Think Like A Champion by Donald Trump

Think Like A Champion
“An Informal Education In Business and Life”
By Donald J. Trump with Meredith MciverNew York, NY: Vanguard Press. 2009. 198pp. Donald Trump, Author and Chairman and CEO of the Trump Organization published his thirteenth book, Think Like A Champion in 2009. The book keeps form with Mr. Trumps value for brevity in that it is concise, only 198 pages, but offers his valuable insight on an informal education on business and life from a seasoned entrepreneur.

Trump places a quote atop each chapter by such individuals as Albert Einstein, Aristotle, Henry Ford, Napoleon, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Abraham Lincoln, Socrates, Henry David Thoreau, etc. Some of the author’s suggestions that I found valuable include:

“Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success. - Henry Ford” (11).
“…a good way to handle difficult and even tragic times – to find blessing in the midst of adversity” (14).
“Never think of learning as being a burden or studying as being boring. It may require some discipline, but it can be an adventure” (17).
“The more you learn, the more you realize what you don’t know” (35).
“As Jack Dempsey said, “A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t” (39).
“I view my work as an art form” (43).
“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (51).
“Business is no place for stream of consciousness babbling, no matter how colorful you might think you are being. Whatever you’re doing, keep it short, fast, and direct. (61)
“People appreciate brevity in today’s world” (63).
“Don’t find fault, find a remedy” – Henry Ford” (65).
“We are all businessmen and women, whether you see it that way yet or not. If you like art and can’t make money at it, you eventually realize that everything is a business, even your art…I see my business as an art and so I work at it passionately.” (86).
“Men are born to succeed, not fail. – Henry David Thoreau” (101).
“You can better your best at any time” (121).
“The important thing is not to stop questioning, curiosity has it’s own reason for existing. – Albert Einstein” (131).
“Be sincere, be brief, be seated. – Franklin D. Roosevelt. Know your audience.” (157).
“Build your reputation” (169).
“Diligence is the mother of good luck – Benjamin Franklin” (173).

The author guides the reader through a series of short and concise educational lessons that he has picked up along his business and life journey. Trump is a businessman but also an educator in this work, this book is a good resource for those wanting to advance themselves in business and life. To learn more about Donald Trump’s book go to http://www.trumpthinklikeachampion.com or his organization go to www.trump.com.

Paul Christopher [452]

T. Boone Pickens

Book Review


The First Billion Is the Hardest
Reflections On A Life Of Comebacks And America’s Energy Future
By T. Boone Pickens
New York, NY: Crown Publishing, Random House, 2008. 260pp.

T. Boone Pickens, 81, Billionaire Investor and Principal/Founder of BP Capital Group[1] who is also widely known as The Oracle of Oil[2], published his third book, The First Billion Is The Hardest in 2008. In his book, Pickens offers his reflections on leadership, comebacks, and challenges facing America’s future energy needs. The book is a rather short read and is divided up into thirteen chapters.

The author describes his personal story of small beginnings living in Oklahoma and working as a geologist upon graduating from college. Pickens ventured out and formed his own oil company in 1954 on an initial investment of $2,500, which would eventually turn into company that by 1972 was running profits of nearly $15 million annually on $92 million in revenues (18). By the end of his tenure at the age of 68, Pickens Company had distributed nearly 2 billion dollars to stockholders in dividends and distributions (53). However, he faced a tough challenge as he was forced out as CEO and went through a difficult personal time including being entangled with a nasty divorce. That’s when Pickens formed a new company BP Capital Group and staged a comeback on life at the age of 68.

Pickens offers some practical leadership guidance to all business leaders. In the area of perspective he states, “the direction of success is never straight up. Sometimes in the oil business, you have to drill deep to reach your objective. If that fails, you reach a point where you think all is lost and there is nothing there. Most people, both in business and in life, surrender. As a result, they fall short of their dreams, opportunities, and potential…. just beyond the hard, tough spot we all have found ourselves in, there awaits opportunity to become stronger, more successful…. never, never, never give up. (61).

One section I found challenging was his emphasis on physical fitness. “When you’re young, fitness is a sport. As you grow older, it’s a necessity” (87). The more you push yourself, the better the results (90). At the age of 70, Pickens beat his personal trainer, who at the time was thirty years his junior, on a treadmill running competition. “Fitness is a daily priority”. Pickens was working out 24 days a month at the age of 70! “I am convinced that workouts strengthen not only my body but also my mind” (91).

