Conversation with Donald Trump

I met with Donald Trump a while ago, when he was in Montreal, Canada to promote his real estate seminar. We got together in a private club called Club St-James, reserved for CEOs and top corporate executives. (Membership fee: $15,000).

Here is the partial transcript of that conversation over lunch (St-James offers exquisite French cuisine, although the portions were so small I went to Harvey's right after!). Many secrets did not make it to the transcript for obvious reasons, but it's fair to say that if you read carefully between the lines, you can gain great insights on how rich people "think and become rich."

Donald: Hey Peter, how's it going?

Peter: Great! Before I forget, can you please let Ivanka know I'll be in touch? I want her to be the spokesmodel for a celebrity signature line I'm creating with calligraphy. This is going to be awesome! My idea is to use calligraphy and design to create a celebrity signature that Ivanka can use in all her personalized accessories, from handbags to nameplaces to jewelry. I'm working with top designers to bring this product line to the celebrity market.

Donald: Sure, I'll let her know. I think she'll like it, she's always been fond of design and fashion. Okay, Peter, so where do we start?

Peter: Well, my readers would like to know exactly and precisely and specifically HOW you made it to the top.

Donald: This is going to be hard for people to understand, but I'll say it anyways: I did NOT "make it to the top." I was BORN at the top. Nobody makes it to the top unless he is first born at the top. Do you know what I mean?

Peter: I think so... Actually, I have no clue what you mean. Can you please clarify?

Donald: You know how people are asking themselves this crazy question of whether there is life after death? That's a crazy question. They should ask themselves: "Is there life BEFORE death?" They should ask themselves: "Am I alive right now, right here?"

Peter: Focus on the moment, on the present...

Donald: Exactly. Focus on your passion to feel alive, focus on the liveliness of passion! People think they can learn from me, but if there is one thing I want to teach them, it is that they will learn NOTHING from me. They can only learn from themselves, from their own experience and how they feel. Here's a quotable quote for you, Peter: "Focus on achieving mental orgasm."

Peter: What?!

Donald: Yeah, focus on what makes you feel so good that your head will explode. This is what Napoleon Hill talked about in his book Think and Grow Rich: desire is the key to wealth. In other words: "If you don't want it, forget it. But if you do want it, then forget everything else. Focus on your desire."

Peter: I've read all your books, including the Art of the Deal, but I don't remember you mentioning this stuff before.

Donald: People were not ready for that kind of thing. People today are more open to this sort of thing, to the importance of spirituality and sensuality in creating abundance and wealth. I read your blog post the other day where you mentioned that spirituality and sensuality are two sides of the same coin. So you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Peter: Yes.

Donald: People still think and feel they are trapped in a little body of flesh and blood and bones. They don't realize how great they are, how infinite they are! The minute I realized that as a young man decades ago, I was born. Or I should say "reborn." Instantly. That's why I said earlier that I was born at the top. One moment of enlightenment is all it takes to be born at the top!

Peter: That helped you come back from owing debts of $9 billion?

Donald: Oh, the debt was nothing. It's just a number. The image of yourself that you hold in your head will always trump any number out there. People make the mistake of focusing on numbers when they should first focus on self-image.

Peter: Ross Perot, the self-made bilionaire, said: "It just takes one idea to live like a king for the rest of your life."

Donald: In this case, he probably meant the idea of outsourcing, which India has heavily borrowed from him and has become the IT back-end office for North America. But it's also the sacred idea that we are vastly greater than we think we are. This is what I tell my kids Ivanka and Don Junior: whatever you're doing right now or have done before, is nothing compared to what you could be doing. You just have to get out of your own way. Some people think or even say publicly that I'm arrogant, but my feeling is different: I believe that the world will always -- always! -- make way for the man who boldly pushes forward. Majesty trumps majority every single time.

Peter: Majesty?

Donald: Yeah. You have to believe that you are king, not pawn. There's a Spanish proverb that goes: "After the game of life is over, both the king and the pawn return to the same box."

Peter: In other words, the identity we choose is the destiny we get.

Donald: Exactly! Okay, Peter, this has been fun. Can you write something and email me? I'd love to read the transcript. I've got to head back to the Ritz Carlton and prepare for tonight's presentation of my brand new real estate seminar.

Note: The above is a fictional conversation for entertainment purposes only.