Experience is one thing
you can’t get for nothing.
—Oscar Wilde}
Wisdom
I
remember reading a short book that was entirely based on the
question: What does wisdom mean to you? People from every
profession, every walk of life, and every possible background con-
tributed their thoughts. All these people had been successful. The
answers were diverse, but I realized they tended to have a few com-
mon denominators: experience, integrity, and knowledge.
I was relatively young when I read this book, and in fact I can’t
remember the title of it. It was left on a table in the library at
school so I just happened upon it. I understood the emphasis on
knowledge, and could see the value of experience even though I
hadn’t had much yet, so what stood out the most to me was in-
tegrity. Very often it was combined with the value of reputation,
and I think that’s when my approach to a quality brand name was
in gestation.
My father had already established a strong brand name in the
outer boroughs of New York City as a developer, and people knew
his work would have an inherent quality to it. They wouldn’t have
to guess or feel they were taking a chance if it had the Trump