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

by Donald Trump

  The Rogue Wave

  In January, Tom Barrack sent me his notes for a 2009 Survival Kit. I am sharing them with you because he tells a great story and he has an equally great insight in applying it to what’s been going on. Included here are the first two pages of his four page essay, and I hope everyone will give this their full attention:

  The constant turmoil of the recent market is reminiscent of a story Laird Hamilton shared with us at our last annual meeting. No one has mastered the art of living more than Laird. He has spent his life in preparation and anticipation of riding big waves. The biggest waves in the Hawaiian Islands occur on Maui at a surf spot named Jaws.These waves reach 50 to 70 feet and can only be ridden by a few daring professionals utilizing “tow in surfing.” Tow in surfing was invented to “turbo charge” the entry speed of a surfer to match the speed of the mountainous walls of fury which would otherwise be unconquerable by traditional paddling techniques.Tow in will take you deeper and faster and allow you to ride waves that were unthinkable. A little bit like leveraged loans and derivatives in leveraged buy out land.

  One morning Laird and one of his surfing mates, Brock Lickle, were in search of bigger waves and less surfers. They pulled around the corner from Jaws to a spot near the Maui airport which was virgin territory and breaking at 60 to 100 feet wave heights. They watched, analyzed and thought these just might be the waves of the decade. Even though there was no one else in the water they started to sea, racing up the huge wave faces and pounding through white water trying to get through the treacherous break. Just as they thought they had made it through the impact zone they looked to the horizon and saw a rogue wave roaring towards shore. They raced as hard as they could towards its looming face, but couldn’t climb it in time and were tossed like rag dolls to the depths of the dangerous coral reefs. Laird related that he was no longer afraid at these moments because he had been in so many fearful situations in his decades of preparation that this was now his comfort zone. Both were the best in the world and knew that survival depended upon a few basic elements:

  Remain calm—don’t panic

  Save your “dry powder” (air)

  Don’t fight the current—let it have its way with you

  Don’t question your ability to survive—know that you have trained and prepared a lifetime for this moment

  Remember when you get to the top, the another wave will no doubt pound you again

  Monitor all conditions—sight, sound, smell, motion, pressure

  Stabilize your own situation then look out for your buddy

  Once you find your buddy, survival will depend on both of you sharing the pain

  Laird and Brock had to hold their breath for up to four minutes as they dove to the bottom trying to avoid their limbs being ripped apart by the ferocious impact as wave after wave kept coming at them. Finally, Laird made it to the top of the last wave of the set and anxiously searched for his buddy. He saw Brock floating 200 yards away in a pool of blood and no jet ski. He swam through the washing machine to Brock to find him badly injured and bleeding. Before Laird could get them both to shore he had to take off his wetsuit and, in MacGyver-like fashion, use it as a tourniquet on his buddy’s nearly severed leg. He then wrapped his arms around Brock and swam them both to the jet ski bobbing in the crashing surf. He threw Brock on top and opened throttle to shore. Of course, the shore break was 30 feet high so the landing on the beach was the next heroic act. Laird picked his spot, gunned the jet ski, flew over the top of the wave and landed in the parking lot, which was now filled with hundreds of spectators. Laird pulled Brock off the jet ski to safety and then standing on shore realized that he was stark naked.

  Once Brock was turned over to the emergency team and it was established that he would be okay, Laird grabbed another teammate and a new jet ski and marched back out into the monumental surf. He was not fearful. He got back on the horse (or jet ski in this case) and caught some of the best waves of his life. By taking the worst wipeout of his life he was now better equipped than those other professionals who had been watching unscathed from the parking lot.

  HUMBLING 2008

  2008 has been a year filled with surprises, volatility, disappointment, unfulfilled expectations and cyclic shock waves. As a new year dawns, I think it is important that we take a deep breath, relax and focus on the ingredients that are key to our continued survival. We must get back on the horse.

  My boys share Laird’s love of surfing and in order to convince them to spend time with Dad, it requires Christmas vacations that involve waves. Being in the ocean watching the never-ending changes in the sea allows me to reflect on the similarity of the survival tools needed in these chaotic times.

  The first great lesson is that of humility. No matter how good you are, when arrogance raises its ugly head, Mother Nature will put you back into your box. Mastery of a wave involves being attuned to all the circumstances surrounding you. It is not about domination—it is actually about submission. The currents, the riptides, the swell, the wind, the reefs, the temperature, the crowds, the shapes are changing every second. The quest, then, is not to stabilize the wave and make each one exactly alike and predictable by all, but rather to perfect your own adaptability to an ever-changing situation and make it through to the other end. If you can survive, great. If you have executed it with style and grace, even better. In this quest, wipeouts are a way of life and planning to never be wiped out is foolhardy at best. World-class surfers train endlessly to be able to handle the inevitable trip to the “dark room.” It involves preparation, anticipation, calmness and an ability to control one’s fear. It is knowing what to do when everything goes wrong and you are gasping for breath. What surfers call “dry drowning”—to panic, flail and waste your valuable breath—is the worst thing you can do, even though it is the most intuitive. Experienced surfers concentrate on relaxing and not fighting the bone-crushing power of the wave until it relinquishes its force. They must be able to preserve their “dry powder”—to hold their breath and avoid being smashed on the coral reefs beneath them. This confidence comes from experience in previous wipeouts and a knowledge that they are truly prepared for the worst.

