Ivanka Trump: belief

Transcript context

…They always give you permission to sort of reignite the inner child to be a kid again. Yeah. And it’s interesting what you said that the puzzle of noticing each human being, what makes them beautiful, the unique characteristics, what they’re good at, the way they want to be mentored. I often see that, especially with coaches and athletes, young athletes aspiring to be great. Each athlete needs to be trained in a different way. For example, with some, you need a softer approach. With me, I always like a dictatorial approach. I like the coach to be this menacing figure. That’s what brought out the best in me. I didn’t want to be friends with the coach. I wanted almost, it’s weird to say, but yelled at to be pushed. But that doesn’t work for everybody. And that’s a risk you have to take in the coach context of, because you can’t just yell at everybody. You have to figure out what does each person need. And when you have kids, I imagine the puzzle is even harder. And when they all need different things, but yet coexist and are sometimes competitive with one another. So you’ll be at a dinner table. The amount of times I get, “Well, that’s not fair. Why did you let?” And I’m like, “Life isn’t fair. And by the way, I’m not here to be fair.” I’m like, “I’m trying to give you each what you need.” Especially when I’ve been working really hard and in the White House, I’d say, “Okay, well now we have a Sunday and we have these hours,” and I’ll have a grand plan and we’re going to make a count and it’s going to involve hot chocolate and sleds, whatever it is that my great adventure that we’re going to go play mini golf. And then I come down all psyched up, all ready to go, and the kids have zero interest. And there have been a lot of times where I’ve been like, “We’re doing this thing.” And then I realized, “Wait a second.” Sometimes you just plop down on the floor and start playing magnet tiles and that’s where they need you. So those of us who have sort of alpha personalities who sometimes it’s just witness, witness what they need. Play with them and allow them to lead the play. Don’t force them down a road you may think is more interesting or productive or educational or edifying. Just be with them, observe them, and then show them that you are genuinely curious about the things that they are genuinely curious about. I think there’s a lot of love when you do that. Also, there’s just fascinating puzzles. I was talking to a friend yesterday and she has four kids and they fight a lot and she generally wants to break up the fights, but she’s like, “I’m not sure if I’m just supposed to let them fight. Can they figure it out?” But you always break them up because I’m told that it’s okay for them to fight. Kids do that. They kind of figure out their own situation. That’s part of the growing up process. But you want to always, especially if it’s physical, they’re pushing each other. You want to kind of stop it. But at the same time, it’s also part of the play, part of the dynamics. And that’s a puzzle you also have to figure out. And plus, you’re probably worried that they’re going to get hurt if they’re ……

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