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INTERVIEW: Bertrand Piccard

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In 1999 Bertrand Piccard completed first non-stop circumnavigation of the earth in a hot air baloon.

The following is an edited version of the audio interview.

What was the first step you took towards achieving your dream?
Bertrand Piccard: Before achieving a dream you need to make very little steps... People don’t understand that when you want to make a big dream you have a lot of fastidious little things you have to do.

When did you know you were well on the way to achieving your dream?
Bertrand Piccard: Well there were two failures before we had success... we had so many problems because of course if you want to do something that no one has done before you need to find a lot of new solutions and new answers to make it possible.

How did you know you'd achieved your dream?
Bertrand Piccard: When I woke up in the bed of the hotel...I thought “wow I’m not in the balloon anymore, it means we’ve succeeded.”