Balance

by Nik Wallenda

  The majesty of the view is beyond anything I have ever seen. It is beyond anything I have ever imagined. I see it as God’s greatest painting, a landscape of awe-inspiring grandeur. I am aware that never before has a human been in this particular place to drink in this particular view. I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

  I pray and praise continually, interrupted from time to time by a few questions from the ABC commentators in the broadcast booth. I assure them that all is well. I’m on course. This is what I do. And yes, there is some heavy wind, and yes, when I get above the Falls themselves, there is a great deal of mist, and yes, this is a little trickier than what I had imagined, but no, nothing I can’t handle. Wind and mist and rain are part of the deal. Finding traction on a slick, wet cable is part of the challenge. I don’t mind the questions. Yes, I’m happy to speak with my dad. Yes, Dad, all is well. No problems. Let me go on.

  Let me keep walking through this vast living dream that has consumed me for most of my life, that is consuming me now, that has me calling out the name of my Savior again and again. This walk is a celebration, an acknowledgment that the indomitable spirit of Karl Wallenda is alive and that you, Father God, are the living Word directing my path. You, Father God, are worthy of all praise, all devotion, all energy. I want to live through You and pray that You live through me. Walk with me, stay with me, Father God, be my comfort and my steady friend, my rock and my redeemer.

  The cable bends. The cable sways. The cable curves up and the cable curves down. The wind blows and the mist covers my eyes. Sheets of rain wash over me. But through it all, I’m smiling, my heart is laughing, my heart is singing, my heart is light with the certain knowledge that I serve a righteous God. My heart has never been happier—happy to answer more questions from the commentators, happy to check in again with Dad, happy to keep praying and expressing my boundless love for the Lord.

  Some twenty-five minutes after I began, I approach my final destination. I go down on one knee and blow a kiss to the crowd before trotting the last few feet. Erendira, Yanni, Amadaos, and Evita are there to greet me. So is an army of reporters and photographers from all over the world. So is the Canadian official who asks to see my passport. Not having prepared a speech, I simply speak from my heart: My hope is that this walk inspires people throughout the world to achieve their goals and realize their dreams.

  The rest is a blur—a good blur, but a blur nonetheless. I remember calling my grandmother, Karl’s daughter, back in Sarasota, who said she was too nervous to watch.

  “I’m fine,” I tell her. “I love you.”

  I tell my mom and dad, who are by my side, the same.

  I tell the TV commentators that yes, the mist was thick, and yes, it was hard to see at times. Yes, the winds got wild, but no, I wasn’t frightened and, no, it wasn’t anything I hadn’t anticipated, and yes, it feels great to be the first person to ever walk over the Falls on a high wire, and yes, this is the highlight of my professional life, yes, this is a dream come true—the dream come true.

  The next morning I will learn that the international audience—predicted at 500 million—was double that number. The two-hour special garnered an estimated one billion. In the United States alone the Nielsen ratings went through the roof. Viewership records were broken left and right.

  And yet, for all the commotion, back in the hotel suite that I shared with Erendira and our children, the one thought that gives me peace and lets me come down from the high of an achievement I had sought for so many years is found in the Word of God.

  I pick up the Bible and in 2 Timothy 4:7 I read these words:

  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

  19

  Keeping the Faith

  Keeping the faith is all that keeps me balanced. If I didn’t believe, I’d fall in any number of ways. By believing, my spirit stays afloat.

  The day after the walk over Niagara Falls I keep the faith by returning to Goat Island on the U.S. side to help pick up garbage. I’m careful not to alert any of the publicists surrounding the event that I’m doing this because my purpose is not self-aggrandizement. My purpose is simply to help clean up after myself. The huge crowd left a great deal of trash behind, and I feel compelled to pitch in. Besides, after the inordinate amount of attention I sought and received, I need to keep myself grounded. Three hours of cleaning up debris is good for my soul. Humility does not come naturally to me. So if I have to force myself into situations that are humbling, so be it. Just as I dug the hole that held my anchor on the Canadian side, I make it a point to refill the hole. I know that I need to get down on my hands and knees like everyone else.

