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Lesson #1: “Entrepreneurs have to be willing to stay the course”

Article Overview: “It was hard not to enjoy the success we were having, doing a deal a day,” says Wilson of the early days with FirstEnergy. “It was enthralling to be at the office. I got as caught up in my career as any investment banker could be.”

Lesson #1: “Entrepreneurs have to be willing to stay the course”

"It was hard not to enjoy the success we were having, doing a deal a day," says Wilson of the early days with FirstEnergy. "It was enthralling to be at the office. I got as caught up in my career as any investment banker could be." Wilson found going to the office every morning an enthralling experience because he was passionate about his work. "I worked for about three years as an engineer at one of the big oil companies. I discovered that I wasn't passionate about engineering," he says. "I was passionate about business."

Without losing a step to hesitation, Wilson immediately switched focuses and followed his passion. However, as a young engineer with Imperial Oil, Wilson failed a management aptitude test. "Despite being told by one of my first employers that I wasn't management material, I enrolled in the MBA program at the University of Calgary," he says, following proudly with, "I was the first graduate to major in entrepreneurship."

Not everyone was behind Wilson's decision to leave the lucrative oil fields. Indeed, his employers and family alike questioned his future in doing so. "I began working right away as an investment banker and never looked back," he says. "After I started my business - a company named Wilson Mackie - my dad asked me if I was still looking for a job."

Did that persuade him to go back to his engineering roots? On the contrary, Wilson became even more determined to prove his father wrong. "Entrepreneurs have to be willing to stay the course even when those closest to you question what you're doing," he says.

Still, Wilson learned the hard way that all passions have to be balanced with priorities. "For many years I spent my life working 24/7," he says. "I lost my marriage and I almost lost my three greatest assets: my kids.... I'd been running pretty hard, hardly knew my kids and certainly had alienated my wife."

After nearly dying from advanced prostate cancer at the age of 43, Wilson says, "I radically reprioritized." Wilson began putting his health first, and spending more time with his family.

Today, Wilson has learned how to manage his numerous passions. However, despite his significant success and proven business sense, he continues to encounter those who doubt his abilities. In auditioning to be a panelist on CBC's Dragon's Den, he was almost turned down by the show's producers because he seemed "too nice." But Wilson proved that being nice did not necessarily take away from his star power, or diminish the entertainment value of the show.

Wilson continues to defy the odds in following his passions. His casual-Friday fashion sense might make others underestimate him, but with his passion and priorities in check, Wilson has never been more of a force to be reckoned with.

"More people die of retirement than hard work," says Wilson. "In this case, my priorities are my children and having fun."

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Article Tags: assets, contrary, engineer, firstenergy, hesitation, imperial oil, investment banker, lesson 1, lucrative oil, management aptitude test, management material, mba program, oil companies, oil fields, passions, priorities, prostate cancer, roots, t management, university of calgary



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