Page 69 - How To Get Rich

inThe Apprentice, it’s a jungle out there. We’re worse than lions—at least
they do it for food. We do it for the thrill of the hunt.
Recently, I’ve become a bit more mellow about retribution and
paranoia. Although I still believe both are necessary, I now realize that

vengeance can waste a lot of time better spent on new developments and
deals, and even on building a better personal life. If you can easily dismiss
a negative from your life, it’s better to do so. Seeing creeps as a form of
corruption that you’re better off without is a great time-saving device.
Still, sometimes you’ve just got to screw them back.
For example, a while ago I agreed to invest a small amount in a new
restaurant venture. I did this with the full expectation that I was throwing

this money down the drain, because most of these clubs are not successful.
I liked the two young guys who approached me to invest and figured I’d
give them a break—plus a good friend of mine had asked me to help them.
When the restaurant opened, it was a smash hit. Crowds of people
lined up to get in. Money was pouring in. It was incredible.
About a year later, I realized that I hadn’t received a single dollar from

the owners—no repayment of my initial investment and certainly no
profit. I called two of the guys who got me into the deal and said, Fellas,
come on, I know success when I see it. You ought to pay back your
investors.
One of them said, Oh, we’re working so hard, and the money just isn’t
coming in fast enough.
My response: Bullshit! I don’t believe it. From my perspective, they

seemed to be living like kings.
Eventually, I received my first equity distribution from them, for a
fraction of my investment. I was furious and sent an angry letter to the
managing partner, in which I asked for a public investigation of their
records.

I’m an instinctive businessman and I hate being screwed. I can’t prove
they did anything wrong without spending more money to investigate
them than my investment is worth, but my hunch is that investors like me
should have been repaid six times their initial investment by now.
Now whenever I see the guys I tried to help, they wave to me and I just
turn my back. The sad thing for them is that had I felt that they treated me
(and their other investors) fairly, I probably would have backed them for
millions on their next deal.