Trump: How to Get Rich

exist before.

In 1955, Glenn Gould, the classical pianist from Toronto, rocketed to international fame by recording Bach’s Goldberg Variations. He was young and unusual, but he had already been practicing the piano for close to twenty years. He may have seemed like an overnight sensation to the general public, but anyone who’s been working at something for twenty years isn’t likely to agree with that assessment.

I have to admit that my knowledge of classical music is limited, but from what little I’ve read on the subject, I know that the process of becoming a classical musician is a long and demanding one. The amount of practice hours required to master an instrument is astounding, and also never ending. How do they do it? I’m not sure, but I would guess that passion plays a large part.

Every industry and profession has its bottom line for what is required to succeed. If you can’t stand to practice every day, being a musician is out of the question. If you hate to exercise, being an athlete is not for you.

In business—every business—the bottom line is understanding the process. If you don’t understand the process, you’ll never reap the rewards of the process. You’ll never last long enough to achieve your overnight success.

Part of the process is doing your homework. You have to know what you’re getting into first. That was one of my father’s strongest beliefs. We’ve all heard the phrase You’re barking up the wrong tree. It brings to mind a funny image, but in reality it can be embarrassing. Not doing your homework can result in something analogous, so do a few things first to avoid this.

We can learn from our mistakes, but it’s better to learn from our successes. When I hear people say, Well, it was an interesting experience, I can usually safely assume they are referring to something that didn’t work out the way they’d planned. I don’t find my goof-ups to be amusing or interesting.

Can you imagine hearing a surgeon say, Well, it didn’t go quite right, but I sure learned a lot? I wouldn’t want that guy operating on me. The same applies to anyone in business, because if you’re in business, it’s not just your money involved, but very often the money and well-being of others as well. In my business, I can’t take chances. If something is not quite right with the design or construction of a superstructure, a lot of people could be injured or killed. I’ve got to know what’s going on. Bottom line, it will be my responsibility.

People see the finished product. Wow, a skyscraper! What goes into it is another story. Construction isn’t glamorous. It’s a serious and often dangerous endeavor. Fortunately, I understood this from my earliest days in the business, so there’s a certain gravity in my approach to the construction of any building.

That’s where having learned to do my homework comes in handy. It’s a necessary requirement, not an extracurricular course to enhance my productivity. Not only do I have to know exactly what I’m doing, but I’ve also got to make sure I find contractors who know exactly what they’re doing as well. That’s why I’m tough on them, and that’s why I’m equally tough on myself. A lot of lives are at stake in our work. We don’t want any interesting experiences!

We all know what it’s like to pretend to study. There are some courses in school that just don’t hold your attention. If you are choosing a career, keep that in mind. What most holds your attention?

Consider a pyramid. Did you ever notice how large and solid the foundation is? Did you notice the carefully graduated levels that eventually lead to the pinnacle? Now turn the pyramid upside down. That’s a representation of topsy-turvy thinking. You don’t start at the top. You start with the foundation—the stronger, the better.

The world moves along at such a fast clip that we have little patience when things are slow, whether it’s the line at a supermarket or Internet access. We’ve become intolerant of those things that cannot be accelerated or skipped entirely. I can’t speed up the foundation work for a building, nor can I expect to play piano like Glenn Gould just because I want to.

Know the limitations as well as the possibilities of everything you do. Find out as much as you can yourself about what you plan to do, and don’t expect anyone to act as your favorite grandmother in wanting what’s best for you. Most people want what’s best for themselves, not for you. If those people have already spent a great deal of effort on their homework, why should they share it with you?

Listen to a Ping-Pong Game

I learned a long time ago to listen, but to listen judiciously. You can learn a lot from the people around you —you just have to be discerning about the information that comes your way. A lot of the so-called information I receive turns out to be someone’s personal opinion. We’re all entitled to our two cents’ worth, but sometimes that’s all it amounts to.

Be aware of the marketplace. Know what’s going on now. That’s one reason I devote several hours a day to reading. That’s how long it takes to both keep up with current events and learn from the greats in history. How can you expect to be successful if your idea of what’s happening in the world is vague or nonexistent? That’s like saying, I know that September 11 happened, but I choose not to acknowledge it. It gets in the way of my positive outlook on things. That approach is fine if you’re a professional fairy-tale writer.

There’s another side to everything, so develop your ability to see it—or even hear it. I once met a young woman from Hong Kong who worked on Wall Street in emerging markets. She had an uncanny ability to predict certain events in the marketplace—it seemed almost like a psychic gift to me.

One day, I asked her how she could be so on target in her work and she likened knowing and predicting the global markets tolistening to a Ping-Pong game.

At first, I thought she was joking, or perhaps just being evasive, but she went on to explain her theory.

I’m not kidding you, Donald. When I was growing up, we had a Ping-Pong table in the den, and I could hear the games my brothers would play, sometimes for hours, when I was studying in my room. I discovered that I could discern the tilt of the paddle, and the outcome of the volley, just by the sound of the Ping-Pong ball being hit, and the sound of it landing on the other side of the net. I knew the results, the repercussions, and the recovery that would be required to successfully handle what had been dealt.

Later, I applied this to my work in emerging markets and found I could often predict what would be happening just by concentrating on world events and thinking of the sound of Ping-Pong balls being hit around the globe. Ping-Pong is really the reason behind my success.

I was astounded.That’s my idea of tuning in.

I must add that this young woman had all the education in finance that her position required. She was a bright student. What set her apart from everyone else was the way she applied her knowledge and her keen analysis of the game of Ping-Pong to her work. She may even have done this on an unconscious level initially, but tapping into this resource gave her an uncanny edge. The lesson I learned from her story is never to underestimate the power of awareness.

Find out what other people have done to succeed, and then be prepared to do ten times more. There are no guarantees.

Comparing ourselves to others is a waste of time. I’ve heard people say, Well, Mr. Lucky had a million dollars before he was thirty and I’ve worked just as hard as he has. Well, Mr. Lucky has nothing to do with you, your possibilities, your success, or your failure. Don’t let anyone else be your yardstick. That’s taking power away from yourself in a big way.

You’ve got your own personal blueprint to attend to. We can’t all be Tiger Woods, J. Lo, Bill Gates, or whoever it is you would like to be, and sometimes that’s a hard fact to face. You may have already experienced defeat. That happens. It happens a lot! But the fact that you have aspirations to begin with is putting you on the road to success right now. No matter how defeated you may feel, you’ve still got a chance. But it won’t happen by itself. Get to work!

I’ll sum up with two of my favorite quotes:

There are no short cuts to anywhere worth going.

—BEVERLY SILLS