Getting ill. I am in remission [from rheumatoid arthritis], but there is no cure.

Not going to uni and getting my English degree.

My biggest disappointment would be living with disappointment. What a burden to be shackled to. I would be truly disappointed if I didn’t (as the song says) pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.

Not doing Top Of The Pops when The Young Ones’ single went to number one.

We can’t delude ourselves into thinking that anything we or any other business does is “sustainable”. The best we can do is minimize the harm we do to the planet. We’ll do what we can to clean up our own house and convince other businesses and suppliers to use cleaner energy and more responsible materials, but it’s a never-ending summit. The work is never done.

Patagonia has time and again broken the rules of traditional business and proven we still can be successful. The average lifespan of a corporation currently is a little over 20 years, but we’re still here after five decades of doing things on our own terms. I’m proud of our employees for getting us to this point. Our success is based on quality in whatever we do, and we’re taking that into the future.

I never wanted to be a businessman. I started as a craftsman, making climbing gear for my friends and myself, then got into apparel. As we began to witness the extent of global warming and ecological destruction, and our own contribution to it, Patagonia committed to using our company to change the way business was done. If we could do the right thing while making enough to pay the bills, we could influence customers and other businesses, and maybe change the system along the way.

Everything man does creates more harm than good. We have to accept that fact and not delude ourselves into thinking something is sustainable.

Invent your own game and that way you can always be a winner.

My assistant, Mike Dunn, helps me with that.