  Furthermore, one surfer’s wipeout is another surfer’s “wave of the day.” It is all about anticipation and being in the right position, which is not necessarily the position that the rest of the surfers are seeking. Not following the crowds can be the difference between victory and defeat. At the same, time one must watch the crowd and where it’s going as their amateur moves can cause more damage than the wave alone.

  The great surfers do not throw away their trained “tool kit” to harness differing wave conditions. They adapt to the circumstances which they are dealt. Their commitment and dedication are steadfast. They will wait for their spot and pay attention to everyone and everything around them using all of their senses. Those senses are defined and refined by instincts born from repetition—riding thousands and thousands of previous waves in all conditions. They will first concentrate on surviving, then positioning, then dominating the next wave.

  Investing at this moment feels exactly the same. The sea is swirling, the currents are crossed, the swells are ebbing and flowing, the novices are drowning and there is grand wipeout after grand wipeout of some of the great names, which is intimidating and daunting to all.

  Now is that moment for investing. Now is that moment when private equity has its greatest opportunity and its greatest challenge. The turbulence we have experienced in 2008 will dictate the circumstances for new investments, which will surely find historically high returns. History has shown that private equity returns soar at these deep inflection points in stabilized markets. Following the down-turns in the early ’90s and 2000s, returns were upwards of 25% for US private equity firms.

  My thanks to Tom Barrack for his consistently great insights. Let’s all remember to be champions in every situation and in all conditions—starting right now.

  You can’t build a reputation on
what you are going to do.

  —HENRY FORD

  Building Your Reputation

  I’ve been building the Trump brand for several decades, and my three eldest children are now with The Trump Organization, helping to expand our brand. Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric are all here now. They are my real Apprentices, and they’re doing a great job. They know that I’m demanding, but they are disciplined and very hard workers, so they are a good fit with The Trump Organization.

  Having a quality brand is very much like having a good reputation. It’s important to consider that fact, even when you are just starting out. Remember that everything you say and do is important. Actions matter.You are, literally, your own brand, whether you have a business yet or not. If you are serious about what you’re doing, taking responsibility for yourself starts now.

  The Trump brand has to represent the highest quality available, no matter what the enterprise might be. If I build a golf course, it has to the best. If I build a skyscraper, it has to be the best. If I have a line of suits, they’d better be terrific. I am very thorough when it comes to certain things. Namely, everything.You’d better be, too, if you hope to get somewhere worth going.

  I remember when someone mentioned how impressed they were that I would be so interested in trees when I was building a golf course. I had made an effort to find the leading expert of this particular type of tree and spent a lot of time researching them on my own. But I was surprised they were impressed—to me it made sense. You have to know the details yourself! Secondhand information will always be secondhand. Don’t be a secondhand person. Go to the source yourself. That’s a start on the road to a great brand, a great reputation, or both. No detail is too small, whether it’s a tree or a faucet. One assistant remembers that I kept three bathroom sinks on a couch in the office for months, asking everyone who came in which sink they liked best. To me, that kind of attention is a component of a comprehensive level of excellence.

  Some of my buildings have sold out before they are built. Why? People recognize the brand name and know what they will be getting—the best for their money. It’s not a risk on their part. That’s the great thing about building a business based on quality and integrity. It will sell itself. It doesn’t happen overnight—you may have to work awhile to establish your reputation and brand—but the consistency will be the standard to beat in your chosen industry. I can tell you, it’s worth it. Whatever your interests are, get started. As Henry Ford said, you can’t build a reputation (or a brand) on what you are going to do. You have to put some action into your plans, ideas, and dreams.

  Most of us need letters of recommendation now and then. I write them as well as receive them, and I always look for the words “responsible, professional, and loyal.” If you can build your reputation on three words, those would be three at the top to choose from. I also think of those words when it comes to the Trump brand—to be authentic when it comes to responsibility, professionalism, and loyalty—to my buyers, clients, students, readers, audiences, and so forth. I’ll be the first to admit it’s not always easy. I am responsible for a lot of people. But high standards are high standards, and that’s what I stand for. I will not accept less from myself.

  To build the reputation you want to have, you will have to be the same way. Being stubborn has its rewards. Getting to the top and staying there is one of them. Start now, start today, start this very minute. There’s a lot of competition out there, and they won’t be waiting around for you.

