Cameron – how great that your father encouraged you to go for it, even if it may mean failing. As parents it’s hard to watch our kids (potentially) fail but I do believe that also teaches them valuable life and entrepreneurial lessons – resourcefulness, humility and the analytical skills to look at what went wrong – that will serve them well in the next endeavour.

I’m learning more and more that systems, proven and successful ones, are a great indication of how a business will succeed.

Thanks for this insightful post, I’ll remember College Pro for my boys.

Cam—–It was gooadvice then and it is STILL good advice —–I am SO PROUD of you !!!!!Dad

PS I still remember the names of those mentors from College Pro and I too do not know the names of your University professors

Grieg Clark is a giver (he wrote an endorsement for my book) and is helping the Canadian economy by inspiring us all.
Thank you for sharing this amazing story. I like your Dad’s thinking.

I first saw you speak on http://www.Ted.com. Some of the comments after were about how to teach a child to become a huckster. I wrote back… You have missed the point completely. Some parents raise children to be self sufficient, create & thrive. Other parents teach children to be dependent on their parents.

My family runs back 4 generations of being self employed. I started a company in 1991 & would never work for another employer again. This is way to much fun.

Good article, Carl Slicer, Vernon, Conn.

Thanks Carl – some of my comments on the TED talk really came out different than I’d intended too – I was pretty nervous, and wired up on Espresso – I think if I had a 2nd shot at delivering it – more people would have heard my points.

Also, if I kept the title I’d wanted which was “Raising Kids To Be Entrepreneurs, Instead of Lawyers” they’d have seen my messages clearer too – taking out the instead of lawyers was a mistake in my mind

Hi Cameron:

Thanks so much for the marvellous words you have said about me. I know words are your chosen “paintbrushes” in life now, and that a you always choose yours carefully, so thank you for the ones you chose.

A little story for you– When I was 12 years old I went to a boys camp called Camp Ponacka. Its founder and leader was a very wise fellow named Dr Bruno Morowitz. He lead an exercise at the end of the one month camp term where each boy in camp picked up a rock and walked up to a huge rock cairn back in the woods. He called this the Tomb of the Unknown Gentleman. We were all to place our rock on this tomb and dedicate it to some “unknown gentleman” ( out loud or to ourselves if we wanted). I spoke out loud ( are you surprised?– I am , because I was much more shy in those days). I dedicated my rock to all those people, who , in their own way, and their own time, impacted others to help make this world a little better place. I guess at the time ( and I think this was Bruno’s secret agenda).. I was hoping that I would be one of those people. Thank you for letting me know that I AM one of those people for you.

Thanks, I can die now.

Just kidding. I still have work to do, and “miles to go before I sleep”. I especially hope that the work that my wife Carolyn and I are now doing ( using some of those same entrepreneurial skills I hope) with the folks we work with in Regent Park via the Toronto Christian Resource Centre will also have an impact. You may be interested to know that Steve Rogers is also a HUGE supporter of CRC as are other College Pro Alumni such as Kevin Higgins and Bill and Franke James and College Pro sponsored a Charity Paint there last year. Lead by my son College Pro Manager Brennan Clark, about 8 Toronto franchisees volunteered a day to paint one of our rooming houses and train some of our unemployed residents how to paint. It was carried on CTV. Neat stuff.

thanks again Cameron

greig clark