As well as being a billionaire and one of the world’s richest men, Donald Trump is an outstanding model of true success. The consummate businessman, “The Donald”, in his book “How To Get Rich” documents briefly numerous aspects of his life, his guiding principles and the factors that he believes have lead to his achievement.
After getting a very privileged start in life at the hands of an extremely wealthy father, Trump began his career in property development at an early age. With the leverage of some favorable start up capital, Trump proceeded to go about buying up real estate in the Manhattan area in a tenacious manner. Guided by the lessons gleaned from the observation of his father, the young Trump soon possessed a desirable portfolio.
At the height of his career he suffered a well documented setback, declaring bankruptcy with debts of over 9.2 billion dollars. Remarkably just 10 years later he had not only reached his former financial and business heights but exceeded them.
But this is only the beginning of Trump’s success. Owning highly sought after real estate in many states of America, buildings continually commended for their stunning design and architecture, the development of a beauty pageant, an award winning golf course, a hit TV show, the list goes on and on. Trump is truly an inspiration.
The book documents neatly a lot of his wisdom while at the same time providing a brief glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes of the Trump empire. Written in his typically blunt and brief yet powerful style, the lessons of the book can be taken on board as though spoken to you by the great man himself. As well as being a business man, he is intelligent and articulate and this comes through in his writing to create an easy to read and entertaining piece.
The most valuable aspect of the book for me was to take a look inside Trump’s life such as in the chapter containing his weekly routine. He spoke of the tasks he performs, and spoke in some detail about the way he manages his companies while providing insights into the skills he believes are needed to perform these tasks successfully. It was also interesting to see how Trump balances his family life with his ultra busy work schedule and how he prioritizes the various aspects of his life to create the level of success he now enjoys.
Some of the points from the book that stuck with me were:
- Making your work your passion. You will never feel like you’re working if you love what you do.
- The need to be tough. Sometimes you have to screw people, be mean and ferocious in pursuit of your goals (according to Trump anyway)
- Have an ego. Or more accurately, balance your ego. Too much ego will make you a dictator but with no ego you will have no life force or drive.
- Toot your own horn. If you don’t talk about your successes, no one else will.
- Attention to detail. Know your business inside out, do your homework and be meticulous in the execution of your tasks.
The book’s pages are fluttered with pictures and it contains short paragraphs making it a quick and easy read. Even I, the slow reader that I am, was able to finish it in just a few hours.
Overall you will find “How to Get Rich” educational, entertaining, inspiring and exciting. If you are entrepreneur or you’re at the other end of the scale, looking to climb your way up the corporate ladder, “How to Get Rich" will provide you will valuable insights that I expect you won’t soon forget.
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