  Build your reputation on intelligence, responsibility, and results. That’s building the right way.

  Diligence is the mother of good luck.

  —BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

  “The Harder I Work, the Luckier I Get”

  I’ve always been big on quotes, whether they’re mine or someone else’s, because very often they distill ideas down to their essence. What Ben Franklin said many years ago could have been said today, because it’s relevant and right on. We’ve all heard about doing our “due diligence,” which is another way of being thorough. It’s also the first step to bringing yourself some good luck. What Gary Player, the great golfer, said—quoted above as the title of this essay—remains solid nutshell advice that can apply to everyone.

  The mixed-use concept of hotel and condominiums has been a huge success, starting with the first one I did in New York City in the late 1990s, Trump International Hotel & Tower at 1 Central Park West. Since then I’ve built hotel towers in Chicago and Las Vegas, with many more in the works around the world. Our tower in Waikiki was sold out in five hours, which is a record. People ask me, “How can you do so much?” and I have to say it really isn’t luck, but doing due diligence and applying common sense. This mixed-use concept was obviously a winner, so I developed the idea further and then took it worldwide. The strategy has worked, and we now have a Trump Hotel Collection that encompasses the world. I had always known the Trump brand would go global—at the right time.

  You can apply that to your own life, career, and business as well. Look into the future a bit. Take the time to move yourself forward. If the indications are there, put in the extra effort to make something good even better, or bigger, or both.That’s thinking big, and I’m no stranger to that concept and you shouldn’t be either. I’ve had enough success to know that it works.

  The past few years of my life have been busier than they’ve ever been. Everything has escalated, and it’s been demanding—but exciting. But I’ve also been preparing for it for a long time. I’m used to working hard, and therefore I’m used to expecting results. Some people call it luck, but like Ben Franklin said, diligence has something to do with it, too.

  For example, if you’ve been working toward something for five years, I’d say you have a goal in mind.You’ve probably focused on that goal. Hopefully, you’ve been diligent in pursuing it. If your work pays off, which it most likely will, people might say you’re just lucky. Maybe so, because you’re lucky enough to have the brains to work hard!

  When I’m writing a book, which seems to be most of the time these days, I will spend up to seven or eight months putting together notes, collecting articles, dictating stories and ideas before I even begin to actually put it all together. It’s a long process, and it requires patience and perseverance to see it through to the finished product. I will admit that sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it, because it’s not an easy endeavor. But when the book is done, it’s a great feeling. It’s an accomplishment that has taken painstaking time. People won’t see the work that goes into a book, but anyone who has written one will tell you that diligence is a must.They don’t just materialize out of nowhere.

  Recently, while working on one of my books, I spent some time thinking about the “entitlement mentality” that seems to have afflicted this country. I think we can take it back a few decades to the emergence of what was called “instant gratification” as personified by the superstars and rock stars who emerged and made tremendous amounts of money, which very much impressed young people. Suddenly, everyone thought they should have what those very few people had or that those people were “overnight” stars and it should happen that way to them, too. In reality, it happens to very few people and rarely does it happen “overnight” to anybody. Those are the exceptions to the rule, not the norm. But they received so much media attention that people who had to struggle a bit or work for long years at something had the feeling they were being left out or that they were being treated unequally. They began to feel that the world owed them something.

  Not everything works out as we might hope it will, and certain fields require a bigger dose of luck to succeed in than others, but a very good way to pave your own way to success is simply to work hard, to be diligent, and to look at what you have going for you versus what you don’t have going for you—the old cup half full versus half empty test. Here’s where I bring back my tried and true theory that you have to think big—because if you’re diminishing your own prospects, then it’s not likely you will run
into a lot of luck. And part of doing your due diligence is to know what you want for yourself, not what other people want for you—which in many cases turns out to be not much! Take the time to move yourself forward. In other words, think, work—and be lucky.

  Empty pockets never held anyone back.

  Only empty heads and empty

  hearts can do that.

  —NORMAN VINCENT PEALE

  How to Get Rich

  I wrote a book that came out in 2004 called How to Get Rich. I can remember when I was discussing appropriate titles with the editor, and we had a list of them. We kept going back and forth with different ideas, with clever and catchy titles. I finally said, “What everyone wants to know is how to get rich. Why don’t we just call the book How to Get Rich?” To me, that was getting to the point. I’d appreciate that as a reader, so that’s the title we chose.

  Getting rich isn’t always simple. I have and will always continue to emphasize the importance of loving what you do first. If your goal is just to make money, you are shortchanging yourself. You might also run out of energy while you’re trying to make that money. Passion is an incredible source of fuel that can get you through the tough spells that are bound to come up. So the first step in preparing to becoming rich is to find something that you absolutely love doing.