Schwartz began his career as a writer in 1975 and spent 25 years as a journalist. He was a columnist for The New York Post, an Associate Editor at Newsweek, a reporter for The New York Times, and a staff writer at New York Magazine and at Esquire. In 1988, he coauthored the #1 worldwide bestseller The Art of the Deal with Donald Trump.

In 1995, Schwartz wrote What Really Matters Searching for Wisdom in America and in 1998 he coauthored Risking Failure, Surviving Success, with Michael Eisner...

 "Clearly what will be called personality problems depends on who is doing the calling. The slave owner? The dictator? The patriarchal father? The husband who wants his wife to remain a child? It seems quite clear that personality problems may sometimes be loud protests against the crushing of one's psychological bones, of one's true inner nature. What is sick then is not to protest while this crime is being committed. And I am sorry to report my impression that most people do not...

"How do I know that in clinging to this life I'm not merely clinging to a dream and delaying my entry into the real world?"

Chuang Tze (Lao Tze's disciple)