My dad came from Russia and my mom came from Poland—she was in the Holocaust, in Auschwitz. When we came to Canada we didn’t have much. In those days, my dad made money by selling on credit to people on welfare. He’d sell them everything from clothes to hardware. At thirteen, most kids would play in the streets; I’d come home and go to collect. I’d pass through the worst parts of the city, knock on people’s doors, and collect money. It wasn’t a pretty business—I have the scars to show it. It gave me the motivation to get out of that and become something in life. I went to school to become an optometrist—I needed something behind me because my family didn’t come from any means, if you will. My family taught me the value of a dollar, the value of working, and that no one’s going to help you, you just have to do it. I learned old school and I think old school. I think poor. I had no problem in terms of discipline and hard work—I’m a ranked tennis player. Playing tennis got me a scholarship to a university in the States. I’ve tried a lot of things, failed at a lot of things, and succeeded at some things. The trick is to make your successes really big and minimize your failures. If you don’t fail you’re not going to learn. I tell people to push the envelope, don’t be scared, live below your means, have fun, and enjoy what you do.

“My dad came from Russia and my mom came from Poland—she was in the Holocaust, in Auschwitz. When we came to Canada we didn’t have much. In those days, my dad made money by selling on credit to people on welfare. He’d sell them everything from clothes to hardware. At thirteen, most kids would play in the streets; I’d come home and go to collect. I’d pass through the worst parts of the city, knock on people’s doors, and collect money. It wasn’t a pretty business—I have the scars to show it. It gave me the motivation to get out of that and become something in life. I went to school to become an optometrist—I needed something behind me because my family didn’t come from any means, if you will. My family taught me the value of a dollar, the value of working, and that no one’s going to help you, you just have to do it. I learned old school and I think old school. I think poor. I had no problem in terms of discipline and hard work—I’m a ranked tennis player. Playing tennis got me a scholarship to a university in the States. I’ve tried a lot of things, failed at a lot of things, and succeeded at some things. The trick is to make your successes really big and minimize your failures. If you don’t fail you’re not going to learn. I tell people to push the envelope, don’t be scared, live below your means, have fun, and enjoy what you do.”

Category: People