  “That’s just vain humility,” a detractor tells me. “You do it because it makes you look good.”

  “I do it,” I say, “because it’s a way to keep from tripping. As a follower of Jesus, I see Him washing the feet of others. I do it because if I don’t serve others I’ll be serving nothing but my ego. I do it for the same reason that I don’t travel with an entourage—just my family and a few trusted friends. And for the same reason I fly coach.”

  “I thought you fly coach because you’re too thrifty to pay for first class.”

  I laugh and say, “Well, that’s part of it, too.”

  Other detractors say that the prayers I spoke during my walk, audible to viewers throughout the world, were a calculated move to appear holier-than-thou. The problem with that argument was that I had no idea that my prayers were being broadcast. I’d been told my mic would be open only when I was responding to questions asked by the ABC broadcasters and my dad. I only learned that they had kept my mic open when the walk was over. I wasn’t at all displeased; I had no shame about addressing Christ while on the wire; I had been doing it for years. But it certainly wasn’t planned. It wasn’t self-conscious.

  Now I’m glad that the mic was hot. I’m glad the world heard how, in the midst of my most precarious walk, I turned to Jesus to balance my spirit. I’m glad because of the hundreds of letters and emails I received from people moved by my prayers. I’m glad because the author helping me write this book says he never would have sought this collaboration had he not heard me praying over Niagara Falls. I’m glad because the words came from my heart and expressed the true love and gratitude I feel for my Lord and Savior.

  Keeping the faith means keeping myself consciously connected to God, even as I consciously understand the precarious position of someone like me who is constantly seeking the spotlight. My ambition has not waned and I’m not sure it ever will. While writing this book I’ve been preparing to be the first person to walk across the Grand Canyon. Unlike Niagara Falls, there has been no drama concerning permissions and permits. Several networks vied for the rights to broadcast the event. I was delighted when the Discovery Channel emerged the winner, and even more delighted when there was no demand that I be tethered. By the time you’re reading this, my hope is that the Grand Canyon walk will be realized and celebrated as an even more spectacular success than Niagara Falls.

  I’m a proud product of the circus, proud of my family’s circus history and proud to have contributed to the luster of that institution. I’m also proud of my efforts to repackage aerial entertainment in dramatic settings. I’ve tried to make it modern, inventive, and more exciting. I’ve tried to take feats that, in the past, might have seemed nerdy and make them cool. Whether I’m walking on a wire or doing handstands inside a Wheel of Steel, I employ old theatrics with new angles and innovative approaches. I do crazy things to get attention and to entertain.

  As an American committed to free enterprise, I embrace the ethos of the small businessman. I strive to build my brand. I believe in investing in my future. I believe in saving more than I spend. I work to insure the financial welfare of my family. I’m motivated to increase my ability to earn. I cherish that motivation. I want to do more, make more, entertain more, reach more people.

  And yet these are worldly matters. These are, for the mos
t part, material goals that are good and sound. They require strong initiative on my part and a belief in my ability to get better in every aspect of my life. I know that I run the risk that faces every prominent showman. I know that because I’ve fallen on my face, not as a performer but as a husband and a human being. Many are the times when I’ve been overly impressed with my own gifts. Over and again, I’ve had to be right. I’ve had to have the last word. I’ve been intolerant when others haven’t done what I’ve wanted them to do. I’ve been impatient when others haven’t moved at the speed that I want them to move. In short, I haven’t always been the man that I want to be.

  So I go on, seeking a balance between accepting my limitations and seeking improvement in my character. I’m leery of seeking perfection, because, in my mind, to believe in personal perfection is just another expression of egotism. Only God is perfect. And yet we strive, even as we bask in the glow of His unconditional grace, to live in that space that bridges individual achievement and divine acceptance.

  To live in that space is to dwell with God, now and forevermore.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I have great appreciation for so many people who have been influential in my life.

