Think Big
The teams waded into selling water during the eighth episode of season one. Donald Trump launched a new product on this show, his branded water, Trump Ice. The team’s tasks were to distribute the new bottled water with the team that sold the most Trump Ice in two days winning.
After becoming a bit frustrated by the fact that many of the restaurants
they were selling to did not have the storage space to buy large quantities of
the bottled water with the billionaire’s picture on the side,
Everyone wants success, but not everyone believes they can achieve it. If you really believe you can do something, you can. This does not mean you can wish yourself into success. Just wishing for something is not the same as believing you can succeed. Belief, the “I-can-do-it” attitude, generates the motivation and energy needed to find a way to succeed and get it done. When you believe you can do something, the how-to-do-it follows. It is strong belief that triggers the mind to figuring out the ways and means to make it happen.
Because belief is so powerful, you must think success, do not think failure. In everything you do, think, “I’ll win.” Think, “I can do it.” Think, “I will not fail.” Never think to yourself, “I can’t.” Do not sell yourself short. Remind yourself that you are better than you think you are. Think Big! Belief is powerful, and the size of your success will be determined by the size of your belief and thinking. If you think and expect little things, little things are what you will achieve. If you think big and set huge goals for yourself, you will achieve greater success. How big you think will determine the size of your accomplishments. A positive attitude is the first step, but it takes more than just thinking positive.
A leader must think outside of the box. While this sounds cliché, it is absolutely a must. Leaders must think of ways to be bigger, faster, stronger, better. And sometimes, such as with computer chips, smaller is the bigger idea.
During season three, John was fired for poor negotiating in episode eight. I discuss this in more depth in a negotiation chapter, but wanted to mention that the reason he failed as a negotiator was due to the fact that he did not think big enough. He went into each negotiation with a preconceived best case scenario that was not nearly as big as what the other team achieved. Thinking big would have increased the size of the events he negotiated with the musicians and may have raised enough money for the Pediatric AIDS charity for his team to have won. Thinking big could have saved John from being fired that week.
In contrast, the opposing team did think big and raised much more money for the Pediatric AIDS charity. While John was negotiating for the musicians to play a set at someone’s house, or invite someone to a CD release party, Magna’s team members were securing week long events with their celebrities. A few hours versus a week, that is quite a difference. Thinking big paid off for Magna.
A similar negotiating mistake
occurred during episode twelve of season one.
Apparently John had not watched or remembered that episode.
Protégé had leased the penthouse for $35,001, a number they were proud
of. However, Versacorp leased the
penthouse for $40,800. This sent
Nick and Amy on a nice trip, and
Carolyn asked the three what minimum price they had set for the lease. Kwame replied $35,000 to $40,000. Trump responded, “That was stupid.” He told the three that even if they had gotten their maximum price, they still would have lost. Just like John after them, they had entered negotiations without thinking big enough and with a maximum that was not large enough to win. You must think big and start high. You can always lower your position, but you cannot jump higher than your initial maximum amount.
The teams learned the hard way that small thinking shortchanges success. Thinking big is the only way, and the more you do it, the easier it will be to see greater possibilities. One way to enlarge your thinking is to stop self-deprecation. Stop selling yourself short. Too many people think they are not good enough, so they do not shoot for the stars. They ask for a modest salary because they do not believe they are worth the higher sum they would like to be earning. It is important to know our inabilities so we can work to improve those areas, but we do not want all of our self-evaluation to be concentrated on only faults, shortcomings and inadequacies. Besides our negative characteristics, we must determine our positive assets. Assess what is good about yourself. Know what you are great at. You are bigger than you think, and when you realize this, it will become easier to think big and achieve greater accomplishments.
Another great way to improve your big thinking capabilities is to develop a positive vocabulary. Use positive words and phrases to describe yourself and how you feel. Use favorable words to describe others. Focus on the positive traits of those you know, not the negative. Encourage others with positive language and use positive words to describe plans to others. A positive outlook, which is illustrated with the language you use, will lead you toward thinking big and achieving greatness. Start thinking and talking this way today. In addition, train yourself to see what can be, not just what is. Think big!
Trump
Time Out – It’s Easier to Think Big
“It’s always been easier for me t think big.
It was always easier for me to attract the money and the capital than it
would be if I did a small job someplace that nobody cared about and nobody
wanted to finance.” – Donald Trump from The
Apprentice, season one, episode twelve.
Trump
Time Out – Go Big Or Go Home
“There’s an expression, ‘Go big or go home.’
I like it a lot. You go for
the fences, you go all the way, or just, you know what, go home.” – Donald
Trump from The Apprentice, season
three, episode eight.