How I turned a game show loss into one of the most valuable lessons (and keynotes) of my life.
Senior year of high school, I was on our quiz team.
We weren’t just answering questions in a classroom — we were competing on a televised academic tournament out of Toledo, Ohio. Two schools would go head-to-head on camera. Winner advances. Loser goes home.
We won our first round.
Then our second.
Momentum was building.
That’s when our coach pulled me aside.
His name was Mr. Denny Larson. And he wasn’t just our quiz team coach. He was:
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My history teacher
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Golf coach
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Bowling coach
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Driver’s ed instructor
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And a mentor I looked up to deeply
He said,
“Phil — you have to learn Greek mythology. That’s our weak spot. You’ve got to cover it.”
He told me this again after round two.
And again after practice.
And again in the hallway.
And again before the semifinals.
I nodded each time.
And then did… absolutely nothing.
For what it’s worth, Mr. Larson openly admitted he didn’t know Greek mythology either.
Which meant I couldn’t even lean on him as a safety net.
We made it to the semifinals.
And we lost.
(Just to make it even more ironic — we lost when I missed a sports question. Yes, really.)
Now fast-forward about 20 years.
I’m sitting in the hot seat on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
I’ve already secured $32,000. The next question is worth $64,000.
Here it comes:
“The term ‘mentor’ comes from Greek mythology. Mentor was a friend and trusted advisor to whom?”
A) Oedipus
B) Hercules
C) Odysseus
D) Achilles
And in my head, I hear a screaming chicken:
“WHY DIDN’T YOU LISTEN?! YOU HAD 20 YEARS TO LEARN THIS!”
And yes — I still hadn’t studied Greek mythology.
Nobody in my phone-a-friend group knew it either.
I used the 50-50 lifeline. That left Hercules and Odysseus.
The only connection I had?
A Pinky and the Brain episode where they cleaned the stables for Hercules.
So I went with Hercules.
Wrong.
The correct answer was Odysseus.
I lost $32,000.
But wait — the story doesn’t end there.
One of my actual phone-a-friend options was Mr. Larson.
I didn’t call him because — again — he told me straight up back in high school that he didn’t know Greek mythology.
But I did call him after the taping.
I told him the question. Told him the story.
His response?
“Good thing you didn’t call me — I would’ve laughed my ass off for 30 seconds.”
Classic Mr. Larson.
Backstage, Beth reminded me of something important:
“We just won $32,000.”
And she was right.
I walked away with a check for $32,000.
I walked away with a story that’s since made that money back — and then some.
So what did I really take from that moment?
💰 $32,000 lost because I ignored good advice.
💡 $32,000 earned back by turning the story into a keynote.
📈 $ lesson learned: Mistakes don’t have to stay losses — they can become leverage.
Got your own version of Greek mythology you’ve been avoiding?
Maybe it’s time to learn it — before it shows up under the spotlight.