Books on Happiness / Trump 101 The Way to Success

T R U M P 1 0 1 : T H E W A Y T O S U C C E S S

because of new developments, changed conditions, or your unique talents.

•In your planning, know how much risk you can take. Evaluate whether the returns will be worth the risk, and set a firm limit on how much you can gamble.

•Examine ways to cut your risk. Sometimes it may be only tackling certain parts of a project or bringing in partners or associates to limit your risks.

Ask Mr. Trump: Questions from Readers of the Trump University Blog

Q: I’m finishing a course to help me pass my real estate sales exam. Then, I’ll need to keep my full-time job until my income from selling real estate can support me full-time. Should I start in residential sales part-time until I can switch to commercial fulltime or go straight to commercial real estate and try to find a firm that will hire me part-time?

DJT: Take the risk. Go directly into commercial real estate. Based on the skills, contacts, and effort required, you would be more likely to succeed in commercial real estate if you did it full-time. Gain a reputation for being a commercial real estate expert, not a residential salesperson who dabbles in other things. If I’m looking for somebody to lease my office building, I want somebody who will work on it full-time. If I were looking for somebody to sell my commercial building, I would look for someone who has expertise in that area.

Commercial real estate is a tougher business to break into. Almost anybody can be a residential broker, but it’s hard to land your first commercial real estate deal because people want to deal with someone with experience. Some commercial real estate firms may give you draws or let you do other work assisting brokers, which would give you income while you learn and gain experience.

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B E S T A D V I S O R

L i s t e n t o y o u r i n s t i n c t s

Within seconds of meeting Mark Burnett, the creator of The Apprentice, I knew he was 100 percent solid, both as

a person and as a professional. Right away, I liked and trusted Mark, and I knew that I wanted to do business with him. However, I’ve met people who I’ve had an immediate aversion to even though I never knew why. While I try not to be judgmental, I’ve learned to listen to and trust my gut. It’s one of my most valued counselors.

Most of us have sharply honed instincts—deeply imbedded likes, dislikes, and feelings—that are as much a part of us as our limbs. Ignoring these instincts is like not trusting your eyes, but we frequently do ignore them—usually to our regret. It’s easy to

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Donald J. Trump with Allen Weisselberg, EVP, CFO, Trump Organization.

Photo courtesy of the Trump Organization.

question our feelings, especially when they’re contrary to what other people believe. We may think that we are being illogical, overly emotional, or unreasonable, so we disregard how we feel. Usually, that’s a big mistake!

I trust my instincts because they are the product of everything that went into making me who I am. They reflect the essential me—my values, feelings, fears, experiences, and goals. Instincts are the distillation of the lessons we learned from our parents, families, teachers, and friends. They’re based on all our experiences in life, especially when we got burned. Our instincts are the logic we’ve developed from living, doing, watching, listening. They guide us, protect us, and remind us who we really are.

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Problems arise when our instincts don’t seem logical or consistent with the facts, and we don’t know which to trust. I try to get all the information, examine all the facts, and then I usually follow my gut.

Follow your instincts. You alone know where you really want to go.

—Donald J. Trump

U S E Y O U R I N S T I N C T S

It takes strength to follow your instincts when everyone and everything insists you’re wrong. It’s hard to stand alone, against the tide of differing opinion and all the solid evidence produced by high-priced and acclaimed experts. Sometimes that’s just what you must do. You have to listen to your inner voices and trust what they tell you to do.

In the final analysis, the responsibility for making decisions lies with you. It’s your life, family, business, money, or choice.

When I first started building golf courses, my instincts told me it was a good business decision. I knew if I combined my passion for golf with my knowledge of the process, I would succeed. I found the best golf course designers in the world and spent many hours working with them. The results have been spectacular because I merged instinct and logic with the confidence that I would succeed.

I was once asked, if I were in a jungle, would I prefer to have a guide or a map. I’d choose a guide. If you correctly interpret

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your feelings and instincts, they will be the valuable guide that gives you an edge.

M A K E I T H A P P E N I N Y O U R L I F E

Going with your gut can keep you intact. Remember that being whole reinforces your strength.

•Identify your values and most cherished beliefs. Reinforce in your mind what is most important to you. Simply thinking about your values will influence the decisions you make.

•Trust your feelings, but also listen to reason. Stay open to new ways and ideas so that you and your instincts will continue to grow.

B E WA R E

Some people use the excuses, “That’s how I feel”; “That’s who I am”; and “This is how it always worked for me, and I’m not going to change.” These people are really just afraid of change.

Change is good and necessary. On occasion, it can be good to go against your instincts and habits just to shake things up, to see life from another perspective, or simply to take a chance. Repetition can put you to sleep. Sometimes you have to look for opportunities to respond differently and break the mold.

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Ask Mr. Trump: Questions from Readers of the Trump University Blog

Q: How do you develop your instincts and distinguish intuition from fear or doubt?

DJT: It takes practice. Sometimes the answers are very clear, and you’ll just know. Other times you’ll feel indecisive for good reason. Often it means the timing is not right. That’s when hesitating is good. I’ve been very glad that I waited on certain matters because the extra time helped me get ready and make the opportunity right.

We all get indications in different ways, so learn to read your clues. Arrange to take some quiet time for yourself every day because it’s hard to think clearly when you’re always surrounded by commotion. Sometimes, we have to tune out to tune in.

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