***Positive Persistence

here have been so many books and examples about the power of positive thinking that it seems unnecessary to even mention it. Yet, I still see examples every single day of the power that negative thinking has over people. So, either people haven't gotten the message or they're just plain not paying attention. I hope that doesn't include any of you, because I don't have much tolerance for that kind of attitude.nnWhen I started thinking about writing this piece, I realized that maybe people just don't have the persistence required to make positive thinking work for them. Things rarely just happen overnight. Most overnight success stories are no such thing. Just because you've just heard of someone doesn't mean they haven't been working for 20 or 30 years or more already. The Apprentice became a big hit when it first aired, but I had over 30 years of experience to draw from in those boardroom scenes. It wasn't just a fluke that I came across as someone who knew what he was doing. The fact that I was on television was new, but the rest wasn't particularly new to me. Business is business, whether it's being filmed or not. My business credentials and experience made up the back story to a show based on a high stakes New York corporation.nnHow does positive thinking fit into the making of The Apprentice? First of all, I didn't say no. I knew it was a risk, but I was positive about what might happen. If I had chosen to listen solely to the negatives about the endeavor, such as "most new TV shows fail" or "reality TV is on the way out" or "you'll lose your credibility," and about 50 other negatives, I never would have given it a thought. But instead, I chose a positive perspective. I asked myself the "what if" questions. What if it were a success? What if I enjoyed it? What if it proved to be enlightening? What if it brought The Trump Organization the recognition it deserved? What if the jobs provided to the winners proved to be a valuable stepping-stone to deserving individuals? I had a long list of positives to go along with the negatives.nnI see myself as a cautious positive thinker. When I hear people saying that anything you want to do is possible, to me that's being childish or at least uninformed. Some things are not going to happen. For example, if I suddenly decided tomorrow that I wanted to win a gold medal at the Olympics as a swimmer, and I was sure I could because I was so positive about it, well, I think I'd need to see a shrink instead of swim coach. It's not going to happen, no matter how hard I train. Or if I decided I was going to give Tiger Woods a run for his money as a golfer, starting tomorrow, I think I'd have to worry about being a little irrational. Be positive, but be realistic.nnBack to the persistence issue, you have to be positive every single day. You have to put effort into it daily because, believe me, no one else is going to help you with this. Most people think their lives will be easier if they have less competition. The fact that you believe in yourself could get in their way. Good. Get in their way! Upset their status quo! Get out of your own static comfort zone by moving forward with the momentum and power that positive thinking can give you. Every time a negative thought comes at you, zap it. Replace it with a positive thought. This takes energy, but the result will be stamina--positive stamina, a necessary ingredient for success.nnSometimes you just have to be tough. I use the example of a brick wall. Is there a brick wall in your way? Fine, that happens. But you have a choice. You can walk away from the wall. You can go over the wall. You can go under the wall. You can go around the wall. You can also obliterate the wall. In other words, don't let anything get in your way. Get a balance, and then let the positive outdistance the negative. Be positively persistent.nnWhen I was building Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York, I wanted to build a 110-foot waterfall. It pumps 5,000 gallons of water per minute and cost $7 million to complete. We moved granite and many tons of earth to achieve this spectacular effect, and if you think this happened easily and overnight, think again. Sometimes I felt like I was moving the granite myself. But I was positive, I was persistent, and I refused to settle for anything less than what I had envisioned.nnBe positively persistent in your thoughts and actions and the chances are good you'll achieve your goals. See you at the top.