Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life

by Donald Trump

  I have to be careful not to blow people away, because if you cross me personally and professionally, I’ll have a double whammy waiting for you. I don’t enjoy being vicious, but sometimes in self-defense it becomes necessary. I don’t like the double standard, as in, whatever I do is okay and whatever you do isn’t okay, or vice versa. If you treat me a certain way, then I can treat you that way, too. Some people call that the old “an eye for an eye” approach, but I call it playing fair. Sometimes the only way to deal with a bully is to punch him back. Let them know who they’re dealing with. Fair play is fair play—and once again, don’t take it personally.

  It’s wise to be circumspect, and some people just say “get yourself out of the picture” first in order to see the big picture. Don’t take personally what is not meant personally. A lot of times people misdirect their anger, and if you take it personally, you’ll become a punching bag for angry darts. I’ve had people say totally off-the-wall things to me, which I can now deflect, knowing that about 90 percent of the time their comments have next to nothing to do with me.You have to develop a thick skin, and keep your own positive wavelength going at all times.

  Be tough, be smart, be personable, but don’t take things personally. That’s good business.

  The important thing is not to stop questioning.

  Curiosity has its own reason for existing.

  —ALBERT EINSTEIN

  Think Like a Genius

  Every morning I read a variety of newspapers, from local to national to international. This group includes the Financial Times of the UK, the New York Times, the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal, and more. Then I tune into the morning news programs on television. By the time I get to the office, I have a good overview of what’s happening in the world. Considering what has been happening lately, this kind of attention is absolutely necessary. It’s also necessary for us to begin to think creatively.

  I live and work in the same building, so I have a very short commute and rarely run into traffic, and that is a tremendous time saver. What I do is quickly assemble what I’ve just read about and heard, and then I see how it pertains to any of the businesses I have or deals I have in process. I also get updates throughout the day on what is happening, both nationally and worldwide. There is no way you can be effective without being informed, and this is more important today than ever.

  Control is about education. Lack of education or information can put you at bigger risk for losing control. Of course, there are things we can’t control and there is an element of risk in our lives that we can’t deny or overrule. But brain power equals a very powerful leverage. That doesn’t equal being a know-it-all. I’m known as someone who asks a lot of questions. With the economic crisis causing major problems here and some big ripples around the globe, it seems some very informed yet creative thinking is in order.

  Recently I read an article about some famed geniuses who included Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci, and Einstein. Aristotle held metaphorical thinking in high esteem, Einstein found visualization to be helpful in solving problems, and da Vinci believed in restructuring a problem to make it more accessible or broader in scope. I realized that I did all of these things, but not necessarily deliberately.

  All of them believed in chance. In fact, they prepared themselves for it and “creative accidents” would result, some of which have produced wonderful inventions. All of them kept an open mind and were full of a sense of wonder. I mention these components because each of them can be applied to business with some great results.

  Sometimes people ask me how I do what I do. I don’t always have an answer because part of the process is difficult to describe, but when I saw these points in the article, I realized that is definitely similar to what I go through to arrive at certain decisions. All of us have creative powers, so devote some time to learning about this process.

  Someone asked me if I thought I was a genius. I decided to say yes. Why not? Try it out. Tell yourself that you are a genius. Right away you will probably wonder why and in what way you are a genius. And right away you will have opened your mind up to wonder—and to asking questions.That’s a big first step to thinking like a genius, and it might unlock some of your hidden talents.

  Another point made was that geniuses tend to produce. They are prolific. Not everything will be fantastic and mistakes will be made, but they have a huge volume of work to show for their brain power and their mastery of the thought process. Einstein mentioned that numbers and words had little to do with his thought process because he had learned to visualize.Yet he published hundreds of papers in the course of his career.

  Another characteristic that geniuses tend to share is the ability to think in opposites. This is outside the boundaries of logic and allows your mind to operate on a new level. When it comes to business, this can be tremendously helpful as it’s one way to see the ups and downs, the cycles, of finance and real estate, and know that as they happen, they can be dealt with.

  Do not underestimate yourself, and know you are able to handle what comes your way. Just increase your leverage by learning to think like a genius. And remember Einstein’s words: “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

  Great minds have purposes, others have wishes.

  —WASHINGTON IRVING

  Go Against the Tide

  The world is rich with examples of originality. Original means independent and creative in thought and action. Nowadays we call it thinking outside the box, although the term supposedly derives from a puzzle created by an early-twentieth-century British mathematician. Whatever you call it, it very often means going against the tide, which may not be the easiest way to go. But sometimes the easiest way is also the mediocre way, and that’s okay if that’s your standard. But it isn’t mine, and it most likely isn’t yours either if you’re taking the time to read this book.

