outside information all day.The challenge here is to find the quiet
time to be able to assimilate our own inside information in the
midst of all the cacophony. You have to unplug before you can plug
yourself back in.
I’m a busy guy, but I set aside quiet time every morning and
every evening to keep my equilibrium as it should be—which is
centered on my own path. I don’t like being swayed by anything
that might be negative or damaging. When Emerson talks about
leaving a trail, he’s right. That means you can’t be following some-
one else’s path. That means you’d better spend some time focusing
yourself on your own path and your own purpose.
This is a serious issue, for worldly as well as personal reasons.
The worst things in history have happened when people stop
thinking for themselves and listen to other people and, even worse,
start following other people. That’s what gives rise to dictators.
Avoid that at all costs. Stop it first on a personal level and you will
have contributed to world sanity as well as your own.
In business, I’ve discovered that my purpose is to do my best,
to my utmost ability, every day. That’s my standard. I learned early
in my life that I had high standards. Ever hear of intrinsic value? In-
trinsic means basic, inborn, elemental. If you have an intrinsic value,
it cannot be taken away or shaken. It’s a form of strength that can
be unbeatable.
Discovery means finding out something we didn’t previously
know. Purpose is an intention or an end to be attained. We have
the tangible and the intangible in life. Let them balance each other
out to your best advantage. I may be in a reality-based business,
but I have a sense of the mystery in life that keeps me feeling like
an explorer. Don’t put blinders or borders on yourself.
I could have very easily dismissed Mark Burnett’s idea for The
Apprenticesimply based on the fact that I was already very busy.
But it was a new challenge and a new discovery for me. It served
DONALD J. TRUMP