  First, I want to express my love to my beautiful and supportive wife, Erendira. You have taught me the true meaning of love, as you have stood by my side through thick and thin, for better or worse. I would not be who I am today if it was not for you and your unending love.

  To my son Yanni, who made me a Daddy for the first time, you were an incredible baby boy and have since turned into an even more incredible young man. Amadaos, thanks for being a “Daddy’s boy” and keeping me young playing sports in the back yard. To my beautiful daughter Evita, thank you for your sweet heart. You will always be Daddy’s baby girl! All three of you are deeply blessed with the favor of God and have an incredibly bright future! Go change the world!

  I could not have achieved these heights in career or life without my parents, Delilah and Terry, and my sister Lijana. Mom, thank you for teaching me to walk a wire at a young age; and Dad, thank you for teaching me the proper and safe way to rig a wire and so much more about life. Most important, I thank you both for raising me up in a loving household and showing me, by example, how to serve Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. Lijana, thank you for being a part of many performances, being supportive of all that I do, and for being my wife’s best friend (particularly when I’ve made a mistake).

  Chris Ripo, thanks for being one of the most influential people in my life during my late teenage years, and continuing as adults. You have taught me how to work hard, run a business, and kept me humble. Joseph Mascitto, you are the best friend a man could ask for. Thanks for taking my calls in times of stress, even if they were in the middle of the night. Mike Duff, thanks for being a great friend and, well, for being Mike Duff. After all these years, I think that says it all. Andy Collins, thanks for ignoring the playbook on the football field, and “just throwing me the ball”! To Tim Carlson, you have been my consultant for my rigging supply needs and so much more. Tom Rhein, you have been there to provide words of encouragement since my first performance on the wire to Niagara Falls, and I have the amazing photos to prove it! Bello Nock, thanks for showing me how to not only make a living doing what we do, but to take it to the next level! David Blaine, thanks for your friendship and encouragement through the years! To my Uncle Tom Troffer, thanks for being an example to me of what a real-life superhero is. You taught me everything I know! Uncle Mike, as you are now known to all my crew and the world, thanks for all of your assistance in making sure that every stunt I do is engineered safely and properly.

  Shelley Ross, you saw the potential I had to be on TV from the moment we met and introduced me to my amazing managers, David and Winston Simone. David, thank you for your overwhelming support; and, Winston, for believing in me from the very start. The three of you have played a huge role in making my dreams come true!

  John Carson, you hired me when I was fifteen and you have always demonstrated that hard work equals reward. Pastor Neville Gritt, thank you for teaching me how to live a righteous life and, to this day, attending my performances whenever possible. Pastor Steven Schlabach, you have continually encouraged me and relentlessly taught and reinforced the word of Grace.

  Jim Bell, thanks for giving me my first shot at a live nationally televised stunt as I broke my first individual world record. Matt Lauer, your coverage of my bicycle world record and the words you spoke to me on that couch in the studio will never be forgotten! Jon Rosen, for believing in me since the first day we met in your office.

  Morgan Zalkin, thanks for the “tweet” that would eventually lead to the ABC TV special. James Goldston and Ben Sherwood, you guys took a chance on me, and I am forever grateful you took the risk of covering history on live TV. Roger Trevino, your assistance made it possible for me to connect with decision makers in Niagara Falls, New York. To all of the officials and authorities in New York who were brave enough to support me against long odds, Assemblyman John Ceretto, Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak, Senator Mark Grisanti, and my close friend Senator George Maziarz; to the officials in Canada who bravely trusted from the initial idea, Minister Michael Chan, and my dear friends MPP Kim Craitor, and Mayor Jim Diodati and to NPC Chair Janice Thomson for eventually coming on board and fully supporting me; to Henry Wojtaszek for his legal assistance and, more important, friendship; to John Bartolomei for his incredible negotiating skills; to Joel Weinstein for always having my back; and to all of my Indiegogo supporters, Rick Winter, and David Diamond, for stepping in at the last moment and helping me raise enough money to cover the majority of the expenses for Niagara, you made a life-long dream become a reality. To Phil Sarna for making sure that everything adds up when we are all said and done! Michael Sourenson and Edward Sabin, thanks for taking hold of the dream for the next endeavor. I am excited to have your support in even greater career steps, this time across the Grand Canyon. The Navaho Nation for granting me permission to fulfill my next dream on your beautiful land!