  When I was starting out in real estate, my father thought I was nuts to want to build in Manhattan. I was going against the tide, and I knew I was up against some pretty big odds, but I wanted to carve my own niche. I had my own ideas and knew I’d have to be independent as well as creative to see them happen. I’m certainly happy I decided to take the chance and to go for it. It would have been easier for me to just stay with the family business and leave it at that.

  Fortunately, I had a good education and experience behind me. I always warn people not to jump into anything unprepared. It’s that old fine line between bravery and stupidity. Know the tides before you dive in. There’s always a certain amount of danger, danger meaning the unknown, even in shallow waters. Riptides and sharks exist. Sometimes you don’t see them until it’s too late. Keep that in mind no matter how sensational or foolproof you think your idea might be.

  Charles de Gaulle is a figure of historic importance, especially as it pertains to World War II, and he came from a family of historians and writers. In fact, his father taught literature and philosophy. But the young Charles de Gaulle had a passionate interest in military matters, and he was determined in every respect to pursue this unexpected passion. He was a force in world history known for his extraordinary stubbornness. He became known as “the man who said no” when he refused to accept the terms of the armistice with Nazi Germany. When he said no, he meant it. There was no equivocating. I don’t know all the details of his early life, but I can imagine a boy from a family of intellectuals might have experienced some scrutiny when he displayed an intense interest in all things military. But he knew what he wanted to do, and he followed his own path.

  It’s a good idea to take your own pulse once in awhile instead of just focusing on what the masses are doing. Take a break from expectations, from the media, and plug into yourself. You might find that your electricity is better suited to another socket. You might have to exert yourself, but look at the alternatives that remain. Get out of your so-called comfort zone. I call it complacency, and it’s a good way to get nowhere.

  I remember firing someone who onc
e said “I think it’s good enough” when referring to project he was working on. Good enough? It wasn’t good enough for me, and if it was good enough for him, he shouldn’t be working for me. I want people who will go the extra mile to make it the best. Don’t be so easily pleased—with yourself or with anything else. Be tough and keep your standards high, even if you have to fight the undertow.

  We use the term “groundbreaking” in construction when a new building is about to begin construction. That term is also used to describe something that is new and creative, as in setting a new standard. Make your life as groundbreaking as possible, while also minding the tides and riptides around you. It’s a good way to wind up on top.

  Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.

  —SAMUEL JOHNSON

  Think Positively

  There have been so many books and examples about the power of positive thinking that it seems unnecessary to even mention it. But I still see examples every single day of the power that negative thinking has over people, so either people haven’t gotten the message or they’re just plain not paying attention.

  When I started thinking about this essay, I realized that maybe people just don’t have the persistence required to make positive thinking work for them. Things rarely just happen overnight. Most overnight success stories are no such thing. Just because you only recently heard of someone doesn’t mean they haven’t been working for twenty or thirty years or more already. When my television show, The Apprentice, became a big hit, I had over thirty years of experience to draw upon when conducting the boardroom scenes. It wasn’t just a fluke that I came across as someone who knew what they were doing. The fact that I was on television was new, but the rest wasn’t particularly new to me. Business is business, whether it’s being filmed or not. My business credentials and experience came into the picture as the necessary background for creating a show based on high-stake New York corporate business.

  How does positive thinking fit into this Apprentice scenario? First of all, I didn’t say no. I knew it was a risk, but I was positive about what might happen. If I’d chosen to listen solely to the negatives about the endeavor, such as “most new TV shows fail” or “reality TV is on the way out” or “you’ll lose your credibility” or “you’ll lose your grasp on your business empire” and about fifty other negatives, I never would have given it a thought. But instead, I chose a positive perspective. I asked myself the “what if” question. What if it was a success? What if I enjoyed it? What if it proved to be enlightening? What if it brought The Trump Organization the recognition it deserved? What if the jobs provided to the winners proved to be valuable stepping stones to deserving individuals? I had a long list of positives to go along with the negatives.

  I’m a pragmatic positive thinker. When I hear people saying that anything you want to do is possible, that seems childish or at least uninformed to me. Some things are not going to happen. For example, if I suddenly decided tomorrow that I wanted to win a gold medal at the Olympics as a swimmer, and I was sure I could because I was so positive about it, well, I think I’d have to have some mental checks. It’s not going to happen, no matter how hard I train. Or if I decided I was going to give Tiger Woods a run for his money as a golfer, starting tomorrow, I think I’d have to worry about being a little irrational. Be positive, but be realistic.

