Guy Laliberté: Lessons from the School of Life

From street performer to entrepreneur to space tourist, you've built a life exploring the edge of what is possible. Quick one before we get going. Tell me, what brings you to Raselgema?

start to be feeling bored uh of not being in the action. So uh since the past three years we've been uh architecturing uh a vision of what we believe will be the future of entertainment, uh real estate hospitality. And uh obviously uh this region of the world is uh booming and uh we believe that uh there Amazing opportunity for us to uh engage in relationship with uh with the region and uh this is what we are here for.

people that are dressing differently, uh animals that were not living in my uh country. And uh I nurtured the dream of traveling uh since I'm a kid. So This is what had brought me to my to be able to live my dream was music. I come from a traditional family that was playing music. That was the fastest way that I had found to hit the road as a busker. And then I discovered the pleasure of entertaining. I always been doing

business at school. I was the wheeler dealer. I was always the trader. I was selling uh baseball cards, uh whatever things I could commerce with. So so I come from this type of entrepreneur that was Uh always doing deals all my life since my kids. So I didn't go to the business school. I went to the school of life.

uh achieving my dream. So so the evolution was quite simple. Uh from executing the the dream, travelling, met a lot of people, discovered this beautiful planet and uh I went from street artist to being part of a theater troupe on stills, organizing festival, then the opportunity uh of having a contract

uh during the celebration of the four hundred fiftieth anniversary of Canada. Uh and then uh we hit the road uh bumpy at the beginning. Um but uh rapidly uh when we start to uh go uh bigger, uh meaning outside of country we uh we brought our shows in uh Los Angeles and then never looked back after. It was uh a series of uh success and growth and uh seizing opportunity. So, um how could I say why don't what is my routine? I cannot have a routine because

Um I live my personality, I leave the two sides of my brain. One is a creative one, the other one is a business one. Uh and and with variants of it, the traveller one, the adventurous one. So whatever moment I am in my life, my my morning is always different.

Um, I wanted to ask you, because you said you come from a traditional family, uh, is th was there a particular moment that changed your career trajectory, you would say?

Uh it was an international expo. I was eight years old. My mom brought in the summer or the season passport every day we were going there. And I was fascinated by listening people talking language that I didn't know, tasting food that was not existing on our menu in my country, and and and and discovering this culture for the toward either cultural, like a folklore, uh science or whatever, and I was really fascinated.

And but I would said the the the one event that really sparked the the dream, uh and and and this belief that uh uh what I was feeling inside me was the The the night that Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. I remember we're in a summer camp and we look at that and for me where every of my friends was about wow I want to be an astronaut for me I was looking at this moment I said wait a minute the little prince story could be lived for real

And this is really we're we're we're we're uh uh uh engaged in that. So so obviously it was not easy because it it pro it brought me in this disrupting rebellious things because obviously uh parents or the society at that moment were not endorsing this type of uh of dream. You know, the the I come from a moment where the reference was success was to be a doctor, an engineer, uh somebody that was uh I seat your things, you know. And uh and I was very rebellion toward what the

The reference of of of being educated or or secure your life for the future was in reference for me it was about I will learn from the school of life. And I really endorse this course that that approach to educate myself.

So so so this I would say this intuition development, this reading the room type of things came from the sweet things. Then uh I would say too To see the joy of people uh reacting to art, to creation, to music, you know and realizing that the you know this this this uh job of being uh uh a happiness merchant I and make me feel that I was having the best job in the world. And obviously meaning people

That have an amazing story, you know. Elders or people my age uh that had experience and passion, I dedicate their life and passion and just listening to that those stories was a way of educating myself. And I would said keeping my eyes open to the opportunity. And not compromising. But she values. You know, I met amazing, beautiful people that I told them they told me their story and it shaped my values very young in my age. And I guess this was probably the most important thing.

You know, it's like uh by by the age of twenty I have my value and I've sticked on them all my life, uh, because I learned from beautiful people that have great value.

So we actually have a wheel of questions and we'd love it if you could spin it. All right. Do you take breaks and what do you do for rest?

to address a challenge like a chess game and try to project uh as much uh as much uh as much move. Why? Because I learned one thing in business is if you project what are the potential uh element or or things that could arrive and you try to live and project the emotion you will live with such event, uh then you're uh A big, big factor, the factor of surprise. And then business being surprised the last moment, this is I think a moment where you you could be destabilized.

Uh people say you're cold. No, I say I just I already had lived my emotion of this situation. So I'm pre I'm training myself always to be as as accurate and and and and and sharp as possible and not be decibilized in business because there's uh there's a lot of intelligent business people out there. So they have their tricks. and uh and the art of negotiation is not always done uh I would say then uh in a honest way. So I like to be ready. And uh see things coming.

Yeah. Awesome. Okay. So tell me about a time you failed and how did you recover? What did you learn?

uh Toronto, the biggest city there, but we had to pick uh another uh city. And uh there was the we had help from the Bureau of Quebec uh delegation and uh in uh uh mm Toronto said, Oh you have to go to uh Niagara Falls. Everybody knows by Niagara Falls. And of course it's like famous. I said there's X number of millions of people who pass during that period of time. Great, there's a good market. So we

We went there, established ourselves, and I waited we didn't have a lot of money that time. So a way for us to be successful was always depending on the f opening night. So we'll invite the society there and then we were counting on the success. We were very confident in the quality of a show and the surprise. We were good and but we were touching people. We just had to bring them in the big top so like that they would

they would talk. So we were betting on on or or we didn't have money to buy too much publicity. So so we rely a lot on that first night and then if people like it they will do a word by uh a word by mouth and then the people will be there. So great success in Niger Falls for Night like any other c city. But the day after there's no cell, no cell, very few cell, and we start to panic.

I said, what about those million people? Who said, well yes. And somebody said to him, Yes, but you know what? They come, the average of stay is thirty minutes when they go see the the the falls. Or when they stay here is because they're they just making the honeymoon and the honeymoon sweet and they're here with doing uh with the lover uh having a nice dinner and things and not thinking about going to see a circus show. So it almost killed us.

So what do you learn of a mistake like that is like it's your marketing studies, to try to go deeper in the understanding of the specificity of a culture or the behavior of people.

All right, so we're almost at the end of our time together. Um but before we wrap up, Gi, I wanna bring it back to where we're sitting right now here in in Rasel Gema in the UAE. What do you think the world can learn from places like Rasel Gema? Places that are still writing their own story.

And so far what I've seen here is like uh a very interesting. This is I we arrive in a moment where there's a big change in this region in terms of how they prepare themselves for the future. Uh there They had brought in uh you know uh super high brand name of a casino that uh decided to establish itself here. They're building a s uh islands which they bring in the biggest brand uh in hospitality in the world. Uh

I would said if I wish something for the region is what this region is about. And I would said uh uh uh uh uh to be able to see that part of the offer. should be uh I would say reflect on because like I said, all my travelling always told me that there's always a beautiful story to tell about who w who you are.

uh as a culture, as a region, as a uh as a society and uh I think There's beauty here and uh and I'm discovering it uh day by day and uh we'll see what's happened with that in the future, right?