Lessons from "Think Big & Kick Ass" by Donald Trump

Firstly, you must read this book. It is packed with nuggets from this celebrity billionaire whose most famous tag-line is "You're fired!". I got so many ideas and inspirations out of it. The co-author Bill Zanker who started the seminar company 'The Learning Annex' also had an inspirational story to tell about how his team took on an impossible project and turned it into an annual million dollar revenue activity.

Well, the most memorable lesson for me was from chapter 7 "Big Mo!". 'Mo' stands for momentum. Just like an electric fan, once it is turned on, it will keep on spinning. When you cut off the electrical supply, it will continue to spin through the force of inertia before eventually coming to a complete stop. Then you have to do something else to restart it. Well, in this case the fan should be an easy appliance to restart. But what if there is a power failure? Perhaps, try to think of a locomotive. It takes so much more effort to start a stalled locomotive, doesn't it? Yet, while it is running on full speed, one would not think of getting in its way! Once the locomotive stops, it takes great effort to get it moving again. That's the power of momentum.

According to Donald Trump, when we start a new business, we are actually building momentum in our life. Initially, no one knows about us and what we do. Well, just keep at it. Tell everyone you meet about what you do. Be your own best spokesperson. Publicize, publicize, publicize! Soon, someone will need what you offer. Pretty soon, that one would lead to two and eventually to many. And from Trump's experience, there comes a point where everything comes together all at once and you will find it challenging to juggle so much business. So, what do you do next?

You have just got your locomotive running and momentum is there. Do you a) ride the momentum? or b) keep building even more momentum? The obvious answer is (b), of course. However, how many times have you visited a restaurant which started off great but the moment business goes up, quality of cooking goes down. Many things are easier said than done, but still it takes someone to do it first. Otherwise, it will forever just be in the 'easier said' stage.

Wishing you a "Think Big Kick Ass" weekend ahead!