need because if you don't have what your customers need, you're not going to have customers.

I meet celebrities all the time, but I have no idea who they are because I don't watch television.

I've worked with and talked to poor people my entire life, being in the pawn shop business.

I want my kids, my grandkids to have a great life.

You can have a soda every once in awhile, but don't drink a gallon of it a day.

Never fall in love with something when you're negotiating a price. Never decide you're going to buy something because you can't live without it. Negotiating to buy an item shouldn't be an emotional process.

I'm just a normal guy and blue-collar historian, and people keep tuning in.

That's the beautiful thing about my show... It's truly different every week. We get to pick and choose. Every morning, the girl from production comes to me with 100 different items, and I go, 'Fake, fake, fake, fake... that's cool.'

Being healthy is part of the happiness of life.

We talk nonstop about what needs to be changed, and everyone has excuses for why the changes can't happen. I believe we must change our educational system first to get the changes moving forward. I'm happy to be a voice and get in front of an audience who can help by making education a priority.

I hate to say this about television, since I have a television show, but it's just mind-numbing to me.

If life is tough, at least you got that thing you can pawn.

I discovered at age 13 that if a spoon had 'Sterling' on the back, it was worth money. I'd run around a swap meet and find 20 in a day, make 75 to 100 bucks by finding silver spoons.

I read a book every night. I really am that nerd, so when I get to go to the Smithsonian and get to go in the back rooms and play with stuff, things like that, for a guy like me, that's amazing.

There's a gazillion different business license fees. And just keeping up with all the regulations - it just doesn't stop.

In the '90s, I went on eBay to buy some paddle tires for my four-wheeler ATV and couldn't find any. When I did find a manufacturer that sold them, I bought 20,000 and had no problem reselling them. So the next time you get mad when you can't find an item, realize there's a market waiting to be explored.

The show impacted our lives immediately. It is crazy. I can't watch the show. I get weirded out.