I would say that my parents were supportive of me. Sanford I. Weill More Quotes by Sanford I. Weill More Quotes From Sanford I. Weill I think we are a product of all our experiences. Sanford I. Weill economy experience thinking Details create the big picture. Sanford I. Weill attention-to-detail economy details I think the American Dream says that anything can happen if you work hard enough at it and are persistent, and have some ability. The sky is the limit to what you can build, and what can happen to you and your family. Sanford I. Weill hard-work dream thinking I believe in treating other people with respect. My style is to speak to people, be available to them and willing to answer their questions. This also means being straightforward and honest with them. Sanford I. Weill respect mean believe Learn how to be a loser, because it's important to be a loser to be a winner. Sanford I. Weill winner loser important You never want to think the best things are in the past. You want to get yourself to believe that the best things are going to be in the future. Sanford I. Weill believe past thinking I think life is sort of like a competition, whether it's in sports, or it's achieving in school, or it's achieving good relationships with people. And competition is a little bit of what it's all about. Sanford I. Weill sports school thinking You can't control income. It varies based on conditions outside of [your] control. But you can control expenses. Sanford I. Weill expenses income banking I believe in giving back very strongly. Sanford I. Weill very-strong giving believe If we build something great, like we have at Travelers Group so far, a whole host of people benefit. Sanford I. Weill benefits groups people 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. Sanford I. Weill money college kids What turned me on then, and turns me on even today - and when the time comes from me to retire from management I think I'd still be interested in it - is that everything that happens in the world affects the price of securities. Sanford I. Weill everything-happens-for-a-reason world thinking I remember the mentoring experiences of some teachers that I had, like a second term home room teacher in public school that really was very helpful to me. Sanford I. Weill home teacher school My mother really didn't know a heck of a lot about business. She was a very good mother, that made sure we ate right and we had our cod liver oil, but didn't know a heck of a lot about what I did. Sanford I. Weill oil business mother One of the people that I respect the most now, a person I think has done a heck of a lot for this world as a leader, is Margaret Thatcher. She helped create a world that offers us a lot of excitement as we look to the next century. Sanford I. Weill respect people thinking I'm not as involved in every little thing as I used to be. Sanford I. Weill little-things used littles I was sort of a sissy as a little kid. Sanford I. Weill economy littles kids If a person is not willing to make a mistake, you're never going to do anything right. Sanford I. Weill willing economy mistake The whole financial industry is consolidating in the United States. Sanford I. Weill economy united-states financial So it's the kind of business where you can't wait to get up in the morning and read the papers, or listen to what's on the news, and you know, how the world's going to change. Sanford I. Weill business waiting morning