Control is about education. Lack of education or information
can put you at bigger risk for losing control. Of course, there are
things we can’t control and there is an element of risk in our lives
that we can’t deny or overrule. But brain power equals a very pow-
erful leverage. That doesn’t equal being a know-it-all. I’m known
as someone who asks a lot of questions. With the economic crisis
causing major problems here and some big ripples around the globe,
it seems some very informed yet creative thinking is in order.
Recently I read an article about some famed geniuses who in-
cluded Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci, and Einstein. Aristotle held
metaphorical thinking in high esteem, Einstein found visualiza-
tion to be helpful in solving problems, and da Vinci believed in re-
structuring a problem to make it more accessible or broader in
scope. I realized that I did all of these things, but not necessarily
deliberately.
All of them believed in chance. In fact, they prepared themselves
for it and “creative accidents” would result, some of which have pro-
duced wonderful inventions. All of them kept an open mind and
were full of a sense of wonder. I mention these components because
each of them can be applied to business with some great results.
Sometimes people ask me how I do what I do. I don’t always
have an answer because part of the process is difficult to describe,
but when I saw these points in the article, I realized that is defi-
nitely similar to what I go through to arrive at certain decisions.
All of us have creative powers, so devote some time to learning
about this process.
Someone asked me if I thought I was a genius. I decided to
say yes. Why not? Try it out. Tell yourself that you are a genius.
Right away you will probably wonder why and in what way you
are a genius. And right away you will have opened your mind up
to wonder—and to asking questions. That’s a big first step to think-
ing like a genius, and it might unlock some of your hidden talents.
DONALD J. TRUMP