I recently spent “an evening with William Shatner” in Montreal , courtesy of a Groupon deal which offered tickets at less than half of the face price. Not being a trekkie or a rabid fan, I was not intimately familiar with his body of work.  I had however seen enough of him to know that he was a funny and charismatic man, so I was interested to see what an “evening” with him would entail. 

The show, which was 3 hours long (far exceeding my expectations) had the 80 year old Shatner recounting carefully selected stories about his past, while an interviewer occasionally prodded and guided him.  Mr. Shatner did not disappoint – he was self-deprecating, eloquent and entertaining.  And, while the stories were meant to reflect positively on his life, his career and choices were also indicative of an extremely ambitious individual who had spent a lifetime seizing opportunities.  The results of his attitude of saying “Yes”, which he is trying to inspire in others through his show and latest book "Shatner Rules", have contributed to a fascinating, multi-faceted career and, perhaps unexpectedly, have led to a very diverse set of properties and holdings, some of which include: