Try to restrain your cynical pessimism Droopy. We get it. It’s a figure of speech. Having said that, a strong leader like Trump usually ends up getting his way. If this turns into a battle of wills between Trump and Ryan, I have no doubt which one will walk away victorious and which one will walk away with his tail between his legs.
I think one of the few times Trump showed leadership today was with his response to Ryan:
"I am not ready to support Speaker Ryan's agenda. Perhaps in the future we can work together and come to an agreement about what is best for the American people. They have been treated so badly for so long that it is about time for politicians to put them first!"
It was measured, presidential, and put the onus on Ryan to place the interests of the American people ahead of politics. He needs more of that.
Creative people rarely need to be motivated—they have their own inner drive that refuses to be bored. They refuse to be complacent. They live on the edge, which is precisely what is needed to be successful and remain successful.
William Levitt, the master builder of Levittown, taught me the true meaning of “momentum.” In the 1950s, he was the king. No detail was too small for his attention. He would personally collect stray nails and extra chips of wood from building sites to make sure his construction crews used all available materials. He sold his company in 1956 to ITT for $100 million, which is equivalent to billions today.
Then he made some terrible mistakes. He retired. He married the wrong woman. He moved to the south of France and lived on the Riviera with his new boat and his new wife. One day, ITT called. The executives in charge of the conglomerate had no aptitude for home building.
They had bought huge tracts of land but didn’t know how to get them zoned. So they sold it back to Levitt, who thought he’d gotten a great deal He went back into business. And he proceeded to go bankrupt. I saw William Levitt at a cocktail party in 1994, two weeks before he died. He was standing by himself in a corner, looking defeated. I didn’t know him well, but I approached him, hoping to acquire some wisdom from the master. “Mr. Levitt,” I said, “how are you doing?” “Not good, Donald, not good.”
Then he said the words I’ll never forget. “I lost my momentum. I was out of the world for twenty years, I came back, and I wasn’t the same.” No matter how accomplished you are, no matter how well you think you know your business, you have to remain vigilant about the details of your field. You can’t get by on experience or smarts. Even the best surgeons need to be retrained regularly, to stay current on the latest research and procedures. No matter what you’re managing, don’t assume you can glide by. Momentum is something you have to work at to maintain.