A book review of Damn the Pressure, Full Speed Ahead: How One Man’s Resourcefulness and Tenacity Helped Change the World by Tom Pado with Elaine Whitesides
Stars: ***
Remington Publishing (2019)
Entrepreneurship
383 pages
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.
Summary: He started his life out in the shadows of the steel mills in Gary Indiana. Instead of home or school being his safe places to learn and grow, Tom Pado found his own ways of learning. His friends and neighbors never really knew what to expect. Homemade rockets that blew up, brewing up a concoction on his mother’s stove that he later learned was Mustard Gas, his pet zoo in and out of the house and an affable demeanor and broad smile that didn’t seem to match his mischievousness. All the adventures led him into a life of excitement and success as he pioneered the offshore ROV industry for deep sea oil drilling. His ideas powered the industry that powers the world.
In Damn the Pressure, Full Speed Ahead, Pado shares the story of how he made his way across the globe and built a multi-million dollar company that has truly altered the world. Pado decided to share his story in an effort to not just encourage those who harbor dreams but to also provide the story of the ups and downs, ins and outs of building a business from scratch. He lays everything out so that others can learn from his mistakes and his successes as they pursue their own dreams. Someone once told Pado that “you get exactly what you see” when dealing with him, either as a business associate or as a friend. That is the way Pado shares his story for people of all ages and at all stages of life. It’s a fun read and if you aren’t careful, you might just learn something or be inspired.
Damn the Pressure, Full Speed Ahead
The book was a little slow going at the beginning but I’m glad I didn’t give up too fast. It’s amazing what Tom Pado has accomplished with his life. He didn’t give up, even when things looks bleak, quite a few times. The book title is apt because it describes the way Tom is exactly. All throughout the book he is pushing ahead with what he wants to accomplish, no matter how difficult.
Every time I think the book is going to say, “and that’s the job I’ve had since then,” he stops that job for some reason and goes on to another. He’s a Jack of All Trades (or a Tom of all Trades!)
Tom has accomplished a lot and is well known in certain circles. I appreciated that he doesn’t seem conceited. He tells what he has accomplished honestly but without sounding like he is better than anyone else. His life proves that if you want it bad enough, you will find a way to make it happen.
If you are a budding entrepreneur you will find his book inspirational. What would have made it better is the photos that were included, were black and white and tiny. I would have preferred an insert in the middle with full colour photos of different parts of his life.
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