Redemption

“There is a way to be good again.”

Ali finally decides to contact Amir who now is living in California for about twenty years after moving there with his father. During the conversation they discussed many things like the good times that they all had twenty years earlier in Kabul, but it wasn’t only the good news that was being discussed during this conversation Ali had finally told Amir that he was seriously ill and that he didn’t have to long to live. During the phone call Amir was told that “There is a way to be good again.” After hanging up the phone Amir had no clue what Ali was talking about and this why Amir had decided to revisit and travel back to Kabul. But what He didn’t know was what he was getting into, and that this would end up changing his life.

Nothing But a Winner

But coming close wasn't the same as winning, was it? ... He had won because winners won and everyone else just went home.

In this quote we see both winner and loser being mentioned. As a child Amir really looked up to his father and wished that he could be exactly like him, but there was only one problem Amir and his father never had time to themselves as Amir always felt ignores and hated by his father. His father was considered a winner by everyone who knew him, and Amir felt that the only way that he could win over his father was by competing in a completion and beat all the competitors just as his father had done as a child. Amir felt that coming close to a victory wasn’t enough that he actually had to win to be able to be treated as he wished.

Not Friends. But Brothers

“There was brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could not break.”

This quote taken from the book “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini shows us that there is a strong relationship between two boys that is represented as brotherhood. This quote said by Ali who is a servant in Amir’s home is reminding both his son and Amir that they were raised together as brothers although having different mothers. Not only are they like brothers but their friendship is like no other letting nothing come between the two. This quote is being told to the two boys so that they never forget what they actually mean to each other and that their bond isn’t just a friendship but a brotherhood.

Never Take Your Eyes off the Ball

“I had believed what Business week wrote about me, ‘everything he touches turns into gold.” I said, “They are right. I’m the greatest. I’m the greatest.’ ” (Pg.227)

In this chapter Donald Trump goes back into the 1990s where he had faced difficulties in life and in business due to the recession that had struck the economy hard. In the quote above we see that Donald admits that he had believed what others had said and wrote about him either news articles or business magazines, because at this point Donald Trump was one of the richest men in New York City. At this point in his life he had expanded the business that he and his father had started from nothing to being worth billions of dollars. People all over the world were asking Donald Trump to come in and give advice to audiences of over 20,000, and from this he generated millions of dollars which he called easy money. Donald had so much media attention that he decided to get less involved in his work and more involved in the media industry. Donald was making appearances on TV reality shows and on anything that included money, TV, and popularity. But then came the recession which not only affected his TV career but also his real-estate business. Donald Trump came from being the golden man to almost becoming bankrupt and living on the streets. This chapter in the book “Think Big and Kick Ass” written by Donald Trump was called Never Take Your Eyes off The Ball. In this chapter Donald Trump explains how he had made it so big by hard work and dedication, but all fell apart when he got too caught up in the success that he was having that he let it get to his head. I believe the important lesson in this chapter is that never get caught up in the success that has come to you, but focus on the success that still to come.

Stop Dreaming And Just Go For It

“Passion is more important than brains or talent. I have seen some really talented, brainy people fail because lack of passion. They are what I call “idea people.” You have probably seen them, too. They always seem to have a great new ideas they are thinking about doing someday-but they never do anything about them.” (pg.46)

In this quote taken from the book ‘Think Big & Kick Ass’, written by Donald Trump he is suggesting to the readers how you should follow your dreams by taking action and not just thinking or dreaming about stuff that you hope to accomplish in the future. In this book there are many advises that Donald Trump shares with us and all of them start with passion as it is passion that will take you to the next step and without passion you will not love what you do and if you don’t love what you do then you will not do as much or as a good. Another advice that is given by Donald is that you have to act and not follow. What this means is although everyone in the world doesn’t want to do something, because it is too risky you have to do what you think is right and not just follow everyone else. He says this because Donald believes that the doors that are open for you today they might not be open tomorrow. The example Donald gave us was when he had bought a office tower on Wall St. for one million dollars which was a lot back then, and he bought this during very bad economic times and all the businesses were going bankrupt Donald saw a good opportunity which was not going to be open for ever. Donald had bought this building while everybody called him crazy for doing it and today it is worth over $530 million. This is a great example of taking advantages of good opportunities when you see them and not listening to others. Donald also mentions that if you think that your dreams can’t come true or you doubt your ability to do something you will fail and never succeed. He believes if you are dreaming then dream big, because there are no limits of what can be accomplished in life.

What it Takes to Make it Big

“I have known many celebrities, billionaire business people, and super star sports figures. It is not easy to explain in couple of words, but I have noticed that all these successful people have traits that set them apart from the pack: their attitudes, actions, and persistence, plus a whole slew of other qualities that separate the winners from the losers.” Pg.15

In this quote above taken from the book “Think Big and Kick Ass” written by Donald Trump he explains what it takes for a great businessman to succeed. There three traits that Donald believes that can take you to the next step. The traits are your attitude, your actions, and persistence. Donald Trump believes that these are the traits that separate you from being great and from being the best. Actions is the first of the three traits that Donald Trump talks about, your actions include what deals or moves you make and how they are made. Donald strongly believes that all decisions that are made are made by you and not under the influence of others. What he means by that is sure you should listen for facts and opinions given by others which may include your employees, your friends or even some of your family members, but the final decision should be made by you. The great example that was given by Donald Trump was when he was a contractor with his father at a young age and as a contractor he would buy properties and build houses or apartments which were later on were either sold or leased for rent. Most of the properties that he owns today were located in cities in New York where there was a high crime rate and where a lot of gangs were involved but Donald Trump didn’t let this stop him. Although he was being criticized by all his friends and even sometimes by his father for buying properties in such bad neighbourhoods Donald did what he thought was right. But those very properties that he has built on are worth billions of dollars today. Although his friends had told him not to invest in these bad neighbour hoods he had gone against their advice and did what he thought what was right. The second trait is probably the most important of the three traits as it decides how far you want to go. Attitude is what decides how you look at opportunities and what actions you decide to take to take advantage of those opportunities. Donald explains that the right attitude towards others and towards your work can take you places where you thought were impossible. He also explains with the right you will right expression toward customers and business partners. Persistence is the third and last trait that can help you succeed, because it your perseverance that decides who you are. The ability to do something and stick with it till it’s done is a very hard thing to do for many people worldwide and this is why it separates winners from the losers.

In my opinion Donald’s advice is very simple and easy to understand, but it is up to the individual himself if they want to follow it and make the most of their decisions. Out of the three traits I think that persistence is the most important. In this book Donald Trump will reveal secrets that will help you climb the business ladder and help you make it big.