NFL Hall of Famer and entrepreneur Fran Tarkenton tells
Newsmax TV that Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina have learned powerful lessons from their business failures — and are stronger for it.
Referring to bankruptcy filings by Trump's companies and the firing of Fiorina as CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Tarkenton, author of "
The Power of Failure: Succeeding in the Age of Innovation," said:
"Donald Trump would not have been so wealthy, so successful, if he hadn't failed. And probably Fiorina who got fired by Hewlett-Packard."
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"So what? That's how you learn. Do we think … it's going to be perfect as a president or perfect politician or perfect football player? I don't think so."
While Trump has never filed for personal bankruptcy, his corporations did so four different times. And Fiorina was fired in 2005 after cutting nearly 30,000 jobs under her watch.
"The only thing that drives you is failing. You got to try things, do things. The people that have success are always pushing the envelope," Tarkenton, a star quarterback with the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings, told Dennis Michael Lynch, guest host of "The Steve Malzberg Show."
"When you do that you're going to fail and you learn from the failure and then from that failure you get smarter."
"Second and third generation wealth very seldom do they do anything because they've been taken care of all their life. They never did anything to fail. It's essential to anybody accomplishing anything on any walk of life to embrace failure, recognize it, own it and learn from it."
Tarkenton, 75, said his first-year salary with the Vikings in 1961 was $12,500. During his last season, 18 years later he was the NFL's highest paid player at $275,000 — a pittance by today's monster salaries.
"Today's players make millions upon millions," said Tarkenton, who added that many players aren't good with money. "Within five years after they play, they're broke."
After football, Tarkenton had a successful career on television as a commentator on "Monday Night Football" and co-host of "That's Incredible!" He also founded a computer programming company, Tarkenton Software.
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