The Republican National Convention just came to an official close and Mr. Trump certainly lived up to his promise of not having a “boring convention”. Day one opened with Mrs. Trump’s “speech” and subsequent allegations of plagiarism. Decades may pass before party loyalists forgive Cruz for spiking the punch at the “Grand Ole Party”. However – love him or hate him – people cannot question the real historic nature of what Donald J. Trump accomplished when he defeated 16 seasoned and well-known politicians to clinch the Republican Party nomination for President of the U.S.
Reflect back on his insurgent campaign and there are a multitude of powerful lessons and principles that anyone desiring to to be successful in life could apply …
Believe in your vision more than you believe in people’s opinions.
When Donald Trump descended from his office in Trump Tower down that golden escalator more than a year ago, he was listening to the voice in his own head more so than all the voices of pundits, so called industry veterans and critics – all shouting he would not be successful. Many of you have failed in pursuit of goals simply because the chorus of negativity blocked you from remaining focused on your own vision. We often feed our distractions while sacrificing our focus and vision. It’s important to be convicted by your beliefs to the degree that your faith and focus is unwavering – it’s the only true way to achieve anything meaningful in life.
Communicate the vision with a simple, yet powerful message.
“Make America Great Again” will go down in history as one of the most compelling campaign slogans in history – right along with “Yes We Can”. Simple messages that engage people at their core and drives an emotional reaction is the key to transferring the energy around your vision to other people. No matter if you’re trying to run for office, start a business or simply raise a great family – most often you’ll need others to be successful in producing effective outcomes. It’s incredibly difficult to get another person to truly adopt your ideas, no matter what the circumstances may be, just ask the mom who wants dad to be a little tougher when Junior won’t clean his room. Often one parent may have one perspective while the other parent has a completely different perspective of what it may take. Translating your vision into a simple message that everyone can rally around will enable a powerful unified force to achieve goals.
Don’t fear mistakes, learn from them.
I’ve met hundreds of people in my life who should own companies, be doctors, have great marriages or serve in public office – but their fear of making a mistake has prevented them from reaching their full potential. Trump wasn’t a seasoned politician and he certainly didn’t quite understand the complexities of running a campaign for the highest office in the land, but that didn’t stop him from trying anyway. Often times the best thing you can do in life is simply get started. Would you like to own a business? GET STARTED, file the requisite documents right now to launch your venture. Would you like to run for public office? GET STARTED, contact your local councilman right now to learn more about it what it takes to be a public servant. Would you like to get married and start a family? GET STARTED, schedule a date with that guy or lady that you’ve been thinking about for so long. Mistakes are an unavoidable part of the natural course in life, don’t fear them, embrace them as opportunities to grow.
I have no ideas whatsoever how Mr. Trump may do in his quest to seize the White House and if elected, I make no predictions about how a Trump Administration may perform. But my hats off to Mr. Trump for once again demonstrating that we live a country where what often may seem impossible is actually possible. There are no excuses for why each of us cannot be wildly successful in whatever endeavor that we may envision.