Pickens’s also give his perspective on leadership throughout. “Always think like an owner” (21). “Only with risk come the greatest rewards” (69). “You win with a team, and I am a good team builder” (113). “Don’t manage, lead” (115). “Concentrate on achieving goals” (116). “Lead but also listen” (125). “A Leader keeps people focused on the future” (125).

In Chapters 7-13 Pickens offers a realistic outlook on America’s energy situation both now and for the future. He states, “The world is running out of cheap oil. It’s finite and a diminishing resource” (127). “Seventy-Five percent of the world’s oil is in the hands of state-owned companies” (132), he sites countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia as the two largest producers. In 2008, Pickens reminds readers that the U.S. is importing almost 75% of its oil at a cost of nearly one trillion annually which Pickens describes as “the greatest transfer of wealth in human history” (139). Pickens suggests America must “declare war on a crisis [energy] that threatens the very security of America by sending close to $1 trillion overseas each year, and pushing our fragile financial condition toward almost certain meltdown” (236). Pickens views America’s energy challenges as the “moral equivalent to war” (239).

To learn more about T. Boone Pickens Energy plans you can go to: http://www.pickensplan.com/.

Paul J. Christopher
[1] www.bpcap.net/pickens.asp [Accessed May 27, 2009]
[2] www.businesspundit.com/pickens-plan-oracle-of-oil/ [Accessed May 27, 2009]

Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman

Book Review

Hot, Flat, and Crowded
“Why We Need A Green Revolution – And How It Can Renew America”
By Thomas L. Friedman
New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. 2008. 438pp.
Thomas L. Friedman, author and New York Times Journalist, published his fifth book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded in 2008. The book is divided up into five parts and twenty-one chapters. Friedman’s terms Hot, Flat, and Crowded refer primarily to climate change, economics, and overpopulation. All terms are interconnected throughout.

The first section, titled: ‘Where We Are’, covers two chapters. Friedman cites three trends in the U.S., the first is the post-9/11 political mentality, the second is the “dumb as you wanna be” mood that has overtaken our political elite… “. The third trend is toward what the author calls “nation-building at home”…our country is still exploding with innovators and idealists…” (9).

In section two, entitled ‘How We Got Here’, the author covers six chapters, and discusses the role of politics and oil (petropolitics) and the rise of self-serving regimes (petro-dictators) and the correlation between the price of oil and basic human freedoms.

In section three, covering six chapters, entitled ‘How We Move Forward’, Friedman makes a good case of implementing resourceful energy solutions and they relate to military operations using Iraq as an example. In section four and five, the author provides an analysis to the world’s two largest economies – China and America.

This work contributes to the debate on how best to move forward on national energy policy with an emphasis related to national security and global economics. Although I don't agree with all of Friedman's assessments and suggestions on environmental policies, he does offer a unique perspective on environmental issues.  He is a bit critical of the U.S. government's policies and seems to advocate a very pro-environmental stand without considering all of the unique challenges economically, politically, and socially that may hinder his suggesstions from becoming reality.

To learn more about Thomas Friedman you can go to: http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/.

Paul J. Christopher

Against All Hope by Armando Valladares

Against All Hope: A Memoir of Life in Castro's Gulag

Book Review
Against All Hope
A Memoir of Life in Castro’s Gulag
By Armando Valladares
New York, NY: Encounter Books, Revised Edition, 2001. 426pp.

Armando Valladares, former political prisoner in Cuba and former ambassador for the United States to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, originally published Against All Hope in 1984. In 1961, at the age of twenty-three, Valladares was charged with ''acts of public destruction and sabotage” and labeled by the government as a “counter-revolutionary”. Valladares spent twenty-two years in various prisons throughout Cuba and was released in 1982 after international pressure and a personal appeal by former French President Francois Mitterand to the Castro regime[1].

Against All Hope is what the author describes as “my witness; an attempt to inform the world about the true criminal nature of the ongoing dictatorship of Fidel Castro” (xv). The book is divided into fifty-three chapters and is a detailed account of one man’s twenty-two year memoir through false imprisonment in communist Cuba.

For an up close and personal account that gives a story of courage, faith, and hope in the midst of a darkened and depraved humanity, I would recommend Against All Hope as a close companion. The author certainly paints with words to describe his personal memoirs. To learn more about Armando Valladares go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armando_Valladares or http://thehrf.org/. Valladares is Chairman of the Human Rights Foundation based in New York City.

Paul J. Christopher (243 words)
[1] http://www.thehrf.org/internationalcouncil.html#avalladres [Accessed May 20, 2009]