TODAY I still struggle to understand why Trump, even as a billionaire, continues to maintain habits like this. What if I told you that the billionaire President of the United States does something every single morning that he refuses to allow ANYONE else to do for him — a tradition his father taught him more than 60 years ago, and the reason behind it carries a powerful lesson about what TRUE character really means?
For over 60 YEARS, Donald Trump has reportedly polished his own shoes every morning.
Not his staff. Not hotel workers. Not professional shoe polishers.
TRUMP himself.
With his own hands. His own polish. His own time.
White House staff have reportedly offered on numerous occasions:
“Mr. President, we can take care of polishing your shoes.”
Trump’s response has always been:
“NO. My father taught me when I was a young boy: A man polishes his own shoes. It builds CHARACTER. It reminds you that no matter how successful you become, you should never think you are above basic discipline.”
Think about that.
Trump has reportedly maintained this shoe-polishing routine since his childhood in the 1950s.
Throughout the building of his business empire.
Throughout becoming a billionaire.
Throughout becoming PRESIDENT.
Still.
Every.
Morning.
He polishes his own shoes.
Staff members have reportedly seen this routine: Trump wakes up, and before important meetings, presidential briefings, and the responsibilities of running the country — he sits down with his shoe polish and brush and takes care of his own formal footwear.
“My father said: ‘The day you become too important to polish your own shoes is the day you lose your character.’ I never forgot that.”
For over SIX DECADES, Trump has reportedly continued to practice the lesson his father taught him.
More than 60 YEARS of everyday discipline that nobody photographs, nobody applauds, and something most people might never even know about.
Simply a son remembering a promise he made to his father:
“I will never become too important to do this myself.”
Here's the lesson this teaches us:
True character isn't built during the biggest moments of life — it develops through the small daily disciplines you follow for DECADES, even when nobody is watching.
👞🇺🇲 Drop 👞 if Trump's reported 60-year discipline motivates you.
Comment: What lesson did YOUR father or mother teach you that you continue to follow even today?
Share this so others can understand:
Character = daily habits.
Follow if you believe the lessons our parents teach us can become lifelong promises.
Trump's shoe polishing = a 60-year promise! 👞🙏🇺🇲
@KatieMiller I remember that time when Masa, instead of putting $12B into Tesla for a 1/4 of the company to help me take Tesla private, instead invested the money in WeWork.
That was dumb.
Gather round folks, because just when you thought Masa Son would not catalyze the bursting of the next bubble... well, read for yourselves
SoftBank bought 87 million Intel shares for $2 billion last year. By the end of March the stake was worth $3.8 billion, and by the end of September $10.5 billion, good for a ¥1.06 trillion gain in the first half.
Instead of selling, in August SoftBank did something much more, well, SoftBank: it raised $7.35 billion through prepaid forward contracts on its entire Intel stake, structured as collars with a floor and a cap. In English, it borrowed more than three times what it paid for the stock, pledged every share, and sold away the upside above the cap to pay for the downside protection.
What happened next? Intel shares kept climbing after the ink dried, which means the capped contracts moved against SoftBank, to the tune of a ¥322 billion ($2 billion) derivative loss in less than two months. And because Intel still finished the September quarter below where it started, SoftBank also booked a ¥270 billion valuation loss on the shares themselves.
So in a single quarter Masa managed to lose money on the stock and on the hedge. That takes sheer talent.
The fine print is even better: of the ¥1.65 trillion of Intel shares pledged, the banks have "rights of use" over ¥1.1 trillion, meaning they are free to lend out or otherwise use SoftBank's collateral.