Growing up on a farm in
Grassland, Alberta,
Ernie
Zelinski
[author of
The Joy of Not
Working ]
didn’t know what
career
path to
choose, but he was very good at
mathematics, trigonometry, and
physics. So, on the advice of
his teachers, he enrolled in
engineering at the University
of Alberta in 1966.
.
Despite staying out an entire
year, quitting twice, and
missing 85 percent of his
classes, Zelinski surprisingly
graduated seventh in a class of
250. He might have ranked even
higher, if he hadn’t failed
first-year English three times.
Zelinski thought, if he waited
around long enough, English
would be dropped from the
curriculum and he wouldn’t have
to take it.
Zelinski didn’t bother showing
up for class. But before he
could be accepted into
fourth-year engineering, he was
forced to take English in
summer school. Choosing the
easiest English class possible,
Zelinski finally passed. Not
with a super mark, however.
“That’s why it’s kind of odd
now that I’m a writer. I keep
telling people that if I can do
it anyone can,” says Zelinski.
“After I finally got my
engineering degree, they took
out English for a few years
after that. That really bugged
me,” Zelinski says, chuckling.
“I figured I was going to
outwait them.”
Upon graduation, Zelinski
worked for Gamma Engineering in
Vancouver. He returned to
Edmonton to work, first for
Bechtel, then Edmonton Power,
where he stayed for five and a
half years. His
responsibilities included
designing cable installations,
supervising contractors and
subcontractors hired to install
the high-voltage underground
cables, and contract
preparation and administration.
While working for Edmonton
Power, he realized he preferred
mechanical and civil
engineering to electrical. “I
didn’t care for electrical
engineering. I still tell
people electricity to me is
really weird stuff. About the
only thing I handle now is
switching the light on and
off,” laughs Zelinski. “That’s
how far I am removed from the
engineering part of it.”
Nevertheless, Zelinski advanced
quickly in his career at
Edmonton Power. However, after
three years of taking money
rather than vacation time at
the company’s request he
decided he wanted two months
off in the summer to make up
for lost time. The company
refused, but he took it anyway.
He was fired on his return.
Zelinski was shocked, afraid,
and upset. It was during the
recession, and his job
prospects were not good. To
make matters worse, he lost
most of his money in the stock
market and had to sell the
majority of his belongings.
Yet, he was determined to
neither work nor go to school
for a year but just to enjoy
leisure.
After taking time off, Zelinski
eventually found himself back
at the University of Alberta,
this time in the MBA program.
Graduating in 1987 with hopes
of becoming a college
instructor, Zelinski did manage
to pick up some teaching
positions; however, work was
scarce. He was about $30,000 in
debt from student loans, and he
had to consider other options.
That’s when he decided to write
and self-publish his first book
about creativity,
The Art of Seeing
Double in
Business (Ten
Speed Press later picked the
book up and renamed it
The Joy of Thinking
Big).
This marked the beginning of
Zelinski’s successful career as
a writer, entrepreneur, and
professional speaker. In 1991,
he wrote his second book,
The Joy of Not
Working. It
was rejected by publishers, so
Zelinski borrowed half the
money from his mother to
self-publish and market the
book. Ten Speed Press finally
printed it after he sold 50,000
copies in Canada. Today, this
international bestseller has
sold more than 250,000 copies
and has been published in 21
languages.
“One of my biggest
accomplishments was writing and
self-publishing The
Joy of Not
Working,” says
Zelinski. Despite the title,
Zelinski is adamant that he
isn’t anti-work. It’s about
working smarter rather than
harder and getting a balanced
life.
Zelinski seems to have found
that balance. This child-free
bachelor rises around 11 a.m.,
runs or bikes for an hour in
Edmonton’s river valley, writes
at cozy coffee shops for about
three to four hours a day, and
prefers not to work at all in
any month that doesn’t have an
“r” in its name.
Since opting out of the
traditional workplace more than
20 years ago, Zelinski does
what he wants to do when he
wants to do it. He also gains
great satisfaction from the
letters and correspondence he
receives from his readers all
over the world on a weekly
basis, and he’s always amazed
how his books affect people’s
lives.
Zelinski has become something
of a Canadian publishing
phenomenon. “I’m really the
exception in that I actually
was able to make a living by
writing all these years,” says
Zelinski.
Canadian authors have roughly a
one-in-ten chance of ever
getting a manuscript published
by a reputable publisher, and
only one published book in ten
ever gets translated. Zelinski
has published 12 books, and
every one has had at least
three translations. His average
is seven translations per book.
Zelinski and his
books have
received national press
attention in both U.S. and
Canada. Major newspapers such
as
USA TODAY,
National Post,
Oakland Tribune,
Boston Herald,
Toronto Star, and
Vancouver
Sun have featured
him; he’s been interviewed by
more than 100 radio stations
and has appeared on CNN’s
Financial News, CBC’s Venture,
and CTV’s Canada AM.
Zelinski’s books are successful
because they have universal
appeal. Filled with humorous
anecdotes, quotes, and
cartoons, they are both
entertaining and enlightening.
From
The Lazy Person’s
Guide to
Success to
The Joy of Not
Being
Married,
Zelinski never ceases to
inspire and provoke his readers
to pursue their life’s
passions.
Zelinski is particularly proud
of the mere fact that he
successfully completed his U of
A engineering degree. “I don’t
know what the failure rate is,”
he smiles, “but I remember the
speech given to the freshman
class: ‘Look to the left and
look to the right; neither of
the two people you see will be
here by the time you
graduate.’” Zelinski notes that
the skills he developed during
his engineering career have
proved very valuable to him as
a writer and self-publisher.
“Working as an engineer at
Edmonton Power gave me the
skills of handling contracts,
which I do now with publishers.
I draft up my own contracts.”
Many people are shocked when
they find out Zelinski has both
an engineering degree and an
MBA, but has chosen not to make
a more substantial income
working in either profession.
“It’s true! Some people have
made a lot better money than me
throughout the years, but I
still believe I’m going to
catch up with them one day.
Remember what I told you
earlier: I’m the tortoise,”
smiles Zelinski. After all, his
success is just starting to
roll. His latest book about
friendship will be out this
year, and he’s hoping for a
total of
100 book
deals in
the next few years.
“I’m feeling more prosperous
than I ever have in my life!”
he exclaims. I’m only working
two to three hours a day, and I
have my freedom too.”
By Ann Marie Pelletier
From:
The Joy of (Not)
Engineering -
Faculty of Engineering -
Magazine ...
Ernie Zelinski (Electrical '73)
... Upon graduation,