  To my great-grandfather Karl Wallenda, you paved the way to my future and exemplified the “Never Give Up” spirit! It is your legacy I strive to carry on.

  Finally, to the hundreds of others who have inspired, believed, trusted, and encouraged me to pursue my dreams and Never Give Up, and to every fan and audience member who has viewed my performances live or on worldwide media, your cheers drive me to new heights!

  Special thanks to the following friends who helped make my Niagara Falls Walk the success that it was.

  Matthew Holla

  Christine Boyd

  Gary Smith

  Keith Nelson

  Walter Latacki

  Lori Franze

  Donna Metzger

  Fran Krajcovic

  Daniel Staples

  Michael Leung

  Jutta Nelson

  Helen Kolodey

  Fabrizio Di Franco

  Terry Shaffer

  Agata Purcell

  Angie Fournier

  Marc Miller

  Martha Jacobs

  Robert Marchese

  Philippe Tremblay

  Daniel DiPasquale

  Marvin Mimms

  Dawn Kline

  Harry Sharma

  Carol Robinson

  Eric Hitchcock

  Denise Almanza

  Bradley Thomas

  James Ostlund

  Steve Barnes

  Don Barnes

  Michael McDougall

  Dolores Koenig

  Deborah Kuczkowski

  Joshua Prezioso

  Richard Ramey

  Jennifer Mason

  Joanna St Jacques

  Richard Massey

  Shigeko Ishikawa

  Albert Rodland

  Vera Harrison

  Joy Lynch

  Joseph Sweigart

  Shawn Weber

  Diana Fabiano

  David Kessler

  Patricia
Rardin

  Elizabeth Dexter

  Gary Diehl

  Leonard Belsher

  Scott Allen

  Donald Veronneau

  James Dahlquist

  Shelley Bierfeldt

  Manuela Kesseler

  Haihong Zeng

  Paul Resell

  Deborah Gordon

  David Dessauer

  Kelley Mathews

  Seton Katz

  Vernon Schneider

  Maxine House

  Mary Bradley

  Sarah Moore

  Thomas Banas

  Arthur Marshall

  Howard Fuchs

  Ronald Weisman

  Paula Finkelstein

  Lori Ryerson

  Frank Balcerzak

  Rod Kennedy

  Vick Hilger

  David Sypeck

  Marjorie Pannell

  Nicole Melander

  David Scollnik

  Daniel Mack

  James Robins

  Deborah Miller

  John Batchelder

  Jeff Liffmann

  Fred Gallagher

  Peggy Nelson

  Geoffrey Bell

  Lina Czajkowski

  Aidan Cosgrave

  Matthew Katz

  Suzan Payne

  AJ Lopata

  Iren Pober

  Rita Yousett

  Tamara Tkaczuk

  Stephanie Sugar

  Steve Schreiber

  Tom Rhein

  Rober Trevino

  David Morse

  Diane Harter

  Joseph Mascitto

  Noriko Onoe

  David Ritz thanks Nik Wallenda, my brother in Christ, Erendira Wallenda, Delilah Wallenda, Terry Troffer, Jana Burson, David Vigliano, Anthony Mattero, Winston Simone, David Simone, my wife, Roberta, my daughters, Alison and Jessica, my sisters, Esther and Elizabeth. Much love to Jim, Henry, Charlotte, Alden, James, Isaac. Much gratitude to Alan Eisenstock and Harry Weinger, my brothers in Moses, and the Tuesday brothers—Skip, David, Dejon, Juan, Herb, Dennis, Ian, John, Kevin, and Dave.