***Build Something of Value Every Day

One day, when I was about 12, I went down to my carpenter grandfather’s basement workshop.nn“You should start earning your own money,” he said. “If you clean up this workshop, I will pay you what it’s worth.”nnSo I spent the next three hours making that place shine. I swept up all the wood shavings. I wiped down every piece of equipment and made them all gleam. I stacked all the wood neatly.nnThen I found my grandfather. We went back to the shop. He looked around for what seemed a very long time, and then he nodded slowly and said, “Fantastic!”nnYou can imagine how proud I felt. Still nodding his approval, he reached into his pocket and handed me my wages. A quarter. Twenty-five cents!nnA quarter! I couldn’t believe it. Even in 1960, a quarter for three hours of work was nothing for an American kid.nnHe said, “I want you to learn something about the world. In the real world, cleaning up is useful, but it’s not worth much. Anyone can do it. It’s worth maybe a quarter. Now, if you had built something useful with these tools, a bookcase maybe, something that was functional, that would have been worth a bit more.nn“But if you had envisioned something new, something that no one had ever thought of before, if you had built that, pouring your heart and your soul into it? Well, that would have been worth a lot of money. Remember that.”nnI have. To this day, I carry that quarter. It reminds me of the importance of envisioning and building something excellent, something that will last long after I have gone.nnThat kind of vision and love of craft is not something you can get from most businesses. You certainly don’t get it from a business plan or a five-year projection. You get it from your heart. It’s got to be something you feel in your heart. That’s where it all begins.nnThis article is adapted from “Build Something of Lasting Value,” one of the great pieces of business advice you can listen to now through Trump Audio. Listen to all of Trump University’s free audio selections now at http://www.trumpuniversity.com/podcast/index.cfm.