 Book cover | |
| Author | Donald Trump Bill Zanker |
|---|---|
| Original title | Think Big and Kick Ass: In Business and in Life |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Self-help |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | 2007 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 384 |
| ISBN | 978-0061547836 |
| OCLC | 946581955 |
| Preceded by | Why We Want You to Be Rich (2006) |
| Followed by | Trump 101: The Way to Success (2007) |
| Website | Official website |
| [1][2][3] | |
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|---|---|---|
Business and personal 45th and 47th President of the United States Incumbent Tenure
Impeachments Civil and criminal prosecutions   | ||
Think Big and Kick Ass: In Business and in Life is a non-fiction book byDonald Trump, then head ofThe Trump Organization and laterPresident of the United States, andBill Zanker,The Learning Annex entrepreneur, first published in hardcover in 2007 byHarperCollins. Another edition was subsequently published in paperback in 2008 under the titleThink Big: Make It Happen in Business and Life. Trump and Zanker had prior business ventures together before writing the book; Zanker's company helped gain Trump speaking engagements around the world with large audiences.
InThink Big and Kick Ass, Trump advises the reader to create large goals for themselves, citing his future political opponentHillary Clinton as an example of success.[4] Trump focuses a chapter "Revenge" on the importance of retribution, recounting his feud withRosie O'Donnell and criticism ofMark Cuban.[5][6] The book describes Trump's romantic exploits, and he muses that an unknown quality gave him success with women.[7][8] Coauthor Zanker describes Trump's history with The Learning Annex, saying his business partner gave a significant amount of earnings to charity.[9][10] Trump discusses his debt difficulties with banks in the 1990s, and criticizes the banks for unwisely investing with him.[11][12] Trump promoted the book onLarry King Live, at a cash giveaway in New York City, and in a speech at theWharton School.[13][1][14] The book's 2007 printing was for 400,000 copies.[2] Becoming a bestseller in 2007,[15] the book was the highest sellingpersonal finance work onAmazon.com in 2015.[16]
Vanguard wrote positively of the book,[17] and fashion designerEmilia Wickstead said it inspired her to become an entrepreneur.[18]Real Estate Weekly called the book "the icon of everything Trump".[19]London Review of Books wrote that it capitalized on consumers' dreams.[20] The work was negatively received by two reviews inThe Economist,[1][15] and byReal-World Economics Review,[14] and theSan Francisco Chronicle.[21]
Donald Trump cowroteThink Big and Kick Ass withThe Learning Annex entrepreneurBill Zanker.[22] Prior to their collaboration on the book, Trump and Zanker had entered into a business relationship through The Learning Annex.[9] Zanker's company performed marketing services forThe Trump Organization and Trump'sbrand.[9] The Learning Annex helped arrange speeches around the world for Trump.[9] The speeches by Trump were billed as part of a series called the Learning Annex Wealth Expos.[10] Zanker's efforts helped garner crowds of 80,000 in attendance at some of Trump's speeches.[23] After their collaborations including The Learning Annex andThink Big and Kick Ass, Trump and Zanker cofounded a crowdfunding website called FundAnything in 2013.[23][24][25] Trump's role included placing monies into the company, investing in donation drives, and marketing his donations viaTwitter.[24][25][26] Trump parted with FundAnything in December 2014.[25] Trump said of his business ventures with coauthor Zanker, "We really have had great success together."[23]
Think Big and Kick Ass emphasizes the importance of maintaining large goals for oneself.[27] Trump elaborates on his think big thesis, saying bravado and playing to people's fantasies can excite people who do not think big themselves.[28] He advises budding business careerists to have an optimistic outlook,[29][30] crediting his positive attitude for his success.[30] Because those who seek out their passions in life will find financial success,[31] he tells readers to devote two hours a day focusing on how to generate money.[32] The book talks about the importance of concentration on the task at hand, but cautions against narrow-mindedness and inflexibility.[33] Trump describes his expectations of loyalty from his employees, writing, "I try to hire people who are honest and loyal. ... I put the people who are loyal to me on a high pedestal and take care of them very well. I go out of my way for the people who were loyal to me in bad times."[22][34] Trump citesHillary Clinton as an example of an individual with "the ability to think big".[4] He warns about repercussions for disloyalty, saying a lack of respect will lead to struggles.[35]
The chapter "Revenge" focuses on achieving retribution against perceived enemies.[36][5][37] It begins by recounting a long-running argument between Trump and actressRosie O'Donnell.[5] Trump then criticizes businessmanMark Cuban's television persona and appearance.[6][38] He goes on to praiseBill Clinton's courage and criticizesMario Cuomo's lack of it.[34] Trump advises readers who have been wronged to "screw them back in spades"[37] and reap any possible benefits.[39][40] He elaborated on the measure of revenge by saying he responds to wrongs by retaliating in the same manner, but with more severity.[41] Trump cautions readers against being complacent and trusting in civilization because the world is cruel and ruthless.[42] Trump writes that those who do not seek revenge are remiss and calls them "schmucks".[5][43]
