Success means something different for everyone. For Bill Rancic, it meant taking the things he loved-like coming up with exciting ideas and never workinq a 9-to-5 job-and translating that into a profitable business. By the time he was thirty, he’d achieved every goal he’d set for himself by creating an online cigar company from scratch and using the profits to begin a venture in real estate.

Then an opportunity came by he just couldn’t pass up-a competition to test his own personal drive and street smarts against a talented pool of professional salesmen, marketers, and MBAs, where the prize was working side by side with the master of the deal himself, Donald Trump.

’I never went to business school. I don’t have that kind of mind-set, nor do I think that business theory can only be learned from a book. I’ve always believed that success in business is an attitude: a willingness to challenge yourself, your beliefs and ideals. I went on The Apprentice to test this theory, and compete against Harvard business types and other successful entrepreneurs to validate my personal experience and see if I really had what it took to win. In the end I played the game the way I ran my businesses back home-with humility, credibility, and adaptability. It was a strategy that served me well, only it wasn’t a strategy at all; it was who I am, and if the lessons I learned along the way could help me, maybe they can help you, too....’

--Bill Rancic

Letter from Donald Trump

INTRODUCTION: Why We’re Here

ONE: The Spirit of Enterprise

Lessons Learned: On Goals

TWO: Getting Started

Lessons Learned: On Values

THREE: The Price Is Right

Lessons Learned: On Strategy

FOUR: Business as Usual

Lessons Learned: On Leadership

FIVE: Business as Unusual

Lessons Learned: On Vision

SIX: Playing the Game

Lessons Learned: On Execution

SEVEN: Putting It All Together

Lessons Learned: On Success

Acknowledgments