  Back to the persistence issue.You have to be positive every single day.You have to put a daily effort into it, because believe me, no one else is going to help you with this. Most people think their lives will be easier if they have less competition. The fact that you believe in yourself could get in their way. Good. Get in their way! Upset their status quo! Get out of your own static comfort zone by moving forward with the momentum and power that positive thinking and perseverance can give you. This takes energy, but the result will be stamina—positive stamina, a necessary ingredient for success.

  Sometimes you just have to be tough. I use the example of a brick wall. Is there a brick wall getting in your way? Fine. That happens. But you have a choice.You can walk away from the wall. You can go over the wall.You can go under the wall.You can go around the wall. You can also obliterate the wall. In other words, don’t let anything get in your way. Get a balance, and then let the positive outdistance the negative.

  When I was building Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York, I wanted to build a 110-foot waterfall. It pumps 5,000 gallons of water per minute and cost $7 million to complete. We moved granite and many tons of earth to achieve this spectacular effect, and if you think this happened easily and overnight, think again. But I was positive, I was persistent, and I refused to settle for anything less than what I had envisioned. The result was worth the effort, and not surprisingly, perseverance won. Keep that in mind in all your endeavors.

  Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.

  —ARISTOTLE

  People Have Different Ways of Achieving Results

  We all have different ways of accomplishing things. Some people deliberate for a long time and then move quickly, some people make a quick decision and then take a long time getting around to doing something about it. Sometimes the results are exactly the same. The old saying “to each his own” is right because there is no right way or wrong way.

  As an example, I like the story about a copywriter who would spend most of his time looking like he wasn’t doing anything. He would gaze out the window for hours, sit doing nothing, and made no attempt to look busy. This drove his co-workers up the wall, so they finally complained to the boss. The boss became very interested in this report, asked them how long this behavior had been going on, and then told them all to see if they could get him coffee or lunch, anything to make sure his day wasn’t interrupted. They became irate over this preferential treatment, so the boss told them, “The last time he acted like this, and the time before, and the time before, he came up with ideas worth millions of dollars. So whatever you do, don’t disturb him!” You see—to each his own. We all have our own process. The results are what matter.

  If someone wanted to review my work process, they might very easily say, “Well, he spends a lot of time on the telephone.” That’s true, I’m on the phone and talking a lot. But that’s how I do a lot of business. It’s not that I’m just chatting on the phone all day. It all depends on the way you want to see something or someone. You can color the situation or behavior in a favorable or unfavorable light. But bottom line, I get a lot accomplished. That’s my style. If you want to say that all I do is have daily chat fests and still manage to rake in the big bucks, that’s fine with me. My achievements still point toward effectiveness.

  Find the most productive way of working for yourself. I don’t mind working hard, but I see no merit in working stupidly. Looking like you’re working hard is a waste of everyone’s time and talent. What’s the best way to accomplish your goals for that day? Some people work very hard for several hours and accomplish more than other people do in two days. It’s all a matter of focus.

  After awhile, people will know you by your habits—or your habitual behavior.These habits can be qualities, as Aristotle points out. If your behavior is consistently of a high standard, your particular quality may be integrity. That’s a good way to go. So review your habits and make sure they are leading you in the right direction. In other words, make sure you are working toward the results you want to see, and know that your way of achieving them will be distinctly your way. It’s also a great way to define your own boundaries without being influenced negatively by anyone else.

  As a young man, I remember when someone once told me that the clearest way to see people and events was to be nonjudgmental—to just see and record the facts without coloring them with “this is right” or “this is wrong” or telegraphing the desired reaction to other people. It’s a journalistic approach—journalism in its purest sense—that allows the decision to be made entirely by the individual. In other words,
news without a slant. It requires a little more thinking, but sometimes I think we need to do a little bit more of that these days.

  We should never think our way is the only way, whether we’re talking about work ethics or politics. We should be grateful for the diversity we have in our lives and take the time to hone our own natural talents. Sometimes we don’t know how long or how hard someone has worked to achieve something. Warren Buffet has a fortune worth many billions of dollars now, but he started out selling chewing gum when he was six years old. He made two cents a pack.

  Results are what matter. The bottom line is clearly the bottom line. It’s not always a straight line to achieving the results we are looking for, but rather a series of efforts that will add up to experience and achievement. Look at how many years scientists will work toward a discovery and you will understand how patience is one of the ingredients for success. So set your pattern now for achievement of the highest quality. That’s your task assignment for the long term.

  Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.