I read this on a famous magic forum...
"It doesn't take a genius to figure out something is going on his hand..."
There's no B.S. on this blog. Here's the truth...
I see a lot of magicians always posting about their spectators knowing how something is done - and I've never understood that concern.
I just googled "jumping x on hand magic trick" and double cross is the first 2 entries. Yet, almost every magician owns one of those gimmicks.
Times have changed.
Perhaps it's something for us all to consider as performers.
We perform a trick and they have a great time - whether 10% of our audience suspects there was something in the magicians hand or not, does it matter?
If 1% of the people at the gig google it to discover the secret, does it matter?
My phone blows up when Blaine or Dynamo does something online/on TV. Or when Britain's Got Talent or America's Got Talent is on.
I get WhatsApp messages from family and friends, asking me if I know how it's done.
As a magician, the same probably happens to you.
There's a certain percentage of people that will care to go after the secret, and there's a larger percentage of people who just enjoy the performance.
You have to ask yourself a question.
"Do I perform to make myself look good? Or do I perform to make them feel good?
The former is about building yourself up. In this scenario the secret is everything. Because the secret is what gives you the adulation of your audience.
No wonder you feel threatened by an easy method, or something that looks like it could be 'guessed' or 'discovered' by your audience.
Right now, during the trick, you know something they don't - but if they knew it too, your identity would be threatened.
However, let me tell you something nobody has ever told you before. You are more than what you do.
You are more than your job, more than your hobbies and more than what you learned on a $30 download.
Your identity isn't fixed, it's reality is solidified by the one perceiving it.
- To someone you perform a magic trick to, you're a magician.
- To someone you tell a few jokes to, you're funny.
- To someone you help out, you're a generous person.
- To someone you beat to a parking space, you're an a**hole.
I used to go through life with 'magic' as my identity, in tattoos, in my clothing, in my social media handles e.g (@geraint.magic, @magicofdeduction etc).
With that mindset, where my entire identity is magic, I'd be bothered if the secret was obvious, or discoverable. As it would challenge my identity - and make me look & feel far less unique.
"It's not abut my identity, I just don't want to look stupid in public."
I get that too, but here's some tough love... A flap card breaking, a separated double lift, a missed 'sleeve' of a coin, won't destroy you.
Life goes on.
You remember your failures - but your audience won't - and even if they do, it'll be 0.0000001% of their life. Completely insignificant.
They've got their own stuff to worry about. Kids, bills, work, heartbreak etc.
If you perform to 10,000 people and 100 know the secret - it's still just 1%.
99% of people go with it. 99% love it. 99% tell their friends about it.
The idea of being flawless is a myth. If that's what you expect you'll never be able to do anything.
- Famous Chef's burn food every now and again.
- Famous F1 Driver's spin off the track every now and again.
- World-class athlete's pull muscles, or break limbs.
Failure is inevitable.
So you've just got to go out with the intention of having fun... and it's not about you being flawless.
It's about sharing something cool with those who are receptive to it - and not bothering with those who aren't.
A Gift To You
Here's a gift for you for reading this far. This was the first magic DVD I ever bought.
It's by my business mentor Brad Christian and it's called Crash Course 2.
Yes, it's old and in 4:3 aspect ratio, but it's a masterpiece.
And today you can get it for free. Just add it to your cart and checkout and you'll get the download in your Ellusionist account.
Why am I doing this?
Because I feel magic has lost it's way over the last few years - and hopefully the thing that sparked my passion can re-ignite yours.
Get out there, do it, perform, share, fail & have fun along the way.
Magic isn't real, so those looking for a perfect method will never find it - and they'll be unfulfilled forever.
And those looking to never get caught will live in fear - and never perform anything.
Hopefully that's not you.
40 comments
Paul Kida
Love of our craft and love for our audience’s enjoyment helps us cast fear and doubt aside. It’s not about us,it’s about bringing joy and wonder to others. We’ve all messed up but we carry on, bringing a little light into someone’s life is priceless.
Paul G Rubin
Great message, thank you for sharing this. I’ve always thought that performing magic was to make your audience feel special, not to make yourself feel special. Sometimes one’s ego gets in the way and this gets reversed. It’s not about fooling people (unless you’re performing for other magicians, perhaps). Most people don’t really want to be fooled, they want to be entertained. There is a group of people who strongly don’t want to be fooled because they think it makes them look foolish. They don’t really enjoy magic, so don’t worry about that group.
Fortunately, there is a larger group who like to be entertained, to be amazed. Have them in mind when you perform. Give them that (although it may be only momentary) feeling of wonder. It’s a gift. Even if later on their rational mind tries to work out how it actually worked, that gift of wonder you gave them will never be taken away.
Keith Haddrill
How did you know I really needed this today? I learned again never to perform for family. Mine just critiques even though my shows have taken me all over the world for over 30 years. Thank you!
Les Leviness
You just described me. I fear being caught. I’ve expect too much of myself.
After reading this message, I’ve been awakened and will perform more relaxed. Did I mention I’m, 83. (smile)
TIMOTHY P DOYON
I still remember my first magic trick. It was a little tin thumb tip with a small silk hanky. I could hardly believe that the horribly painted thumb tip could fool anyone… but it did. That was in 1972. Flash forward to today, and I still carry a thumb tip with me everywhere I go. With it, I make lit cigarettes, dollar bills, and silk cloths disappear, and reappear in any number of ways, (even from within raw eggs). I make salt appear from an empty hand that I just poured water into, etc. And throughout my life I only got busted once, and that was because my hands were especially dry that day and it simply fell off. That was at least 35 years ago. I have even fooled other magicians with it. I don’t even try to hide it anymore. The one thing I do is use some Corn Huskers lotion on my hands ahead of time so it doesn’t slip off again… that stuff will give you a better grip on anything.
Leave a comment
All comments are moderated before being published.
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.