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Celebrating Philippe Petit — magician, wire-walker, street artist, author, and the most intrepid athlete of our time..

Celebrating Philippe Petit — magician, wire-walker, street artist, author, and the most intrepid athlete of our time..

In-depth article by Dave D’Alessandro for NJ.com

You probably have your own definition of athleticism, derived from some combination of skills that fits the traditional model. If you happen to rate athletic achievement by physical talent, strength, coordination, flexibility, dedication, body control and courage, a few guys stand out.

Those leather-lunged lunatics who climb Mount Everest without the aid of oxygen always come to mind first. If you think anyone can do that, offer them A-Rod’s money for incentive and his juice packs for energy. They still have a better chance of being eaten by a Yetti before they reach Base Camp.

But we also think of Philippe Petit, because in its purest form, courage is character, and character trumps everything – even in sport, where no victory can be as satisfying as one teetering on cataclysmic failure…

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For Artistic Criminal, Breaking Rules Is Key To ‘Creativity’..

For Artistic Criminal, Breaking Rules Is Key To ‘Creativity’..

Compiled by the NPR staff..

Philippe Petit says he hates books on creativity.

So his new book, Creativity: The Perfect Crime, isn’t a compilation of ideas from great philosophers or creators.

The wirewalker, magician, street performer and artist breaks that mold with a book full of sketches and personal dialogue that captures his personal creative process.

And because it’s so personal, he says, it will be more useful. “I’m not doing any rules. This is not a thesis on creativity. This is a kind of an outlaw confession,” he tells NPR’s Arun Rath.

The “Man on Wire” says he has broken rules and made his own path throughout his life — most notably on Aug. 7, 1974, when he walked on a thin cable between the towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

Read the article and Listen to the NPR broadcast  HERE