Guy Laliberté & 5 Strategies to juggle your way to the top

If you measure dreams and wealth in terms of craftiness and money, a unique person who stands out in Forbes magazine's 2006 list of billionaires was a trained fire-eater and juggler named Guy Laliberté. One of the original partners of the Cirque du Soleil theatre group, Laliberté acted on intuition and guidance to save the theatre group from bankruptcy early on, to expand it into a billion-dollar corporation. In 2001, Laliberté bought out his last partner, and became sole owner.

During Laliberté's travels at age 18, he was short of cash, but gained a wealth of experience. He met sidewalk showmen “off the beaten track” in alleys around key tourist venues. He scraped by ‘hand-to-mouth,’ and learned quirky arts like stilt-walking, which earned him change to get by. Its fascinating how Cirque du Soleil grew from jobless kids struggling to get bucks on corners, to Quebec's second biggest culture export (after Celine Dion). How did they do it? What could we learn?

1) They believed in themselves.  Laliberté’s adventurous youth backpacking with his accordion, spoons and harmonica invited circus training into his blood. Do you follow your heart and your intuition? He decided to devise ways to absorb unusual skills and build a dream. Back in Canada, he opted not to attend college. Rather, he recruited a troupe from youth who hung around hostels. Belief in himself convinced the Canadian government to sponsor a circus in a small cultural festival. After they succeeded with a profit, Laliberté dreamed bigger circus dreams, and sought like-minded people to pursue them.

2) They struggled.  Taking chances didn’t always pay off. Although the second season of their mobile theatre troupe tour in Canada ended a half million dollars in the red, it was received well enough to be deemed a national treasure. This reassured Laliberté and his peers. They felt that through struggle, they could learn to work out issues more effectively together. They sensed a collective potential to go much further.

3) They took daring yet, calculated risks.   Impatient for new success, Laliberté took a huge gamble by booking his circus for the opening of a Los Angeles art festival with no fee. He bet interest would be so great, they would develop a season there. “I bet everything on that one night,” he recalled. If we failed, there was no cash for gas to come home.” He wasn't afraid of that possibility. After all, he knew what it was like to have nothing, and he sensed he was capable of transforming his creative spirit into something spectacular.

4) They rode the wave.  When the L.A. show gamble was a hit, they didn’t permit a gutsy entrepreneur to buy them out. Instead, the troupe took advantage of media coverage, invitations for interviews and coverage in the national press. This created their modern circus reputation, and the L.A. season roped in ~$45,000, from nothing.

5) They keep innovating.  Building confidence, artistic integrity and a healthier bank account, the troupe branched out to begin to solicit corporate sponsorship, and they’ve never looked back. Greater financial capital and faith of the public who desired new kinds of fantasy, led Cirque du Soleil to develop mobile and permanent shows worldwide.