This book has been on my to-read list for a while and I just got the opportunity to read it today so naturally I jumped at it 
Seymour Schulich is a Canadian billionaire and philanthropist. He has donated a lot of money to some of Canada’s best post secondary institutions. And he has two colleges named after him - the Schulich School of Business, York and the Schulich School of Engineering, Calgary.
Anyhow…all that aside..here’s what you can expect from the book
The Book
I was looking for some reviews before spending time reading the book and wow, I came across a ton of negatives - “it’s full of fluff” reviews…But, that said…I just had to check this book out…
I wasn’t checking this book out because it’s a national best seller or because Schulich is a billioniare (ok, maybe I was)..but, the main reason I read the book (and felt obligated) was because of the Schulich School of Engineering…I had to find out what this guy who donated $25 million to my college had to say..didn’t I?
The book is mainly written for an audience aged 20-30 years and is mostly a “the lessons I’ve learned in my life” book (which is what makes it excellent).
Each chapter is short and contains just enough information without trying to make the book an encyclopedia about life.
The very first chapter is probably one of the most valuable chapters in the whole book. He talks about how to make decisions, how to weigh your options and how to choose what the best thing at any instant is… and gives a really cool working system to make big decisions in life.
The book isn’t meant to solve any problems but instead to provide directions mostly to college students and aspiring entrepreneurs.
I suppose it’s easy to dismiss all the chapters as cliche or whatever..but the important part is…the cliches are important and useful.
It maybe stuff you’ve heard hundred times over and over again but that doesn’t make the book bad or a waste of time..
Sometimes all we need is a different perspective on the cliches..and this is Seymour Schulich’s perspectives..
Besides, there’s no point expecting something new or earth shattering everytime you open a book, all the secrets are out - nothing’s hidden…
My Recommendation
I give the book a 9/10. The only bad thing I have to say is..the organization of the chapters seems a little odd at times. And, the latter half of the book is specifically for 30-40 year olds…more about investments etc. and it sort of bored me
Other Resources
Interview with MIT Expertise forum
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I agree - sometimes we need to hear those everyone-knows-that mantras now and again. Heck, look at Dale Carnegie’s “How to make friends…” The entire thing is chock full of those. I haven’t read Schulich’s book yet, but I intend to (I go to the business school; and he has a music school at McGill and Medicine at Western… don’t quote me on the latter though)
Thanks for dropping by Nathan! I think the book will be worth your time (the first 20 or so chapters anyway)…After that he gets into investing and it was beyond me…maybe I’ll come back to it 10 years from now.
But he does note that the later chapters are mostly for 30+ audiences!
Have a great fall term!