If a person is not willing to make a mistake, you're never going to do anything right.

Details create the big picture.

Ive been involved with Carnegie Hall for the last 13 years, and Chairman for the last six. I feel really good about what weve done growing our educational programs there, building a board that has made Carnegie Hall really a world-class institution.

If a person is not willing to make a mistake, you're never going to do anything right.

A lot of people at Shearson ended up making a lot of money because they had stock or stock options. Their kids were able to go to college, and it changed a lot of people's lives.

And when we used to play and fight in the streets in Brooklyn and I would get hurt or something, my mother would always come out and save me. So that sort of postponed the inevitable about getting a good beating, without having somebody to come and save you.

I've had a terrific life, from building one company to be the second largest company in the securities industry and merging that into American Express, and becoming president of that company.