Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life (15 page)

W
e 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.

—RALPH WALDO EMERSON

O
ne thing I’ve learned about life is that it is a series of discoveries. It starts with discoveries and hopefully should continue that way. Remember how exciting it was to learn to ride a bike? Ever watched a child taking their first steps? It’s a momentous occasion. If we can capture that kind of excitement every day, I think we’re on our way to wisdom.

Albert Einstein said, “The mind that opens to a new idea never comes back to its original size.” I agree. Once you’ve learned to walk, why would you want to go back to crawling around? It wouldn’t make sense. We all have a purpose in life, and that’s to do our best to live up to our potential.

It’s really pretty simple. All we have to do is tune in to our talents and capabilities. Remember, I didn’t say it was easy—I said it was simple. Sometimes we get so distracted that it’s hard to tune out enough to be able to tune in at all. We are bombarded by
outside information all day.The challenge here is to find the quiet time to be able to assimilate our own inside information in the midst of all the cacophony.You have to unplug before you can plug yourself back in.

I’m a busy guy, but I set aside quiet time every morning and every evening to keep my equilibrium as it should be—which is centered on my own path. I don’t like being swayed by anything that might be negative or damaging. When Emerson talks about leaving a trail, he’s right. That means you can’t be following someone else’s path.That means you’d better spend some time focusing yourself on your own path and your own purpose.

This is a serious issue, for worldly as well as personal reasons. The worst things in history have happened when people stop thinking for themselves and listen to other people and, even worse, start following other people. That’s what gives rise to dictators. Avoid that at all costs. Stop it first on a personal level and you will have contributed to world sanity as well as your own.

In business, I’ve discovered that my purpose is to do my best, to my utmost ability, every day. That’s my standard. I learned early in my life that I had high standards. Ever hear of intrinsic value? Intrinsic means basic, inborn, elemental. If you have an intrinsic value, it cannot be taken away or shaken. It’s a form of strength that can be unbeatable.

Discovery means finding out something we didn’t previously know. Purpose is an intention or an end to be attained. We have the tangible and the intangible in life. Let them balance each other out to your best advantage. I may be in a reality-based business, but I have a sense of the mystery in life that keeps me feeling like an explorer. Don’t put blinders or borders on yourself.

I could have very easily dismissed Mark Burnett’s idea for
The Apprentice
simply based on the fact that I was already very busy. But it was a new challenge and a new discovery for me. It served
a part of my nature, which is that of an educator. Finding your purpose may be a lifelong pursuit or you may have found it when you were five years old. There’s no absolute timeline for anyone. That’s a good reason to never give up, to keep on discovering things every day. It’s also a terrific recipe for a successful life. Following your own path will bring you to the places you were meant to be. Expand your horizons! In other words, think big and live large.

—RALPH WALDO EMERSON

P
eople who work for me know that my media persona of being positive and enthusiastic isn’t just a façade. I am that way—from the inside out. I have big ideas and a big enough energy resource to get them done. Those who are around me will eventually catch on that that is how I operate. It’s an effective approach that obviously works. It’s contagious in the best sense of the word. One thing everyone knows about The Trump Organization is that we get things done and our energy level is one reason why. I’ve set the standard and everyone follows suit.

If you like to work hard, you will attract people with the same ethic. The people who work with me enjoy the daily challenges and set their own standards to meet those challenges. Their pattern of thinking matches mine—how do we accomplish more? How do we get to where we want to go? It’s a combination of vision, courage, and discipline to realize that the possibilities are always there. But if you’re thinking too small, you might miss them. Learn to think big.

Ask yourself this question: What standard would you like to be known for? Then go about setting that standard for yourself. No one else can set it for you. I can remember when my father couldn’t understand why I wanted to develop in Manhattan. I’d had my eye on Manhattan since I was in college, and it was a goal I intended to reach.Years later, when I was describing my ideas for Trump Tower to my father, including the glass and bronze exterior, he couldn’t understand why I would choose anything other than bricks to build with. Bricks worked for him, so why not for me? Because I was setting my own standard. When Trump Tower opened to wonderful reviews and became a landmark building, it was clear that my standard had been accepted—and in a big way.

I had also been advised to put up beautiful paintings in the lobby of Trump Tower. To me, this seemed old-fashioned and unoriginal, even though I like beautiful art. I decided to put up a waterfall, which to me is like a sculpture in itself, and it has attracted far more attention than if I’d put up paintings. It’s over eighty feet high and cost $2 million to build. It’s absolutely spectacular and I’ve never regretted my choice. Once again I was setting my own standard.

When I decided to rebuild Wollman Rink in Central Park, I did so with my own ethics in mind. Do the best job as quickly as possible for the least amount of money. The city had been trying for seven years to rebuild and restore this beautiful skating rink, and I finally interceded and finished it in three months and at less than 10 percent of the City’s $21 million cost. Everyone benefited. Those are my standards, and I met them. I have my father’s four-step formula to thank for my economy when doing a job: Get in, get it done, get it done right, and get out.

A question I would ask you to ask yourself to give you a jump start in thinking big is this: What is your creative capital? What do you have to offer? What have you acquired in your experience and
in your studies that makes you valuable? Are you aware of your own potential? Will you be equipped to make a difference when the time comes for you to step forward? Start thinking along those lines and your worth will have already been multiplied.

A few years ago, probably in 2005, I received a phone call from Coach Mike Leach (who was fired unfairly from Texas Tech in December 2009), calling to say how much he liked my books because they were inspirational. I follow college football, so I knew he was the coach for Texas Tech, and a great one. We had a conversation and I realized we shared a few things in common as far as motivation and positive focus go. Since then I’ve appeared on ESPN for his team and he’s appeared on
60 Minutes.
I mention him because there are some good reasons why Coach Leach is in the big leagues as far as great coaches go—he knows how to get the best from his players, he has an open mind, and he knows that being a coach means being able to teach others to think in new directions. That means their performance will be altered as well. Coach Leach knows what he’s doing and how to do it, and he recognizes and develops the potential in other people. He’s a great guy in addition to being a success.