Reframing the Narrative

The entrepreneurial spirit is one of dedication and resilience.

A highbrow, snooty, and prominent theatre critic attends one of Barnum’s performances and writes a particularly nasty review. He dubs Barnum’s act a “circus”–which, at the time meant “a public scene of frenetic and noisily intrusive activity,” hardly a compliment.

Instead of being discouraged, Barnum changes the name of his show, “P. T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome” to include the word “circus,” establishing a new definition for the word.