Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life [Hardcover]

Donald J. Trump (Author), Bill Zanker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2007

Donald J. Trump is an icon, the very definition of the American success story. The star of The Apprentice, and developer of some of the planet's most prestigious real estate, he's been on the bottom and risen to become one of the world's wealthiest men. Bill Zanker started The Learning Annex with $5000 and grew it into a $5 million a year company. That was before he met Donald Trump. Thirty months later, after Zanker learned to think BIG himself, The Learning Annex is generating over $100 million a year in sales and still growing. Together, they're living examples of how thinking BIG and knowing when to back up your opinions aggressively regardless of what your critics or opponents might say can help you maximize your personal and professional achievements. For the first time ever, you too can learn Trump's secrets to thinking BIG and kicking ass!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Donald J. Trump is an icon: the very definition of the American success story. The star of The Apprentice and developer of some of the planet's most prestigious real estate, he's been on the bottom and risen to become one of the world's wealthiest men.

Bill Zanker started The Learning Annex with $5,000 and grew it into a $5 million a year company. That was before he met Donald Trump. Thirty months later, after Zanker learned to think BIG himself, The Learning Annex is generating over $100 million a year in sales--and still growing.

Together, they're living examples of how thinking BIG and knowing when to back up your opinions aggressively--regardless of what your critics or opponents might say--can help you maximize your personal and professional achievements. For the first time ever, you too can learn Trump's secrets to thinking BIG and kicking ass! Learn:

• Momentum: the Big Mo. How to get it and how to get it back.
• Revenge: how and when to get it (and why it's so sweet).
• "I love you, now sign this!" Why contracts in business and personal life are so important.
• Real-life stories from people who've applied the think BIG formula in their own lives.

These strategies are proven and attested to by those who've learned to think BIG from Donald Trump and found success in their own lives. Bill Zanker used Donald's strategies to grow the revenues of The Learning Annex twenty times in under three years. Both of them have been down and out, and know what it's like to feel the whole world's against you--and both have risen to dizzying heights of success by thinking BIG and kicking ass! It is an attitude that can be easily learned.

Questions for Donald Trump

Amazon.com: Was there ever a time when you didn’t think big enough?

Trump: I don't think so. I always had big plans, even when I was very young. I would build skyscrapers with my building blocks.

Amazon.com: What was your first impression of your co-author Bill Zanker when you started doing business with the Learning Annex?

Trump: Bill Zanker had tremendous enthusiasm and focus, and he still does. I knew he'd succeed in a big way, and the success of The Learning Annex proves that I was right.

Amazon.com: What has becoming a television star on The Apprentice meant for your business?

Trump: My brand became more famous as I became more famous, and more opportunities presented themselves. I was already very well established, so I was well prepared, but things escalated and in a good way.

Amazon.com: There are stories everywhere that the real estate market is in trouble. How should an investor or an entrepreneur respond to the current market?

Trump: This is actually a very good time for entrepreneurs or investors. I would say to be positive and look for the opportunities, because the opportunities are there.

Amazon.com: You're critical of the "give me" attitude that you see in many young people today. What do you look for in a young person you are bringing into your business?

Trump: They have to be eager to learn and willing to work hard. I work hard and I expect the people around me to have a strong work ethic. I need people who can be part of a team and yet be able to think independently. That's one of the qualities I look for on The Apprentice--they have to be capable of both dimensions.

Amazon.com: Did you really make Lee Iacocca cry? [See Think Big and Kick Ass for more details.]

Trump: No, he made himself cry.

About the Author

Donald J. Trump is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance and the developer of some of the most prestigious addresses worldwide, including Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, Trump Park Avenue, Trump World Tower, 40 Wall Street, The Grand Hyatt Hotel, the historic Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, the Palm Trump International Hotel and Tower in Dubai, and numerous award-winning golf courses. His Real Estate and Wealth Expos with The Learning Annex have helped over one million people to think BIG. As the Emmy-nominated star and coproducer of the hit television show The Apprentice and the author of seven bestsellers, he is truly a media giant. This is the first book where Donald reveals his Think BIG attitude.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness; 1 edition (October 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061547832
• ISBN-13: 978-0061547836
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #136,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trump's an Egomaniac, But His Book Makes Sense, November 3, 2007

By 

Guitar Man (New York, N.Y.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life (Hardcover)

I picked this book up while browsing at a local Borders Books recently. I actually chuckled as I began turning pages and skimming through the table of contents and the first few pages.

