The Circus Kid: Guy Laliberté Is Born
The Circus Kid: Guy Laliberté Is Born
Laliberté never went back to school, but that adventure would become the world famous Cirque du Soleil. Since founding Cirque when he was just 24 years old, Laliberté has not only changed the modern face of the circus, but has also become one of the richest men in Canada. Worth an estimated $1.5 billion, Laliberté was named Ernst & Young’s 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year for turning his vision into a global empire. Today, more than 50 million people the world over have seen a Cirque du Soleil production.
Laliberté was born on September 2, 1959 in Quebec City, Canada. His large middle-class family was overseen by his nurse mother and his father, who worked as a public relations executive for Alcan Aluminum Corporation. As a child, Laliberté was always interested in performing for others, whether it was learning martial arts or folk dancing, or singing in choirs. “There was always a reason for a party,” he recalls, “always music in the house.”
After producing a number of performing arts events in high school, Laliberté became convinced that his was a life destined for the stage. For a time, he played the accordion and harmonica in a group called “La Grande Gueule.” But Laliberté was also keen on traveling, describing himself as a “dreamer, fascinated by the cultures of the world.”
When Laliberté was 18 years old, he decided to travel to Europe. “Originally the dream was about traveling and developing a job that would permit me to travel,” he says. “And I decided to go into street performing because it was a traveling job; it would let me go around the world.”
Laliberté began working as a street performer, playing traditional Canadian music on an accordion with a hat in front of him for donations. With little money and nowhere to stay in London, Laliberté slept on a bench in Hyde Park. But the experience was a rewarding one, for it was on the streets of Europe that Laliberté met other street performers who taught him how to fire breathe, juggle, perform magic tricks, and walk on stilts. After a year of street performing, Laliberté returned home.
Back in Canada, Laliberté tried to work a regular 9-5 job, but had little success. A job with a hydroelectric dam ended just three days later when the workers went on strike. Using the money from the strike fund, Laliberté could support himself while he joined Les Echassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul, a stilt-walking troupe in Quebec. Laliberté also worked with its founder, Gilles Ste-Croix, to put together an entire festival of street performers. La Fęte Foraine was eventually barred from its home town after being disapproved of by the townspeople, but that would not stop Laliberté. He took the festival to other nearby towns and when he saw the positive response, he began to dream bigger dreams.
The Circus Kid Guy Laliberte Is Born
Like this article? Share it with your friends
“It was just an adventure,” says Guy Laliberté, “and I was planning to go back to school and have a regular life.”
Laliberté never went back to school, but that adventure would become the world famous Cirque du Soleil. Since founding Cirque when he was just 24 years old, Laliberté has not only changed the modern face of the circus, but has also become one of the richest men in Canada. Worth an estimated $1.5 billion, Laliberté was named Ernst & Young’s 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year for turning his vision into a global empire. Today, more than 50 million people the world over have seen a Cirque du Soleil production.
Laliberté was born on September 2, 1959 in Quebec City, Canada. His large middle-class family was overseen by his nurse mother and his father, who worked as a public relations executive for Alcan Aluminum Corporation. As a child, Laliberté was always interested in performing for others, whether it was learning martial arts or folk dancing, or singing in choirs. “There was always a reason for a party,” he recalls, “always music in the house.”
After producing a number of performing arts events in high school, Laliberté became convinced that his was a life destined for the stage. For a time, he played the accordion and harmonica in a group called “La Grande Gueule.” But Laliberté was also keen on traveling, describing himself as a “dreamer, fascinated by the cultures of the world.”
When Laliberté was 18 years old, he decided to travel to Europe. “Originally the dream was about traveling and developing a job that would permit me to travel,” he says. “And I decided to go into street performing because it was a traveling job; it would let me go around the world.”
Laliberté began working as a street performer, playing traditional Canadian music on an accordion with a hat in front of him for donations. With little money and nowhere to stay in London, Laliberté slept on a bench in Hyde Park. But the experience was a rewarding one, for it was on the streets of Europe that Laliberté met other street performers who taught him how to fire breathe, juggle, perform magic tricks, and walk on stilts. After a year of street performing, Laliberté returned home.
Back in Canada, Laliberté tried to work a regular 9-5 job, but had little success. A job with a hydroelectric dam ended just three days later when the workers went on strike. Using the money from the strike fund, Laliberté could support himself while he joined Les Echassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul, a stilt-walking troupe in Quebec. Laliberté also worked with its founder, Gilles Ste-Croix, to put together an entire festival of street performers. La Fęte Foraine was eventually barred from its home town after being disapproved of by the townspeople, but that would not stop Laliberté. He took the festival to other nearby towns and when he saw the positive response, he began to dream bigger dreams.
The Circus Kid Guy Laliberte Is Born
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 | ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
 |
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
 |
 Integrity Guide Maximize Trade Shows Internet Marketing Campaigns Visual Pipeline Workplace Culture |
|
 | ||
 |
Guide To ERP Software
Business Management Software | |
 |
The Top 10 GTD Times Posts
Best Posts for Productivity | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||