Episode 197: Paul Tracogna | Excellence at the Circus

197.jpg

Today’s guest Life Athlete is Paul.

Paul fascinated me the moment I met him. He’s the one of the best in the world at what he does and by his own admission, most people won’t know who he is. Paul has been an aerialist circus performer for over 15 years and he and his wife recently won a Bronze Clown at the prestigious International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo put on by the Princess of Monaco.

Our first conversation immediately went to topics such as excellence, dedication, and the experience of being the best in the world at your craft.

In a world of social media and attention seekers it was nourishing to talk to someone whose primary motivations were so in line with the intentions of Life Athletics, to play his game to the best of his ability for the satisfaction that comes from experiencing a job well done.

We also spoke about how the skills to do one thing well are conceptually similar to the skills needed to do something else well, which is the whole point of this podcast. As Paul says, "It’s very very difficult to achieve perfection but you can strive towards excellence”.

We recorded this episode in a room in Bali that felt super quiet at the time and yet there are roosters crowing, dogs barking, It’s not perfect but many of the things Paul says are excellent and I hope you can push aside the occasional background noise and enjoy!