Trump recalls some of his romantic exploits, claiming to have secretly been with "Beautiful, famous, successful, married" women.[44][7][45] Trump reflects on how he would be filled with disbelief during these exploits, surprised at his own success.[46][47][48] He explained that he was successful in his endeavors with women due to someunknown quality he possessed.[8]
CoauthorBill Zanker writes in the work about the importance ofbrand name power for Trump, saying Trump's worth comes from his passion and ability to connect with people.[9] Zanker gave his company,The Learning Annex and its business relationship with Trump as an example, saying Trump earns more from speaking engagements than just the nominal amount on his paycheck when one factors in advertising and promotion.[9] Trump concurs with Zanker's assessment and notes that he donates his monetary income from speeches to charity.[10]
Trump discusses his 1990s conflicts with finance companies regarding debt management in the work, saying the banks accepted some of the blame.[11][12][49] He tells the reader that economic depressions are beyond a borrower's control[50] and reminds them that banks fear lawsuits.[39][51]
The New Yorker andPolitico placedThink Big and Kick Ass in the genre ofself-help books.[22][39]The Economist andBookseller + Publisher Magazine said it was part of a trend of business books.[52]The Economist noted that during successful periods of thestock market more finance books were published.[1] Author and academic John Lubans wrote about the business genre, "And there’s a subset of the business fad industry: books. Not about a system of work, but titles written by celebrity leaders like Donald Trump, Jack Welch, and others bent on explaining how they got to be as good as they decidedly are and how you too, if you follow their advice, can make it to the top. Mr. Trump’s latest,Think Big and Kick Ass, probably defines the genre."[53][54] Jeffrey L. Buller wrote inChange Leadership in Higher Education that the book was part of "a school of thought that says when it comes to success in life or at work, leadership requires people to become aggressive, assertive, and at times even abusive in order to achieve their goals.[55]The Daily Beast marveled that subsequent toTrump's 2017 inauguration, the work joined the pantheon ofpresidential memoirs.[56]
Think Big and Kick Ass was first published in 2007 in hardcover format byHarperCollins.[57][22] An audiobook was released the same year.[58] An audiobook was released under the same title again in 2008.[59] The work was first published under the titleThink Big: Make It Happen in Business and Life in paperback format in 2008.[60] HarperCollins gave it additional print releases under this title, in 2010 and 2012.[61][62] In November 2007 there were 400,000 print copies of the work.[2] Must Read Summaries published a summary of the book in 2014 and 2016.[63][64]
Trump marketed the work with an interview on theCNN programLarry King Live,[13] and at appearances in New York City.[21][65] He promoted sales of the book by doling our currency.[3] At an event in New York City, Trump personally handed out one-hundred-dollar bills to the first 100 purchasers of the book.[1] Trump gave a presentation about the book at theWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in an event hosted byMSNBC on January 2, 2008.[14] During a 2008 lawsuit involvingDeutsche Bank, attorneys for the finance company quoted from the book as evidence about Trump's views on loan relationships with banks.[66][67][40] According toThe Economist, the book became a bestseller in 2007.[15] In July 2015, the book was the highest selling work in the category ofpersonal finance onAmazon.com.[16] Trump declared revenues of less than $201.00 from the book in 2016.[68][69][70]
Vanguard journalist Ochereome Nnanna wrote positively of the book in 2016, saying her impression of Trump was as "a very imaginative, straightforward, practical person".[17] Fashion designerEmilia Wickstead told theFinancial Times in 2014 that the book inspired her to become an entrepreneur in her twenties.[18]Real Estate Weekly wrote in 2015, "Think Big And Kick Ass is the title of one of Trump's books and the icon of everything Trump."[19]London Review of Books said the work was a way to capitalize on the aspirations of consumers in 2016.[20]
The Economist had two reviews of the book in 2007. One was critical of the advice imparted in the work,[1] and the other wrote, "Donald Trump is a Wharton alumni, but you would not guess it from his new bestseller [...] with its street-fighter's advice to always get even and never marry without a prenuptial agreement."[15]University of Hawaii business history professor Robert R. Locke compared Trump's principals for self-enrichment torobber barons in theGilded Age in a 2017 article onTrumponomics forReal-World Economics Review.[14] In 2015,Carlos Lozada wrote inThe Washington Post that he found most of Trump's advice to be obvious or useless.[71]
San Francisco Chronicle was critical of the book in 2016, calling it "self-aggrandizing" and, "extolling little other than a brash,Gordon Gekko-like pursuit of money and real estate holdings."[21]The Economic Times commented upon the work in 2017, saying it gave a window into Trump's views on deal-making.[72]Bloomberg News andThe Huffington Post observed in 2016 that the work formed part of a collection of works which were profitable for Trump in collaboration withghostwriters.[73][74]
'Think Big,' co-written by Bill Zanker, was Amazon's top seller for personal finance.
As important, though, was a copy of Donald Trump's Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life that she picked up in her early twenties: its make-things-happen mantra provided an unlikely source of motivation.
If you're going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.
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