From getting ahead in business to beating cancer, could one gene hold the key?

21 November 2013 by in Lifestyle

Infinite Ideas author (ex-Burger King CEO Barry Gibbons) today shocked the scientific establishment by unveiling work that claims to prove that one gene is responsible for success in a variety of endeavours.

Without a microscope, any scientific training and through experiments on only one animal – himself – Gibbons has managed to isolate the elusive W Gene*. Unharnessed, this rogue gene, found mainly in the human male, can cause disastrous life consequences but, claims Gibbons, it has astonishing potential when brought under control.

“It triggers a strange behavioural pattern in those who possess it,” says Gibbons. “When things are going well, when recent life has been a sequence of climbing small ladders, this demographic, for no apparent reason, does (or says) something which provides a snake to slide down. But the W Gene might be controlled, and even harnessed, with positive results. Under certain circumstances the W Gene might prove to be an ally.”

It is estimated that only a small proportion of the population carries this gene, though incidence of W-Gene affected people seems to be particularly high in the north of England (Gibbons himself hails from Manchester), among football managers and in all strands of the media. Diagnosis can take years but signs include:

  • An uncanny ability to mess up one’s life, particularly when it’s going well – the W Gene seems to switch on when things get ‘boring’;
  • A heightened ability to say the wrong thing to the wrong person at precisely the wrong time;
  • Possession of a finely tuned bullshit detector;
  • An unwillingness to suffer fools at all;
  • A mischievous sense of fun and dry wit, neither of which is tuned to appropriateness of situation;
  • A highly developed sense of right and wrong and an unwillingness to pursue any other course, regardless of consequences.

Pushing doors marked pullOnce Gibbons discovered this genetic quirk it became clear that it was behind both his career accomplishments and his continuing successful battle against bowel cancer. More detail on this potentially world-changing discovery can be found in Gibbons’ new book Pushing doors marked pull. Rude, funny, revealing and straight talking, this book is for anybody who wants to know what it takes to succeed in spite of, or perhaps because of, yourself.

*Also known as the Wanker Gene, this hereditary gene most usually occurs in men, and can cause a range of irrational behaviours.