Month: April 2021

I watched a movie recently and I was fascinated by it. It’s called “The Walk” and it’s a true story. It’s the story of Philippe Petit, a wire walker, who walked between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York in 1974 on a thin line. 

I was fascinated by his focus and technique in achieving such a task. He was fearless, and he went through such intense training to achieve his dream. As practice, before walking between the World Trade Center, he tried everything on a wire. He walked on a wire while his friends were deliberately shaking the wire, because he knew if it was windy, he would need to practice walking under these conditions. He walked with his hands behind his back to practice balance. Most wire walkers use a poll that they hold horizontally to keep their balance. He practiced laying down on the wire and standing back up. He practiced wire walking endlessly under any and all conditions.

There was also a lot of investigating by himself and his colleagues to find the best procedure of achieving the walk. Investigating included making sure the wire was securely fastened, and stable enough despite the wind and pressure. 

To add more stress to the plan, when investigating, he ended up walking on a plank with a nail sticking out. The nail went through his foot only two weeks before the walk. Despite his girlfriend saying he should not walk with his injury, as many would have said, he persevered and remained steadfast to his dream. When he performed the walk of the Trade Center, blood was still seeping through his sock. He was so fixated on his dream, and confident he could do it, that he didn’t allow anybody else to convince him otherwise. 

Most of his friends who were involved in the planning stages thought from time to time he was losing his mind. He on the other hand, had faith that it could be done, and the minute doubt started creeping in, he returned to his dream. The twin towers were approximately 546m in height and the two towers were approximately 200 feet apart. He decided to perform the walk without a harness, so one misstep, or lack of focus, and he would fall 546m on the grounds of New York. 

We all know wire walking requires tremendous precision and focus. One of his friends and colleagues said everyone that were involved in the planning stages thought at one point that he could fall, but the difference was they had faith in him and they knew it could be done. They wouldn’t allow their thoughts to become an expectation. 

He ended up performing the walk and making headlines all over the world. There were moments he laid down on the wire, and there were moments he saluted his audience on the grounds of New York. He walked across the towers several times while his friends were taking photos of him in astonishment. 

The point of the story I’m trying to make, is what appeared impossible became reality because one man believed, he persevered and he didn’t give in. Almost everyone who accomplished great things had risks involved, and some people such as Phillip Petit even risked death for it. 

Take this insight and memoir and see how it can help you in your life. It’s not very likely you’ll walk on a wire 546m high, and you may even think it’s unwise, as many would believe the same. But look at your own life and know if one man or many beat the odds, so can you. If one man could walk on a thin wire with such precision and focus over 500m in the air, and salute his audience, what can you do with your life?

We all have a body, and we all have a spirit inside us, interconnected to everything in the universe. Use this memoir for your own life. What do you want to do with your life? What are your gifts? What gives you passion and joy? Phillip Petit’s faith, determination, and perseverance can be used in your own life for your own endeavors. Faith, determination and perseverance all comes from within, so you can seek it and claim it yours. Seek inward and you’ll find your calling as Petit found it, and succeeded. With enough faith and persistence you’ll see it through, as the great minds of our time achieved greatness with unwavering faith.