Lessons from Donald Trump's Apprentice

First of all, I must declare that I not a big fan of Donald Trump's Apprentice.

However, I managed to catch a short glimpse of one episode just now. It was interesting I must say and I believe that there were certain lessons that I learnt just by watching a single episode.

James Sun

I wrote about James Sun a few months back. You can read the posting here. He basically made his first million before he was thirty. Since I am almost hitting thirty soon, I feel that I pale in comparison to him. James Sun appeared in the Apprentice and I observed a few things about him:

1. He was charming. He wore nice clothes and always made it a point to look presentable even when the rest were decked out in their pajamas. He always wore a smile and was very well-groomed.

2. He is an achiever. What I mean by this is that he has that certain aura about him that shows he is out to achieve things in life. This is the aura that most successful people have. In the show, he had to make tough decisions and he executed them brilliantly. Even though he is just a few years older than me, his maturity is well beyond me. I respect him for that.

Just reflecting on myself, I realised that my maturity level does not seem to be on par with him. Somehow, foreigners tend to have a different mindset compared to Singaporeans. Maybe that's why Philip Yeo once blasted Singapore guys for being too "whimpy". It seems that we are trapped by certain social norms that makes growing up hard. We stay with our parents for far too long than is necessary and gain financial independence from them too late in life too. All these actually hampers the process of being mature and independent.

Another thing that I realised was how driven he was. It is just a certain aura that floats around driven people. They seem to have stronger opinions about stuff and issues. They make their stand clear and are not too afraid to offend people just to get the task done. On the other hand, I am not so driven and often am too people-focused such that it stands in the way of me accomplishing great things.

I think I need to find my inner voice that will unleash that giant within me. I know that I am capable of greater things but somehow hold myself back for fear of appearing naive or silly in front of others. I am too afraid of other people's opinion about me.

Ivanka Trump

In the show, Ivanka Trump is also featured beside her father, Donald Trump.

From the way she conducts herself and the way she is dressed, I can tell that she is indeed a refined young lady who has had the benefit of growing up in a well-to-do family.

While she does not seem to be as outspoken as her father, she nevertheless exudes a certain charm. Just by looking at her, you can tell that she is RICH.

I wonder what life would be like for her if her father wasn't Donald Trump. But then again, we will never know and can only speculate about such stuff.

Success is not what you achieve, it's what you overcome

The above saying has been in my head recently. I look at what I have achieved and think that it is not worthy of comparison to others. At the same time, I am not satisfied with the things that I have overcomed. Afterall, it does not seem that I have overcome great odds, hardships, trials and tribulations to be where I am today.

Ivanka Trump might be richer than James Sun. But I respect James Sun much more because he has achieved and overcome greater odds relative to Ivanka.

For me, I am just comfortable. And it leads me to believe that I need to overcome greater things in order to become a better person myself. I am always reminded that life is short and that I might not have all the time in the world to achieve all the dreams that I have set out to achieve.

I perhaps need a more driven mindset to achieve this goals. I need a "heck everybody" approach to attain the goals that I want and to become a better person for myself, for my family and for God. In this way, hopefully I can contribute back to society better.

I have many ideas on how I can contribute to society but have not worked hard enough in making any of these come true. I have made too many excuses for myself. Way too many excuses. From today onwards, I will stop making excuses and go out to achieve my goals at all cost. For I know that the outcome of my goals will benefit more people even when I am no longer in this world.

What do you think?