I was a good amateur but only an average professional. I soon realized that there was a limit to how far I could rise in the music business, so I left the band and enrolled at New York University.

Meaning of the quote

Alan Greenspan was good at playing music as a hobby, but not as good when he tried to do it professionally. He realized he couldn't become a top musician, so he decided to leave the band and go to college at New York University instead.

About Alan Greenspan

Alan Greenspan, a renowned American economist, served as the 13th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006. He was a private advisor and provided consulting services through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC. Greenspan’s tenure at the Federal Reserve was marked by both praise and criticism, with some arguing that his policies contributed to the dot-com bubble and the subprime mortgage crisis.

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More quotes from Alan Greenspan

To succeed, you will soon learn, as I did, the importance of a solid foundation in the basics of education – literacy, both verbal and numerical, and communication skills.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

We need, in effect, to make the phantom ‘lock-boxes’ around the trust fund real.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

The true measure of a career is to be able to be content, even proud, that you succeeded through your own endeavors without leaving a trail of casualties in your wake.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

I don’t know where the stock market is going, but I will say this, that if it continues higher, this will do more to stimulate the economy than anything we’ve been talking about today or anything anybody else was talking about.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

I was a good amateur but only an average professional. I soon realized that there was a limit to how far I could rise in the music business, so I left the band and enrolled at New York University.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

Whatever you tax, you get less of.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

History has not dealt kindly with the aftermath of protracted periods of low risk premiums.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

Protectionism will do little to create jobs and if foreigners retaliate, we will surely lose jobs.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense… that gold and economic freedom are inseparable.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

Anything that we can do to raise personal savings is very much in the interest of this country.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain, those you deal with should gain as well.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

I’ve been in and out of Wall Street since 1949, and I’ve never seen the type of animosity between government and Wall Street. And I’m not sure where it comes from, but I suspect it’s got to do with a general schism in this society which is really becoming ever more destructive.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you’ve probably misunderstood what I’ve said.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

Any informed borrower is simply less vulnerable to fraud and abuse.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States

Look, I’m very much in favor of tax cuts, but not with borrowed money. And the problem that we’ve gotten into in recent years is spending programs with borrowed money, tax cuts with borrowed money, and at the end of the day that proves disastrous. And my view is I don’t think we can play subtle policy here.

Alan Greenspan

13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States