Page 27 - How To Get Rich

Some people have written that I’m boastful, but they’re missing the
point. I believe in what I say, and I deliver the goods. If you’re devoting
your life to creating a body of work, and you believe in what you do, and
what you do is excellent, you’d better damn well tell people you think so.

Subtlety and modesty are appropriate for nuns and therapists, but if you’re
in business, you’d better learn to speak up and announce your significant
accomplishments to the world—nobody else will.
When I’m setting the price for a luxury apartment, I consider a lot of
factors—the market, the location, and the competition. Then I set my own
standards. Once, when some top-of-the-line apartments weren’t selling, I
upped the prices, way over the competition. They started selling

immediately.
I view my work as an art form and approach it with the same intensity
and ego as any ambitious artist would. I never planned on becoming a
brand name, but the fit of my aesthetic nature with each product I became
involved with has resulted in an expanding network of interests. The
success of the Trump name worldwide has been a surprise.

It’s been a good surprise. For example, using my name on a building
carries with it a promise of the highest quality available and at least a $5-
million price tag. That’s just for the name, because it will be worth it to
the developers, and they know it. That building will be up to my standards.
When I remember the line from Shakespeare’sRomeo and Juliet— What’s
in a name?—I have to laugh. What’s in a name can be far more than either
the Bard or I ever could have imagined.

We’ve all noticed the ascendancy of brand names and the power they
have, from Levi’s to Louis Vuitton. Some people are against this
widespread branding, seeing it as another form of labeling. I see it as a
viable outlet for creativity.
If you’re on the brink of success in your career, some snob might ask

you dismissively, You don’t want to become a brand name, do you?
Anyone who asks you that does not have the big picture in focus—and
they are usually just envious.
I can get a project off the ground in no time now, whereas an unknown
developer would require many months, if not years, to get something
going. The number of people I employ to get a project finished reaches
into the thousands, and those people would not have a building to work on
without a developer to give them a job. Commerce and art cannot function