Page 24 - Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success

trum_c01.qxd 11/30/07 3:30 PM Page 3

T HE L OWEST M OMENT IN M Y L IFE

the opposite effect—it just made me want to make a comeback
and in a big way. I knew I could prove them wrong by being
stubborn, being tenacious, and not giving in or giving up. I
became a stronger person very quickly during this time. I’m not
advising you to ask for the same pressure, but know that if you
meet with some setbacks, refusing to give up is probably your
best strategy.
What gave me this fortitude? I’m not sure, but being tossed
aside as a “has-been” or a “wash-up” by the world press might
have had something to do with it. I’d also already learned that
problems are often opportunities in disguise. I began to see my
situation, believe it or not, as a great opportunity. I had a big
chance to show the press and my critics and enemies that I was a
force to be reckoned with, not a flash-in-the pan success with no
staying power. That’s heady incentive, and that’s looking at the
situation positively.
Then there was a turning point, and that turning point was
my attitude. My accountants still remember the night they were in
the conference room until all hours in the woe-is-us mode, and I
suddenly walked in to tell them about all the new projects I had
lined up for us. There were a lot of projects, and they were big
deals. I was in an exuberant mood, and my descriptions were
colorful and optimistic. They thought I had cracked, that maybe I
was beginning to hallucinate from the pressure, but I had reached
a point where I knew it was time to move forward. It wasn’t an act
I put on—I was ready. All this financial pressure would be behind
us in a short amount of time, I told them. I believed it, too.
As it turns out, that was indeed the turning point. All of us
decided to focus on the solution and not the problem—right
then. That’s another important lesson: Focus on the solution, not
the problem!
It’s odd, but in retrospect, I think having a near wipeout
made me a better businessman and certainly a better entrepre-
neur. I really had to think in out-of-the-box ways to keep from

3