Recently, an interviewer asked me what my greatest fears were. I said I didn’t have any. He seemed surprised, but this is how I see it: If you label something as a fear, then it creates fear when sometimes it’s not a fear but a concern. For example, I know just as well as everyone else that New York City experienced a major terrorist attack and the thought of that is a concern for all of us, because it affects all of us. It’s happened in many places, so it’s a worldwide concern. But if we let it become a firmly rooted fear, the terrorists will have won.
The same applies to business. Do you fear owning a business? Translate that for yourself as asking:Are you concerned about owning a business yourself ? Why? What specifically are those concerns? It’s much easier to break down a concern than it is a fear. Fear creates a block that will only hinder your creative thinking. Objectivity will remove that block and allow for creative ideas to flow.
An antidote to fear is as simple as problem solving. Whether you have investing, estate planning, or running a business on your mind, or all of those things, they can be broken down into units of thought and dealt with in an orderly manner. It’s a bit like a jigsaw puzzle — you need to find the right place for each piece of the puzzle until the whole is apparent.
When I began to construct Trump Tower, for example, I had several things in mind that I knew I wanted. I wanted a certain kind of marble called Breccia Perniche, which was expensive, beautiful, and rare. It was also irregular and had white spots and white veins, which bothered me, so I went to the quarry itself and marked off the best slabs with black tape. Action turned this concern into a problem solved. I got exactly the marble pieces I wanted, and sitting around worrying about whether those pieces would be right or wrong was getting me nowhere. As a result of deciding to go to the quarry myself, the pieces of this puzzle fell into place and the finished product was perfect.
Know that if you want to own your own business, you will be doing a lot of the work yourself. That’s just the way it is. It isn’t all about giving orders or having other people do the legwork or brainwork for you. That comes into the picture, but you should always be ready to go at it yourself. If that idea bothers you, maybe you’d be better off being an employee. If responsibility comes naturally to you, or if you enjoy that challenge, owning your own business is a good fit.
Fear has a way of making things bigger than they are. There’s an old German proverb to the effect that "fear makes the wolf bigger than he is," and that is true. But the opposite of fear is faith, which is one reason you’ve got to believe in yourself and see yourself as victorious. You will know you are capable of dealing with any discouragements, bullies, or problems along the way.
When I was faced with some huge debts in the early 1990s, it was widely reported that I was finished, done for, gone. Looking at the numbers alone made that seem clear to the media. However, I never believed I was finished. I simply saw that situation as a problem I had to solve and went about doing that. I’m not saying it was easy, because it wasn’t. It was a big problem. But I refused to give in to fear or to believe what was being said about my so-called demise. I came back to become more successful than I ever was, and that’s why I believe business is very much about problem solving. If you can learn to deal with and solve problems, you will have a much bigger margin for success.
Do not allow fear to settle into place in any part of your life. It is a defeating attitude and a negative emotion. Recognize and zap it immediately. Replace it with a problem-solving attitude, faith in yourself, and hard work. Put that formula into working order for yourself and you’ll be dealing from a position of power, not fear. That’s winning.
Copyright © 2009 Donald J. Trump, author of Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education In Business and Life
Excellent perspective. I love the idea of feeling concern but not giving that concern the power to be a "fear." Thanks.
Michelle Schoffro Cook
Best-selling and six-time book author
The Life Force Diet
http://www.TheLifeForceDiet.com
Thanks for sharing . One of the rare businessmen we all have admired for a long long time Donald Trump and Richard Branson .
thanks for sharing.
"Do not allow fear to settle into place in any part of your life. It is a defeating attitude and a negative emotion. Recognize and zap it immediately. Replace it with a problem-solving attitude, faith in yourself, and hard work. Put that formula into working order for yourself and you'll be dealing from a position of power, not fear. That's winning"
I think this is good information the only thing I would change is
"Replace it with a problem-solving attitude, faith in yourSelf, and hard work."
Change faith in yourself from finite to infinite. People whom live by self propulsion are usually in collision course with someone or something.
