To emulate excellence, you need to see it around you; if you don’t see it, you don’t know what it is. And McGill stands for excellence.
People have always had tremendous respect for McGill. This respect is felt both inside and outside the institution, and this is quite special. For me, it was McGill’s reputation, its people and the way they spoke about the University that appealed to me.
As a student, I quickly realized that McGill epitomized the demand for, and expectation of, excellence. I remember walking into Economics 101, a class with 600 students. On the first day, the professor announced he only gave out six A’s in the course. With my sights set on attending McGill Law School, I knew that I needed to be one of those six students. It was very prestigious to be accepted into McGill Law – especially straight from CEGEP.
In my Anthropology course, the final grade was weighed 50% on a multiple-choice test and 50% on an essay. I received an A on the test, but only a B on the essay. Since this was not going to get me an A in the course, I went to my professor and asked whether I could read some of the A papers. He agreed. I subsequently asked whether, if I wrote a second paper, would he give me the grade on the second paper, to which he also agreed. Now knowing what an A paper looked like, I was able to write an A paper. It is the exposure to excellence that makes one excellent.
At McGill, I decided to eliminate fear and anxiety from my vocabulary. I went to the library and immersed myself in the study of philosophy, reading everything I could get my hands on – from German, English, American, French, Greek, Scandinavian, and all of the Eastern philosophies.
Some of the ideas I encountered have stayed with me. There is Goethe’s remark: “Whatever you can do or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” Another favourite is this quote by Emerson: “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”
Another memorable piece of advice came from my law of trusts professor, Donovan Waters, who was always very supportive. He would say: “Cast your bread upon the waters”. In other words, just go out there, give it a try and see what comes back.
If I could give today’s students some advice it would be this: Talk to your professors, speak up for yourself, speak your mind, and don’t be afraid. Professors are willing to help, and it’s amazing how a whole universe of unseen forces conspires to assist you once you take that first step.
Guided by my entrepreneurial spirit, I have made tremendous mistakes and have had tons of failures. The entrepreneurial path I have followed since my student days has been unconventional. I went out, took chances and made mistakes. But I have lived a full life and have had far more successes than I would have ever had but for fact that I was willing to fail. It has been a fulfilling career that continues to appreciate every year. And I owe much of it to my time and tutelage at McGill.