Tony Schwartz

Look, Donald Trump on Donald Trump was never going to get a rave review from me. We all know this. But my gosh, this was probably one of the deadliest dull books I have ever read in my entire life. It's predictably boring in a way that defies even Fifty Shades of Grey to out-beige. I bet Trump thinks this is The Art of War for aspiring yuppies like Patrick Bateman, but it's really Mein Kampf for lazy, entitled trust fund babies.

The good news is that I have *plenty* of material on Trump as show more yuppie icon for the article on which I'm working. show less

Initially, I was attracted to this to learn what Trump's ghost writer of Trump: The Art of the Deal had to say. That is an interesting story here, as is his journey to coming to terms with his mother. Schwartz founded The Energy Project in 2003 and the decades leading up to that he apparently out of anguish for personal failings and burnishing the image of a corrupt demagogue moved in a direction of meta-analysis of self-improvement techniques from enneagrams to meditation (triumphed over show more his migraines) to tennis pro heartrates and beyond. This applied meta-analysis outcomes for improvement in business, sports, etc. reminds me much of Outliers: The Story of Success. His outcomes of "lensing" (seeing from other points of view) and "renewal" (could be a short break or a nap) pushed this into the four-star category for me. See, I have for much of my tried to come up with a concise short, philosophy of life:

1) The Golden Rule (One of the things that can be drawn from Jesus or Seneca.)
2) See from the other's point of view (generalizing to Schwartz's "lensing")
3) Learn to wait (i.e., be patient and amplified into 'renewal')

Then, I like a safety net addendum or catch-all of Kant's categorical imperative. Schwartz (not intentionally) suggests an additional or different foundation in my favorite problem-solving methodology in Discourse on the Method. Overall, I like Descartes' "Principal rules of the Method" while I have always had qualms with "commencing with objects the simplest and easiest to know". Schwartz multiple times suggests starting (at least the day) on the most challenging or important task. Honestly I am glad to have Schwartz' implicit backing on this variation and look forward to more of his self-help advice.

For instance, a couple of times he promotes a "Body" awareness idea for times of acute stress: "notice your feet". There is always some part of your body not tense during tension. At that critical moment: notice that. I plan to give it a try.

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Just saw a first slide at a webinar that fits nicely with my philosophy:

Workshop Guidelines

Al Workshop

1) Be curious, listen, and ask questions

2) Assume positive intent

3) Avoid acronyms and jargon

4) Have patience

5) Be mindful when you have the mic

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From Hate Inc.: Why Today's Media Makes Us Despise One Another

My dirty little secret is that I’ve never particularly cared about politics. My personal religion is neither right nor left but absurdist. I think . We try our best, or sometimes we don’t, but either way, we typically fail in the end.

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This book was recommended in an article about bartering and negotiation, along with several other books. I read it after Trump's presidency, but it was written in 1987 before becoming president was in his thoughts. His education through his dad's business prepared him, but Donald Trump didn't coast on daddy's reputation. So much of his business depends local knowledge and relationships. It really gave me insight and appreciation of the President Trump and his personality. We all know the show more stereotypical New Yorker in a movie or book-- well, stereotypes develop from a culture! And here is NY in all its brashness, in reality. Reading the book really helped me separate emotions from the facts of the man. show less

In Trump: The Art of the Deal, Donald Trump first takes us through a typical week of his busy life (around 1987), then shifts the focus back to his childhood, where helping his father run the family business prepared young Trump for when he later went out on his own. Additionally, we read about a number of projects Trump tackled, with details about how one acquires property, or builds massive skyscrapers.

I was pleasantly surprised upon reading this book. You would think that an autobiography show more of a extremely successful and ambitious man would be a slog, but I found myself smiling at the author's quips, his thoughts on government waste, his impatience with anything but doing the best one can do.

I knew virtually nothing about Donald Trump before he began his campaign for President of the US, but after reading this book, I think I understand the man and what makes him "tick" much, much better.

Highly recommended, no matter who you plan to vote for. show less