Keep the peace,
Tom
good advice. also, good observation, tom.
reading the comments is as fun as reading the posts.
k.m.
I agree with this advice, fear rules far too many people and inhibits them. Thank you for posting.
Do not allow fear to settle into place in any part of your life. It is a defeating attitude and a negative emotion. Recognize and zap it immediately. Replace it with a problem-solving attitude, faith in yourself, and hard work. Put that formula into working order for yourself and you'll be dealing from a position of power, not fear. That's winning.
thanks Donald, we are all humans in this world, Jas
"Recognize and zap it (fear) immediately" – Great words to live by
I'm exposing my own prejudices here, but I'm very pleasantly surprised by how much I like and connect to what Trump is saying. Even more shocking, is that his perspective is very Intent-y! Great addition to the blog roll.
But I refused to give in to fear or to believe what was being said about my so-called demise. I came back to become more successful than I ever was, and that's why I believe business is very much about problem solving. If you can learn to deal with and solve problems, you will have a much bigger margin for success.
This is key to life success…J
What a useful shift in perspective. I think I'll be using this!
Am I the only one going, "is it really him or is it a fake ?!"
If it
Rafael,
I have to be honest that I too asked my team is this for real or an April Fools joke, as I did not work on this.
I am very proud to say our wonderful Yumi worked to get this post here. So it is for real, and I have to say, a great post and incredibly helpful and such a great fit with Intent's perspective on success.
Mallika
Thank you Donald for your helpful advice.
Blessings Catherine!
Does Donald use other folks fears to his own advantage?
Naturally.
Is it winning when you win over other people?
There is no such thing as winning. It is a form of possesion that cannot never be possesed. You can never posses anything. You are on loan for the moment and that is all. If ego thinks it can win then ego is possesed and becomes a slave to it's own cravings. The dog chasing it's own tail. Who won, The dogs tail or his mouth.
Stop, breathe and move forward….KUNG FU.(breath over mountain or God over Man).
Peace and Zen Again
Dom
Peace, Dom
Yes, thats not what I meant by winning. I think what you wished to say is: there is no such thing as possession?
Correct, even gravity cannot posses but it's constant.
God Bless You Sweetie
Peace
Dom
Thanks for clarifying Mallika and Yumi for getting the post. but I never thought stuff that intent.com is made up of as Mr. trump's expertise. But then again I hardly know of him. So shall make it a point to not have assumptions on people that you really don't know of. They could be the exact ooposite of one's assumptions. Ed/Sarah> well I think it's the way you look at winning (winning could be defined and decided against external measurements at the same time it could be defined against internal and subjective aims and goals too) and the socio-economic structures in place certain types of winnings are possible with undesirable effects on others but no individual could in their individual capacities could be responsible for that state of affairs!! Like I once said nature doesn't discriminate but it surels has created the food chain! And we might have to live with it till it finds a better alternative – perhaps a distant dream! BTW how are the walks? Did you get that Vegan diet after all
?
My daily walks are like dreams and I interpret them somewhat the same, Ruch. As I trod my path I saw a white dove perched on a surreally shaped tree, tother day and that after a hawk flew over my head just two minutes before. In those moments my vegan diet survived
Unnaturally we all own up to NY
)
Interesting point of view. Have you read my blog piece on fear? I think you'll find it of interest! http://www.intent.com/blog/2009/03/11/meditation-…
Janice Taylor
Best Selling Author
of the Our Lady of Weight Loss books
http://www.OurLadyofWeightLoss.com
mmm Ed> new or old yolk I take is not a part of a vegan diet !
Yes, "faith," is key. I enjoyed this article. Thanks!
FAITH = Forever Always I Trust Him , Full Assurance in Trusting Him(God)
Char you are right faith is key .
that's awesome. thanks for sharing this profound wisdom…
best,
brad
I am surprised to see a post by Donald Trump. Often we unconsciously make an assumptions about people with few glimpses we have them in the TV. Even though the words used are different(not used in a spiritual context), I see the strength of you inner dialog. Even though I came across these ideas in a different context, it is great to see how someone so successful is practically applying in daily life. Great to have you here.