Good morning
In my lifetime, I have been privileged to meet a few really good people. I’ve only met a couple of them in person, it’s true, and some of them are not names which are readily recognised. I am grateful and blessed that one of these people was my father.
There is a whole Blog which I will write about my father’s influence in people’s lives. To give you a small measure of this wonderful man. He was on assignment in Ndola, a northern town in Zambia, in the 1960s and early 1970s. It was early post-independence and emotions were running high in the aftermath. My father was South African and the majority of his staff was from the Bemba tribe which could have cause immense concerns. We returned to South Africa in 1973. My father passed away from cancer in 1978.
My father made such a personal difference in the lives of all who worked with him that to honour him when he died, (five years after he had left Zambia), every one of his staff camped out on the work premises for a week to pray for and mourn the passing of their father. If you have any idea of African culture, this was reverence which few will be granted. We were amazed and touched by such wonderful honours for our dad but it wasn’t until later in life that I understood the import of that gesture for a man who had so enriched the lives of these people.
The other introductions have been through books which I’ve read and functions which I have attended. Although each one of these people is different from any other, there is an overarching passion (and compassion) which defines them. In a sense, a solid thread running through them.
I don’t watch television and haven’t done so for over thirty years but I do read voraciously, with many of the books I’ve read being self-developmental and motivational. My earliest recollection of delving into these types of books was in the 1960s and 1970s. My father had an extensive library and his favourite authors included Napoleon Hill, Og Mandino and Dale Carnegie. That has to be a good start for any child.
In the late 1990s, early 2000s, I was introduced to Robert Kyosaki through his book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Needless to say, this began my foray into the mind of this great man. In late 2006, his latest book Why We Want You To Be Rich joined my library.
Enter Donald Trump as the co-author of Why We Want You To Be Rich and my love for Donald Trump began.
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| A man of the people |
Amazon summarises the book thus, “Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki wrote Why We Want You To Be Rich because they saw how the turbulent economic climate would impact the middle class. Their goal is to inspire the middle class to take control of their lives and choices to defy the odds.”
I have
never been involved in nor interested in real estate, although following their
advice would have been a very good idea. It was mainly the personal views of
the authors which interested me. Each man’s personality shone throughout the
book. The book is long and is not for everyone but it fascinated me – I didn’t
get rich but it certainly enriched my life.
I have followed the lives of both these men since 2006.
I currently live in South Africa and news of what happens in the rest of the world is sparse and often ‘weak-ink’ diluted. I dug for what I could find about Donald Trump. I’d hear of how he worked with his people on his building sites; of his walking around and drawing out of his crew what they needed to get their job done faster and more effectively. He also didn’t simply ask and then move one. He’d organise what was required before he continued. Not only did people feel valued; they were valued. This is a quality which is still evident today. Throughout the years, I have not noticed a change in the essence of the man. He spoke fondly of how he would walk buildings with his father, picking up nails and screws because – waste not want not. DOGE is his current ‘picking up nails’ moment.
My years
of following this man’s life have shown me that he’s an ordinary person with an
extraordinary brain which he was and is more than prepared to share to help
other people to help themselves. He had and still has a genuine belief that
everyone matters and has a part to play in the theatre of life – and it’s clear
to see that Donald Trump enjoys playing in and to that theatre.
Of course he’s a showman. He has a wicked sense of humour and loves sharing it with people. He’s a classic entertainer. The skits that he has done with and as ‘regular folk’ is not through the lens of condescension, it’s because of his genuine empathy with and enjoyment of people living what would be considered regular lives. When Donald Trump credits someone’s worth, it’s because he absolutely and solidly believes that they matter, because they do - not only to his bottom line, but to the vision he’s working to accomplish.
This is a minuscule sample of what it is that sets that Donald Trump apart and places him among the few really good people whom I have been privileged to get to know. He is a genius with a genuine belief in the value of regular people, from taxi drivers to hardhats and hot dog vendors as well as anyone who is putting in the effort to improve their station and that of those around them.
Donald Trump’s life pulses with people and he clearly loves it.
