This Issue: Be Positive, But Realistic

Advice you need today from Trump University's newest bootcamp course, Negotiate to Win: How to get what you want - - every time

Positive thinking is essential to success, yet so many people just don't have the persistence required to make it work for them. The reality is, most overnight success stories are no such thing. Just because you've heard of someone for the first time doesn't mean they haven't been working for 20 or 30 years or more to get where they are.

For example, The Apprentice became a big hit when it first aired, but I had over 30 years of experience to draw from in those boardroom scenes. It wasn't just a fluke that I came across as someone who knew what he was doing. The fact that I was on television was new, but the rest wasn't particularly new to me. Business is business, whether it's being filmed or not. My business credentials and experience made up the back story to a show based on a high-stakes New York corporation.

How does positive attitude fit into the making of The Apprentice? First of all, I didn't say no when I was asked to do the show. I knew it was a risk, but I was positive about what might happen. If I had chosen to listen solely to the negatives about the endeavor, such as, "most new TV shows fail" or, "reality TV is on the way out" or, "you'll lose your credibility," and about 50 others, I never would have given the show a thought.

But instead, I chose a positive perspective. I asked myself the "what if" questions. What if it were a success? What if I enjoyed it? What if it proved to be enlightening? What if it brought The Trump Organization more of the recognition it deserved? What if the jobs provided to the winners proved to be a valuable stepping-stone to deserving individuals? I had a long list of positives to go along with the negatives.

I see myself as a cautious positive thinker. When I hear people saying that anything you want to do is possible, to me that's being childish or at least uninformed. Some things are not going to happen. For example, if I decided tomorrow that I wanted to win a gold medal at the Olympics as a swimmer, and I was sure I could because I was so positive about it, I'd need a shrink instead of a swim coach.

You need to be positive every day, but you need to be realistic too.

Donald J. Trump is Chairman of Trump University and featured in our newest bootcampcourse, Negotiate to Win: How to get what you want - - every time

Sixty percent of all Americans are dreaming about starting their own businesses. Why? What's their motivation?

I recently heard some fascinating answers to that question while I was listening to recorded transcripts from The Entrepreneur's Success Codes, a Trump University course that's taught by Jeff Burrows. In those transcripts, a group of Trump University students - all successful entrepreneurs - answered Jeff's question, "Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur?" Let's take a closer look at the reasons they gave:

• Motivation #1: An unstoppable passion for the work itself. It could be making real estate investments, restoring old cars or designing computer systems for businesses. As one student in The Entrepreneur's Success Codes class said, "I loved my work so much, I couldn't not do it."
• Motivation #2: A drive to help others. It might be a desire to help other people be healthier, or more successful, or richer, or more beautiful. One student said that her longing to help people started after she recovered from a serious accident.
• Motivation #3: The need for freedom. One class member said that after working in rigid corporations for years, the desire to control his own work took over his life.
• Motivation #4: A hunger for challenge. For some entrepreneurs, the greatest motivator is the challenge of starting a business itself. Other concerns are secondary.
• Motivation #5: Security. One entrepreneur said he started his own company because he hated working for companies where he could get laid off at any time. Of course, starting a company is risky. New companies fail. But despite those risks, running his own company put him in control of his own destiny.

Please take a moment to post a comment here. Let us know why you started your own business, or why you are thinking about it. If you are dreaming about becoming an entrepreneur, this would be a great day to enroll in our course, The Entrepreneurship Mastery Program. New classes are starting next week and today could be the day that changes your life.

Michael Sexton is President of Trump University.

Advice you need today from Trump University Real Estate 101

Because no one makes it alone in real estate, you need a network of professionals that includes: lenders' reps, real estate agents, title companies, property inspectors, lawyers, zoning/building regulators, handymen and handywomen, contractors and, of course, sellers, tenants and buyers.

When should you begin to start to get to know these people and have them start to get to know you? Now! As Harvey Mackay puts it in his book Pushing the Envelope, "Dig your well before you're thirsty."

Join your local real estate investment club. Go out and call on a variety of loan reps and loan brokers. Learn about the deals they're doing. Learn what kind of deals they want to do. Ask for names or dependable, competent and reasonably priced service providers. It's never too early to build up your Rolodex or Palm Pilot.

But remember, don't become a parasite who takes, but never gives. Reciprocity is the name of the game. Ask how you can help the other party. People in real estate and related services appreciate referrals. When you know someone who's about to buy, sell, borrow, or renovate, give him or her the name of a service provider with whom you would like to grow a relationship. In tandem, tell that service provider that you referred someone to him or her.

I once referred an investor friend to a real estate broker with whom I had previously done business in Dallas. I didn't think much more about it until six months later, when I opened my mail to find a thank-you note from the broker and a check for $10,000. It seems my friend (whom I had not recently talked with) had just closed on a $2.7 million neighborhood shopping center. Now that's reciprocity! To build and nurture relationships, live those three very big words: quid pro quo.

Trump University faculty member Gary Eldred, PhD, is a real estate investor and author of many best-selling books on real estate, including: Investing in Real Estate, The Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing and The 106 Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make (and How to Avoid Them). This blog post is adapted from Dr. Eldred's newest book, Trump University Real Estate 101: Building Wealth with Real Estate Investments.

Editor's note: Dr. Eldred has developed and taught many real estate courses for Trump University, including Real Estate Goldmine: How to Get Rich Investing in Pre-Foreclosures and Bubble-Proof Real Estate Investing.