In this very special solo episode of My Favorite Mistake, Mark Graban breaks down the gloriously ridiculous — and surprisingly instructive — mistakes made by the characters in his all-time favorite film, This Is Spinal Tap.

With the long-awaited sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, now in theaters, Mark shares stories from attending the IMAX premiere in Los Angeles, including a post-film Q&A with Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer.

Mark explores why Spinal Tap endures not just as a cult comedy classic, but as a brilliant satire of human behavior, team dysfunction, communication breakdowns, and leadership gone sideways.

And yes — these mistakes still matter, even four decades later.

From the Stonehenge measured in inches… To the foil-wrapped “courgette” in the pants… To the pod that wouldn’t open and the drummers who keep dying…

…these moments are funny because they’re true. And they’re great reminders that how we respond to mistakes matters more than pretending they never happened.

• Why This Is Spinal Tap is more than just a comedy

• The iconic “Stonehenge” prop mistake and what it teaches us about communication

• How real-life rockstars refused to drum in the sequel (because of the “curse”)

• Why remembering the courgette as a cucumber is itself… a mistake

• The brilliance of “We don’t have time for that” and the backstage loop in Cleveland

• Why doing what you’re told isn’t the same as doing what’s right

• Mark’s personal story of seeing the film 100+ times — starting with a VHS in high school

• 🎬 This Is Spinal Tap on IMDb

• 🎥 Spinal Tap II: The End Continues – Now in Theaters

• 📘 The Mistakes That Make Us by Mark Graban

• 💻 SpinalTarp.com – A curated list of character mistakes from the film

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and check out past episodes of My Favorite Mistake — where we talk to leaders, authors, entrepreneurs, and creatives about the mistakes that made them who they are.

🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your shows.

My guest for Episode #324 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Trevor Schade.

Episode page with video, transcript, and more

Trevor began his career as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with a strong background in coding and process improvement. He consulted on business efficiency and outsourcing before shifting into real estate in 2008. After earning his license, he quickly built a top-performing team of 26 agents with zero turnover over five years. By leveraging a virtual admin team in the Philippines and innovative automation, Trevor’s group generated over a million dollars in commissions.

In late 2023, Trevor stepped away from leading that large team to focus on investing, advising, and teaching. Today, he speaks on topics including negotiation, time freedom, and real estate strategy, and he has launched Life Wealth courses to help others pursue similar goals.

In this episode, Trevor shares his favorite mistake: jumping into a multi-level marketing business at age 19. The venture wasn’t financially successful, but it transformed his mindset. For the first time, Trevor developed a daily reading habit that exposed him to classics like Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People and Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Those books gave him a foundation in psychology, leadership, and long-term thinking that continues to influence his work.

We also explore:

• How lessons from Nebraska football and martial arts shaped Trevor’s resilience
• What Lean Six Sigma taught him about efficiency, quality, and leadership
• Why he focused on psychological safety and belonging to keep his team intact
• How he used outsourcing and automation to scale without burnout
• The importance of setting trajectories instead of rigid goals in business and life

Trevor’s story is a reminder that sometimes the most unprofitable ventures provide the richest education — if we’re willing to learn from them.

• What’s your favorite mistake?
• How did joining a multi-level marketing company at 19 shape your growth, even if it wasn’t financially successful?
• Did you ever think about leaving earlier, and was staying too long its own mistake?
• What lessons did you take from Nebraska football and sports about resilience and bouncing back?
• How did you first get into Lean Six Sigma and continuous improvement work?
• In what ways did Lean and coding skills help you scale your real estate business?
• What did you learn about leadership from running a 26-agent team with zero turnover?
• How did you create a culture of psychological safety and belonging for your team?
• Why do you emphasize inspiring people instead of “beating them over the head with metrics”?
• What role have outsourcing and automation played in your business success?
• You’ve said you set trajectories instead of rigid goals — what does that mean in practice?
• Looking back, how do you connect these mistakes and lessons to your current focus on investing, advising, and teaching?

In this special episode of My Favorite Mistake, host Mark Graban celebrates the kickoff of football season with a unique perspective: five legendary kickers who know what it means to perform under pressure. Guests include former NFL kickers Jay Feely, Shane Graham, David Akers, Nick Lowry, and University of South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer Parker White.

These athletes share their most memorable mistakes and high-pressure moments—from Jay Feely’s infamous game-losing kicks and Saturday Night Live parody, to Shane Graham’s insight that failure and success are inseparable, to Nick Lowry’s persistence after 11 rejections before making the NFL. David Akers reflects on striving for improvement over perfection, while Parker White explains how practice and faith helped him overcome nerves and pass lessons on to the next generation.

Across their stories, a common theme emerges: mistakes don’t define you—they prepare you. By reframing failure, focusing on fundamentals, and staying mentally strong, these kickers transformed pressure into performance. Their lessons reach far beyond football, offering wisdom for leaders, teams, and anyone facing high-stakes challenges in business or life.

If you’ve ever struggled with fear of failure, performance anxiety, or the pressure to succeed, this episode offers practical, inspiring insights from athletes who’ve been tested in front of millions.