In his distinctive voice, the Canadian advertising executive and host of CBC radio’s Under The Influence builds on a common observation. Big mistakes often become positive turning points for the individuals involved. Not limited to those in the advertising industry, he delves into the lives of entrepreneurs, Hollywood moguls, inventors, sports stars, and entertainers whose apparent massive mistakes changed their lives forever for the better.
I found some of the 20 short profiles mesmerizing, and others a bit confusing. Among my favourites is the story of how a massive overestimate of the demand for Thanksgiving turkeys lead to the timely creation of the very profitable Swanson TV dinner enterprise, the uncanny mistake of getting drunk and hungover making Seth McFarlane miss his plane on 9/11, the second one that flew into the World Trade Centre, and the creator of the Old Farmer’s Almanac leaving the predictions for July, 1816 missing, with a kid adding in snow and sleet as a joke, which proved accurate. I won’t spoil the read for others by detailing other unlikely but true tales.
Reading this engaging, carefully researched book made me reflect on my own many mistakes and pick the one that best fits the category. That would have to be applying for a promotion to full professor in academic university medicine at The University of Western Ontario. That was denied by my duplicitous colleagues, some after assuring me that they would support me. That led me, with my wife’s encouragement, to leave the academic world and set up a private practice dedicated wholly to liver diseases, the first in Canada, while retaining hospital privileges, based on legal precedent. It proved to be much more relaxing, less restrained by university and hospital rules, and at least as remunerative as full time academic practice. I set my own schedule, hired my own staff, and attended few committee meetings. I conducted more research and teaching with much less stress for the next 15 years than I would have ever done as a full professor, and enjoyed it far more, right up to when retirement called.
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The Passionate Reader 