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?

Conversation with A Millionaire

It is not everyday that one gets to speak face to face with a millionaire.

Today, I got the chance to do so.

In fact, I spent one and a half hours with him speaking about various things in life like success, job satisfaction and wealth building ideas.

I am putting it down in words to share with all as I believe that not many people have actually gotten a chance to speak to successful people or millionaires.

About Money

Money does not buy happiness. But it does buy you the time and the alternatives. Basically, money gives you a wider range of options compared to the average person.

About Discouragement

Everyone feels discouraged now and then. It is important to not dwell on it and instead mix with people who are positive and successful.

About Helping Others

Sometimes, it might not be possible to be directly involved in helping others. How much can one help? Instead, use your God given abilities and channel your energies there. Every job essentially helps some one or somebody at some level or another. If you are able to make more money, you could donate to charity and get others to help.

For example, the leaders of our country might be good in terms of defence and security measures. But you don't see them sitting at the customs office right?

About Careers and Jobs

There are no dream jobs in the world. Each job has its pros and cons. The most important thing is to put your heart into it while at the job. Don't work for your boss or the company. Work for yourself and your family.

Being at the top has its loneliness. Even big bosses and CEOs think of quitting their jobs too.

Riches versus Wealth

Having access to riches does not guarantee wealth. Earning alot of money might not bring you wealth if you squander your money away.

Property Investment

The returns from rental property is very low based on his own experience. Instead, buying and selling properties makes money much faster.


Work Hard Play Hard

It is important to work hard and play hard. The reason why you are able to play hard is because you get a good income from your work.

All work sucks. It is how much you are compensated for it in monetary terms that matters.



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James Sun - Millionaire by Thirty

This James Sun was one of the finalist in Donald Trump's Apprentice.

One of the amazing things is that he is a multi millionaire at the tender age of 23. He made his fortune in the stock market whereby using a capital of $5000 (at age 18), turned it into $2 million by age 23. Now that is pure genius if you ask me!

He should have won the apprentice just by that alone. When someone is able to generate like 400 times returns in 5 years, you should award him a Nobel Prize.

Enough said.

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1. Donald Trump

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A Millionaire at Age 26

I heard a story from a friend who told me that one of his friends is already a millionaire at the young age of 26. How did he do it?

Basically, I was told that he invested close to $200,000 into a single Hong Kong penny stock and that stock rose by more than 10 times. That was it, just pure guts....and now he is a millionaire!

According to my friend, he is still working his full time job and is basically enjoying life right now as he does not need to worry about money for retirement and stuff already.

So I guess you can say that this guy has already found his financial freedom.

A Millionaire by 30

I was browsing through some books in the bookshop lately when I came across this book about a typical guy who worked 9 to 5 and managed to increase his personal networth to a cool US$1 million after like close to 8 years of work, investing and buying property.

It made me remember that during my schooling days, I always thought that I would become a millionaire by 30 too!

HOWEVER, somehow I put that dream aside to chase other ideals like friends, family, etc.

Also, it just does not seem realistic to be a millionaire by 30 in Singapore right?

So reading that book was really a wake up call. Afterall, that guy who wrote the book lives in one of the most expensive cities in US. Credit must be given to him that he pursued his dream non-stop from his early twenties all the way till his 30th birthday.

My 30th birthday is like 2.5 years away.

And I am not even close to being a millionaire. Combined with my wife, we are probably only at the halfway point. Is it too late to chase the dream of being a millionaire by the age of 30?

I also came across a book by Adam Wong (an internet marketer) who was mentored by Adam Khoo and went on to earn six digits through internet marketing and stuff.

The common thing about these two guys is simply this : Both were focused on their goals and they did not let people around dissuade them from it. To them, being rich was sort of like a certainty that they were pursuing. They did not see it as a dream that could not be attained. Furthermore, both these guys are not your "scholar" kind of people who go to top universities and stuff.

Hmmmm... A millionaire by Thirty?

Anyway, conducted a flurry of trading activity over the past few weeks. Some decisions might not have been too wise.

Since NOL went XD, I will get around $120 from the 3 lots that I hold. I sold 2 lots @$1.36 to make a nice little profit on top of my dividends.

Bought 5000 x KingBoard @0.14 and 6,000 x Hongguo @0.125 and 1000 x CitiCorp@US$4.09
Sold the 5000 x KingBoard @0.17 to earn a tidy profit of $90