Tweet

Remain Open to Learning and New Ideas

Written by: Donald J. Trump

Article Overview: "There is only one thing I know, and that is I know nothing." - Socrates

Remain Open to Learning and New Ideas

Remain open to new ideas and information. Nobody knows it all and thinking that you do is dumb; it can slam the door on great discoveries and opportunities. If I had started in business thinking that I knew everything, I'd have been finished before I began. Don't make that mistake. Every business has surprises, hidden dangers beneath the surface, and simple problems that become complex.

In my life, I want each day to be full of discoveries, and I frequently wonder what I'll be learning each day. It's a terrific way to start the day. When I learn, it makes me feel great, alive, and excited - it makes me want to learn more. As a result, I'm never bored, which I think is a big reason for my success.

Never think of learning as a burden or a chore. It may require some discipline, but it can be a stimulating and exciting adventure.

To Make It Happen In Your Life . . .

Become a perpetual student. Gobble up information on many subjects.
Periodically ask yourself, "What should I learn more about?" Take inventory and study areas in which you may be weak or may wish to investigate. Look into topics that you always avoided or those that are outside your area of expertise. Every day, I try to read newspapers, like the Financial Times, because it's important to my business to know what's going on worldwide, but I also love to read golf magazines.
But Beware . . .

Nothing turns people off more than a person who constantly needs to demonstrate how much he or she knows. Before long, people stop listening, but they never forget when someone is such a bore.

Related Articles
  How to Be Open-Minded to New Ideas
  Formulating Business Ideas
  Good Business Ideas You Can Use Now
  Get Naked and Grow Your Green Business Today!
  What to do When You Can't Communicate

Article Tags: bore, discipline, financial times, golf magazines, great discoveries, mistake, newspapers, perpetual student, study areas, surprises



Related Forum Posts
Re: My Favourite 7 Boldest Entrepreneur Moves of All Time - Hi Evan, I have a new suggestion for "Boldest Entrepreneur Moves of All Time" and a suggestion for your Learning from the Masters series: 1. Boldest Entrepreneur Moves of All Time = Christopher Columbus: "... he saw the possibility of treasure and commerce where others saw only danger. He committed so wholeheartedly to that vision that not even dozens of rejections and ongoing penury could dissuade him from pursuing a journey to Asia via the West. He built on his technical strengths as a seaman to plan a viable journey and eventually marshal an expedition." - Christopher Hoenig, 6 Essential Secrets for Thinking on a New Level I bought Hoenig's book about 10 years ago but couldn't make head or tail of it then... reading it now and finding it inspirational... 2. Nomination for Learning from the Masters video: Dee Hock, founder of VISA. (Source = Hoenig.)
Re: High price of entertainment - [quote="TheAnonymousMan":dadh8m1p]Kevin, I went to a Justin Timberlake concert recently where the bottled water was selling for $4 a bottle! I'm talking about the average 600ml bottle that sells for about $1.20 in the supermarket, now that's a rip off but people were buying it because they needed water.[/quote:dadh8m1p] Hi TheAnonymousMan, Can I ask how much you paid for the concert tickets? And more importantly, was the show worth the price? At the Tennis US Open, I had to pay $3.25 for a 500ml bottled water, $8.00 for a "travel size" Hawaiian Tropic bottle of sunscreen, and $13.00 for a Carnegie Deli pastrami sandwich, $4.25 for fries and $2.77 for a Sharpie pen (for autographs), etc... And to make things worse, they don't allow you to carry a backpack for security reasons, so it's very inconvenient to bring your own things to the event (keep in mind I was at the US Open for 7 hours). I mean who wants to carry around 10 lbs worth of stuff (if I were to bring my own necessities like food/water/sunscreen/etc. and have to carry a bunch of souvenirs) in a plastic transparent bag for the whole day?! It's an obvious scam for more profit.
Re: 3 Ways I Used Twitter To Grow My Business This Week - Hi Olivia, It seems you are working in the area of leadership area. Is Leadership = Learning? I am looking for some good books on strategy? Which one do you recommend? Thanks, Robert
Re: What or Who Sparks Your Business Interest - Hi litekepr, a publican is someone who runs a public house, a pub as we call them here in the UK, a bar in the US I think. Ideas yours is definitely a very inspiring story and it just goes to show you can do anything if you set your mind to it, take care, Carol
Re: 4 Ideas for Viral Marketing - Hey, Ideas University what do you think about the spiderweb marketing system? Have you heard of it? I used it once but stopped, when I first got started in IM (I'd try almost anything). But I was wondering what your thoughts were about that system and how it's been so successful?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

What I Really Want Is...

What Is The Foundation for Your Vision?

Are You Remarkable Enough?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.