Title/Author: Trump: The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump
Reason for Reading: Wanted to become a real estate investor and interested about Donald Trump's successes.
Pre-thought: Anxious to get in and learn about Donald Trump and his mindset involving real estate.
Recap of Book: This book will introduce you to the Trump family and give insight into Donald's life as he grew up. You will also learn about some of the projects he undertook and the difficulties involved in them.
You'll start out learning how Donald Trump spends a typically week on the job and how he manages his work schedule with his family life.
Then it will progress into a chapter on what Donald calls "Trump Cards" of deal making and how to go and get what you want using these cards.
The book then progresses into his family life, about his father, who was a successful construction worker and Donald's decision not to follow him in his father's foot steps but instead make his own path and he does that by "thinking big".
The rest of the book will tell you all about Donald. How he got started and how hard it was for him to get started in this business. Then you will get an overview of some of the successful projects he did. This will include how he made the deal, what important things had to be considered with each deal, what he did after the deal was done, and the problems he had with the entire process.
Interesting Points: The idea of using negative thinking to come to terms with and be able to accept the worst and let the good take care of itself is a very different concept from most books. Most books tell you to always think positive and be optimistic about everything. Donald's approach is to figure out what the worst is for each deal, and if you can accept the worst, then the best will take care of its own. It's a brilliant concept that has helped him succeed in his business.
Recommended Audience: Those are interested in putting deals together, even outside of real estate, and those that want to read an inspiring story.
After-thought: This book was definitely inspirational and just using parts of his philosophy has helped me greatly.