Soon, I found myself sitting down - the book still in my hands. Next thing I know, I'm at the checkout paying for it. What happened??

Trump is an egotistical, self-serving man, no doubt. But let's be totally objective, as I was that day: good advice is good advice. And, most writers do not have the courage to dispense such advice in such raw terms as Trump does.

This book holds nothing back. Trump lays it all out on the table with blatant opinions, ideas and thoughts about those who've crossed him, helped him, etc. He tells you how you need to be (not just what you need to do - read that again!) to be successful. However - and this is the most important point of my review - there's truth to so much of what he says. It's helpful. You'll look at yourself differently. You'll gain insight, and you'll learn things about yourself that you did not previously know. You might even be vaulted to a new level based on what you read; I don't know - that depends on you, the reader, and your potential application of what Trump discusses.

I'm not a huge fan of Trump, the man, but I cannot argue with his success. Forget those who claim he was born into money; that may be true, but he continues to make headlines with regularity. His projects are everywhere; his stamp is clearly there in the real estate world.

If you like Trump, you'll love this book. If you don't care for him, and can put your personal feelings aside (he's never done anything to hurt me, so I was ok in that area!), you're in for a mind-altering , no-holds-barred, shot-in-the-arm volume of encouragement, confidence-building tenets.

This book made me want to run out of the bookstore and head right for my office to go to work (and it was Saturday afternoon). Highly Recommended!

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breath of fresh air!, October 11, 2008

By 

A Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life (Hardcover)

Wow - what a breath of fresh air - I love it!

This book is unexpectedly fun, readable, and direct.
It is oddly not about money really at all - it is about how to manage situations, sometimes financial, mostly people related. I love Trump's code of honor, so to speak - what is acceptable vs what is absolutely not tolerable and how to handle it directly. He has a 'quiz' at the end that is a remarkable way to 'see' yourself, to look at the way you may label, and thereby, limit yourself, especially financially. And in this quiz, he clearly offers another way to look at the same issue, the way he might handle it - this is what I mean by a breath of fresh air. His way of seeing problems is like a quantum shift in perspective, he does not seem to have the considerations that limit most of us in our actions and decisions. I highly recommend this book. I also highly recommend Ariel and Shya Kane's books, Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Can Instantaneously Transform Your Life and Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment. They are exceptional - their way of seeing things/situations that confront all of us is an equally quantum shift in perspective on life, relationship, and well-being.
What I respect most about Mr. Trump and the Kane's is, in fact, their willingness to share their astonishingly unique perspectives - Thank You!

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Teachers Will Appear, October 17, 2007

By 

Dave Carpenter "Peak Performance Scholar" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life (Hardcover)

Best book by the Donald yet. Lots to like, but some annoyances that keep me from giving the book five stars.

First, a disclaimer. Those who are repulsed by the author's bombastic style will not enjoy this book and likely will not be able to see through the style issues to mine the exceptional wisdom offered throughout the book.

Set aside style issues, here is what you can expect. Clearly, the author has achieved incredible business success. And, clearly he is also a master at personal branding. As such, his candid offering of the keys to his success is good stuff.

Enhancing the wisdom Trump offers up is the reinforcement offered by co-author Bill Zanker, founder of the Learning Annex. I thoroughly enjoyed Zanker's commentary and his style. I came away admiring Zanker for what he has built and how he has apparently personally grown through that building process.

Kudos to publisher Harper Collins for the interesting use of a co-author to an icon such as Trump. Boos to the publisher for what I found to be poor editing (e.g. points and events introduced in subsequent chapters as if they were being introduced for the first time). Yes, we live in a fast paced ADD world but some of us actually recall what we read in the previous chapter(s).

So here is the bottom line: nuggets of gold in this book if one can set aside the repetitive aspect and the bombastic style that sometimes is very annoying.

Wayne Dyer and other great philosophers are long on making the point that we can learn from others, even from the tyrants who come into our life. Trump is someone I have learned from and will continue to learn from. Some of the learnings are positive, others are in the form of strong messages of how I don't want to be like him. Point is that he is a strong teacher for me and can be others if you put his thoughts, action, etc. in the context of developing ones personal philosophy of success, as opposed to just trying to replicate him.

PS Let there be no doubt that the author fully understands that controversy sells books and other products, at least for him. Count on it that Trump will understand that the flame ratings that likely will start showing here will help sell more books. As Rosie O'Donnell has proven, flaming the Donald just creates controversy that keeps him in the news, thereby enhancing his visibility.