Nurture Your Dreams

This inspiration is a bit different in that it was written by me from an interview with Cirque du Soleil founder and CEO, Guy Laliberté, while he was at the cosmonaut training facility in Star City, Russia. Guy was heading to the International Space Station for two weeks and entered quarantine the day after our interview.

You really should listen to our interview- I believe it’s one of the best we’ve ever featured. Below is the inspiration that Guy shared with me, paraphrased just a bit. Enjoy!

Hugs,
Gail Lynne Goodwin, Ambassador of Inspiration for InspireMeToday.com

When I came up with the idea for Cirque Du Soleil, people told me more than once that I was crazy. We were big dreamers with a lot of guts. The first few years were difficult because we had little experience, but with persuasion, dedication and belief in our dream we succeeded.

When I shared my vision, people told me that I was crazy- in a good sense. Crazy because they didn’t think I’d be able to pull it off. Friends supported me and the bankers thought I was crazy and even then we still pursued it.

Instead of being discouraged, I looked for another way. I’ve always said that there are many ways to enter a house. if the front door is closed, there’s always the back door or a window that’s open a crack. So I kept looking for a crack to be able to enter the world I wanted to be in. And I got a couple of breaks. Eventually, I found a banker who was as crazy as we were.

We got the support of the public and positive reviews in the media. The first couple of years were very hard work, but we were doing it and we were having fun. We were following our dream of traveling and entertaining people.

A dream or crazy idea is like a plant you want to grow. You have to be a good gardener. You have to nurture, take care of and feed it everyday. It sounds easy, but I don’t believe things come very easily- you must believe in and nurture things to make them happen. Be a good gardener of your dream and it will happen.

We all have dreams and as kids we’re full of fire and energy. There are so many barriers and obstacles in life that you need courage to succeed. Don’t be afraid to hit the wall, but just keep going. You need to find the strength to get up again and convince the people you need to convince to make it happen.

From mentors, I learned the importance of honesty and values. My mentors taught me to believe that I could achieve what I wanted in life- without compromise.

I learned to evaluate the danger but to not nurture the fear. There is a very clear distinction on this. When you define your life, it’s important that you learn how to evaluate things before you make a decision. When you’re young and strong you jump in. As you age you have to be a little bit wiser.

Evaluating things before you make a decision is a very important thing in life. For when you nurture fear it will come and visit you and that’s something I can’t afford and don’t want to get into. I stick with evaluating the danger instead.

As a young man on a trip abroad, I realized I was a privileged person because I had three meals a day. Once I was grateful for the basics, everything else that showed up in my life I considered a privilege. By focusing on the good in your life and being grateful for what you have, more good will come to you.

I believe that if we feed the circle of life in a great way, life will feed you back with what you feed it with. I’m a peace and love kind of guy and I believe in a better world.

I’ve been training since May for our departure on September 30th, 2009 for a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. I can still remember watching the first moon landing in July of 1969 from summer camp. This is exciting as I’m fulfilling a childhood dream to go into space.

This journey is a social and poetic mission. As with many things in my life, this experience will trigger something else and show another way how I can have a greater impact in the world.

I also want to raise awareness for our foundation, OneDrop.org. This issue is urgent as water is the source of life and one person dies every eight seconds from not having clean water. (See information below).

In summary, I think when we embark on our journey of life as human beings we all have a mountain to climb. All sorts of things can distract us on the way, but one day we will make it to the top of our mountain.

Along the way, let’s never forget that once we were children and that we were all playing together, without distinction of skin color, society level, or where people come from.

And of course, remember the capacity of children to be surprised! Adults need to remember to play, and to be more childlike in our behavior. We’ve forgotten what that childlike experience was like. Me? I’m going to grow backwards and be a kid again.