***Be Tough and Tenacious and Never Give Up

Sometimes people think I was born with a Midas touch, that everything I think about or touch just somehow turns to gold. I'll admit, I've been very lucky, and I've also had the good fortune to get a great education from the schools I went to and from my parents. But there might be some things you don't know about me, like how I waited thirty years for one project to get going. That's a long time to wait.

Trump Place is being built along the Hudson River on Manhattan's West Side right now. We're about halfway done, and when it's finished there will be a total of sixteen buildings, making the area a very desirable residential area and the largest development ever approved by the New York City Planning Commission. I bought the land for this project in 1974. Most things don't happen ove
ight, and this is one example.

Be tenacious. You won't get very far otherwise. You also have to be tough. Tough is what you are when you refuse to give in or give up. You have to fight the good fight. Very few things of worth are easy achievements. That's just the way it works.

I remember attending a lecture on creativity, and the speaker was making the point that creativity and tenacity go together and are important for great accomplishment. He asked us, "What if Michelangelo had said 'I don't do ceilings' and walked away from painting the Sistine Chapel?"

It was an interesting thought. But considering Michelangelo's character, painting a ceiling probably represented a creative challenge, and it certainly was. The only reason it got done was because he was a tenacious guy who never gave up. But as I've mentioned before, you've got to love what you're doing, then nothing will seem impossible. Challenges will become pleasures, not chores.

There will always be obstacles and problems along the way. Being tough will enable you to work through them without becoming worn-out or negative. In fact, you should expect problems. That will save you the time wasted on surprise or dismay when they surface.

Never giving up is courage. Courage is the opposite of fear. Do not allow fear to paralyze you. Mark Twain put it well: "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear."

Being tough and tenacious can help you move forward to achieve what your creativity has presented to you. Sometimes the most talented people fail and those who are far less talented succeed. Those who succeed, regardless of their talent, move forward with confidence and know they will never have a good reason to give up. There are some areas where I do not accept excuses, and this is one of them. Keep that in mind. So, get to work. Be tough, be tenacious, and win big.