Why You Should Run Your Business Like a Trapeze Artist

The trapeze has made me a much more powerful businesswoman because there's such a metaphor between the flying truckees or really any sport or anything that you push yourself in is going to mirror what you're doing in your business on a day to day basis. It's all about challenging yourself. It's all about working to reach towards your potential. It's all about making that next achievement. So in life, when you make a decision, the first thing that has to happen is that you have to commit. You have to be 100% in. So when you climb that ladder, you need to decide that this is exactly what you want to do. Now, you may not know exactly what's going to happen once you get up there, but you're willing to do it anyway.

Well, I got into trapeze through my parents, you know, fourth generations. My father started us off on trampoline, actually, and we learned all the stuff on the trampoline. And then eventually my brother Tito saw the movie trapeze and he wanted to do trapeze. Ever since he saw the movie trapeze, he told my dad, we have to put the trapeze act together. So pretty much just like the story in the movie, you know, trapeze. That's what happened to my family. You know, they went to Europe, they traveled throughout Europe, and John Ringling north saw them and brought them to Ringling Brothers Circus, just like in the movie did. So ever since then, you know, I would always join them during the summer when I was going to school, I would join them to do trapeze or TV specials, you know, when I was a little kid. So I started flying with them maybe when I was about six years old and I started. I stayed with them through high school. Every summer we would go out and visit wherever the circus was and I would perform with them during the summertime.

I knew that trapeze was gonna be something I would never leave. The very first time I tried it, the first swing was terrifying. Just going up was terrifying. The first swing was terrifying. The drop to the net was terrifying. But the bounce, the rebound and bouncing up in the air after I hit the net at that moment, I knew, this is it. I wanted this, I'm gonna do this. This is.

Some of my greatest moments was traveling with my brothers. First of all was I used to look up to them so much, you know, but to be part of that act now, it was more. It was a lot of pressure on me because they had been established for many years as the greatest, you know, trapeze act the flying guy onas. And I was like, okay, now the pressure's on me to keep that going with them.

I didn't actually know that I wanted to be a catcher right off the bat. I was originally flying, but being a little bit bigger than most of the other flyers at the time, they suggested that I catch because everyone was too scared to hang for me, I thought I would look just too big. So I started catching and found that that was my thing right off the B.

Now, once you've climbed up the ladder, you always want to be looking up, you want to be looking forward where you're going. You never want to look down. It's just like you don't want to be looking back at what we didn't do right or what we should have done. We're always looking forward to see what's next, what can we create next.

You know, they're telling me how scared they are or how frightened they are just climbing up the ladder. But at the end of the class, you see them leave with this huge smile. And there are people that come to do it just to get rid of that fear and, you know, just to help them with that is great. But I really enjoy what takes place during class. And watching the new people, even the people that have been doing it for a while when they learn new tricks, is that it's kind of a special, special kind of high almost. And when they get something accomplished, you know, it's like I help them through that door to do that, and that makes me feel like I'm flying up there with you guys.

Anything you do in life requires some effort. It's going to require some dedication. Anything that you want is going to require some work. And if you don't do it, you're not going to get it.

Oh, of course. You know, if you're working with somebody who's done it before, they already know what you're going to go through because they've been through that. So before you complain about something, I already know what you're going to complain about or what you're going to fear about.

I love the responsibility of being the anchor for an act. You're taking care of your flyers, making sure they're safe, keeping the act in the air.

Before you do your trick, you want to be completely focused, get very clear on your mind what it is that you're going to be doing, what is the trick that you're doing. And just like in business, you need to have that intention and know exactly what you want to create. This is your big picture vision. Keep it very tight in your mind and don't let any other distractions come in. Then when you jump off that pedestal, you need to give it every ounce of energy that you have. You need to push yourself beyond what you feel that you're capable of. And it's the same thing in life and in business. You don't want to do it halfway. You don't want to do a halfway job. You want to know that whatever the outcome is, that doesn't even really matter so much. It's that you gave it 100%.

I noticed that with a lot of people where they, oh, I can't let go. I can't let go. And by the end of the class, they're letting go, and they're. Their fears are going out the window also, because they're not thinking about the fear. They're thinking about how to do the trick right. It's like, if you can do this, you can do anything in life, pretty much. And it's an accomplishment. You know, you get up there 30ft off the ground, and you do something, and they walk through life like, wow, I did that. This is gonna. Life at the office is gonna be a lot easier.

The most challenging part of trapeze is just doing it. It's grueling. There's a lot of practice involved, a lot of dedication, a lot of hard work, a lot of sweat, a lot of tears, a lot of pain. Yeah, just doing it. That's the hard part. What keeps me doing it is all the pain and all the tears and all the sweat. I like the challenge. I'm personally someone who rises to challenges. I enjoy good beating up and coming back.

You know, trapeze is a lot like life and certain things that, you know, you have to walk through this door of fear, going to a new job or, you know, you climbing up the ladder, and you're gonna feel, you know, you're gonna face your fears, and you gotta learn to let go. And sometimes people go, well, I'm a control freak, and, you know, I don't like to listen to anybody else. But at the end of class, they do let go of that and let me kind of guide through. I guide them through each step they have to do, and then they realize, wow, you know, people can guide you through different things. It's like a little kick in the ass. And that helps you get through that door.

I mean, at the end of it, once you've done it, then it's, wow, I did this. I did it. I'M alive.

And what an amazing feeling when you've been working so hard and you've been practicing and you've been putting everything together just for this moment. Just like in business, with all the preparation that you have to do in phase one and phase two of business, you've been building, you put your energy in. And then when it all comes together and you do this beautiful artistic trick in the air and you're flying right to the catcher and everything goes so smoothly, there is nothing like it.

I don't like to be held down. I don't like to be told I can't do something, Whether it's outside or my body telling me you can't do it. The more I hear that, the more I'm gonna try to do it.

I dealt with the pressure. It was almost like a vibe you get from the audience. You know, the bigger the vibe you get from the audience, the better you want to do for them. And sometimes the adrenaline, I mean, you can feel so crappy, or you got a cold, you got the flu. But as soon as you walk in the ring, it just seems. Everybody just seems to forget about how sick they are or how hurt they are, and this whole adrenaline just kicks in, and it just makes you fly like there's no tomorrow.

Trapeze is life, and life is trapeze. To me, it's all the same thing. Anything you do in life requires some effort. It's going to require some dedication. Anything that you want is going to require some work. Yeah. And if you don't do it, you're not going to get it. Same thing in what I do for a living. If I'm not putting in 100% at all times and not paying attention to what I'm doing, a lot of people can get hurt. So, yeah, it is a total mirror, but you give back what you put in.

So I think just commitment in all parts of life is, you know, it's what you want to look for. Just go through the door, fall out, and just go for it.