“I have never met an enthusiastic failure”
September 25, 2009

Last week in Chapel, we installed our College Prefects, while also recognizing Mr. Ron Bremner ’67 as the recipient of this year’s Alumni of Distinction Award.  As you may recall, Mr. Bremner is a highly successful businessman and entrepreneur who has “done it all.”.  He has run radio stations, a television network and an NHL franchise, not to mention the work he currently does as a consultant and motivational speaker.

As I reflected on the speech he gave to the Senior School in the Artsplex, I was struck by how effectively he was able to convey his message; a message that emphasized the importance of personal commitment, tenacity and the ability to learn from and get on with others. For me, the most memorable story he told was about Billy Sherring, the Hamilton man who overcame enormous odds to represent Canada in the 1906 Olympic Games in Athens.  Billy went on to win the gold medal in the Olympic marathon, even though he had to run the last half ofthe race in his bare feet.  One of Billy Sherring’s greatest attributes was his enthusiasm, an enthusiasm that couldn’t be dampened even by the most challenging circumstances.  As Mr. Bremner pointed out in his speech, “I have never met an enthusiastic failure.”

Later in the day, one of his former HSC team mates told me a story that deepened my appreciation of Mr. Bremner’s leadership skills.  The year was 1967.  Ron was in Grade 13, and he was the captain of HSC’s hockey team. The alumnus who told me this story was in Grade 9 at the time.  Even though he only weighed about 100 pounds and was a less than gifted hockey player, the Grade 9 boy made the cut because the team was desperate for players.  From the very outset, Ron welcomed the younger boy to the team and encouraged him to do his best.  “Ron’s enthusiasm was infectious,” the alumnus remembers.  “He was as friendly and as encouraging to me as he was towards his friends and the best players on the team.  We really were a team; everybody mattered.”

The turning point in the 1967 hockey season was an away-game against Trinity College School.  Because it was a small co-ed school, HSC played in the B division. TCS, along with Upper Canada and St. Andrew’s was in the fiercely-competitive A division.  Somehow, there was mix up, and on that fateful day, the team that came out onto the ice to confront HSC was TCS’s A team, the strongest team in the A division.  Rather than giving up or expressing any negativity, Ron enthusiastically encouraged his team to do their best.  He laughed that mischievous, infectious laugh, and with a twinkle in his eye, exclaimed:  “We’re in luck, boys; let’s show them that bunch of guys from Hamilton know how to play hockey!”

In the hard-hitting game that followed, the HSC’s athletes played the game of their lives.  They were like David meeting Goliath. Ron’s athletic prowess, combined with his unfailing enthusiasm and the team’s strong sense of camaraderie, made the difference.  Much to everybody’s surprise, HSC managed to defeat TCS, and our team went on to have one of the most successful seasons in its hundred-year history.

This story highlights a couple of key points.  First of all, kindness and consideration go a long way.  The fact that the team captain, a much older boy and an accomplished athlete, made a point of welcoming the Grade 9 student to the team had a profound impact on the younger boy.  In fact, he stills remembers Ron fondly more than 40 years later. 

Secondly, this story highlights the importance of enthusiasm and positive thinking. It was Ron’s ability to inspire his team and to make them believe that they could win that made the difference.  As Ralph Waldo Emerson observed more than 150 years ago, “nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm…. enthusiasm is the leaping lightening, not to be measured by the horse-power of the understanding.”

So as we begin another school year, let’s think about the positive difference we can make in the lives of others.  Let’s do our best to avoid the temptation to be negative or cynical.  And, let’s embrace the power of enthusiasm and positive thinking. That way, like that Grade 9 boy more than 40 years ago, we will be able to accomplish things that we never would have imagined.

As Dale Carnegie, the legendary American industrialist noted, “Enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.”  And to repeat the words of Ron Bremner,
“I have never met an enthusiastic failure.”