Make Yourself Feel Better

There are a number of ways to make yourself feel better about yourself and the work that you do.  One of the simplest is a method used a great deal in the entertainment industry is to knock the other guy.  I mean if you see someone performing you can easily slag off their performance and by doing that you will lift yourself above what they have done and hence you feel better.  Even more impressive is to criticise their performance and then build yourself up as the expert by stating how you would have done it differently.  That will increase the gap between you and them – you’ll look really good then.  Just go on YouTube and look at the comments that people leave – very often it just condemns or insults the person who has posted and that can only have the effect of making the individual who left the comment feeling powerful.   Maybe the tone of the comment can suggest that you are the expert, slightly patronising, all knowing.  Yeah that’s the way.  I do it, you do it.  The reality is that unless your comment is going to improve the performance or help then you should probably shut up!  Oh and if you are “the expert” lift people up to your level, don’t cling on to your knowledge, share it and share it freely.  Anyone who is putting themselves in the line of fire deserves a degree of respect and isn’t necessarily a sitting duck for ridicule, you don’t become the smartest person in the class by throwing stones at the poor sod whose struggling, especially in the glasshouse that we’re in.   There’s merit it pretty much every sincere attempt to deliver a performance regardless of the end result.

Alternatively you could just focus on making yourself a better performer than you are at the moment and forget about where that puts you in the grand scheme of things.  You could look forward and towards those people who have something to teach you and stop looking back at the ones you feel a degree of superiority over waiting for an opportunity to stick the boot in.  You can stand on the shoulders of giants because they have shoulders broad enough but if you stand on the weak you will more than likely crush them and the problem with that is that you will be at the same height you were when you started, and you’ll have all kinds of shit on your boots.

Like I said,  I’ve done it more than once and it’s never made me a better performer.  So if I’ve ever slagged you off, ridiculed your performance or knocked you when you were down – I apologise.  I’m no expert but if I can help make you a better performer then I will.  All you have to do is ask.

The Wall

It’s been more than too long since I posted but I won’t make any apologies as that’s just the way things are.

I made a lot of BIG promises regarding this blog and my other projects at the beginning of the year and have not really matched up to my own expectations. which is frustrating but not fatal.  I still intend to continue with this blog and will eventually get the second project moving, but I hit a wall.  Two months ago I was deep in the process of writing a keynote speech that became 9000 words long and required serious editing.  I’m not naturally prolific when it comes to writing, but you’ve probably figured that out, and the whole thing left me feeling pretty exhausted and like the morning after a big party – FLAT.

That’s not to say I haven’t achieved anything,  the last 3 weeks have been busy, busy , busy.  Just not writing.

I’ve been obsessing about, (not writing about),  my desire to eliminate large amounts of “stuff” from my life  and this has resulted in me finally making the move to get rid of my garage and return it to the green, green grass of home.  This has meant emptying nearly 60 cubic meters worth of stuff so that the whole thing can be taken down, which is happening in 2 days time!  The process has been exhausting, but physically not mentally.  Mentally it has been one of the most refreshing things I’ve done in a long time. I still have a long way to go with regards eliminating the useless from my life but I feel I’m making moves in the right direction.  I can already feel the fresh air  I’ve created by making space, and it feels good.

I’ve been running again, (not writing),  after a period of really not wanting to get out of bed in the morning.  I need exercise in my life and not doing it is fatal for my mental well being.  I must have an endorphin fix at least 4 times a week and the good weather has made the 5:30 am starts a little easier.

I’ve been reading more, NOT writing. The direction of the keynote speech and the new website has meant that I felt the need, and desire to read more about self development and motivation.  (The irony isn’t lost on me.)  I’ve always been geared towards personal improvement, and as I head towards a probable mid-life crisis it seems that I am beginning to focus in on those aspects of my life that I have always wanted to be something that they’re not at the moment.  It’s quite a refreshing feeling to realise that I don’t know nearly as much as I thought I did, infact there’s quite a lot of empty space here as well.

So this hasn’t really been a post about much, even the title is misleading.  I stopped doing something because I had other things to do and that’s about it.  I have a really busy few months ahead and I want to write again. I’ll just have to wait and see….

6 Tips to Landing Trade Show Magic Gigs.

I’ve been performing at trade shows for quite a while and I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of how the market works.  The hardest part is actually getting the job and so I’ve listed  things that might help you.  Some people are REALLY good at this part and it’s more important than being a great magician.  If you want to be a better Trade Show magician then you need to sell your services well so you can gain experience on the Trade Show floor.  It’s hard work and can be soul destroying but if you view it as an adventure rather than a necessary evil then maybe you’ll get more done.  Good Luck. read more

Minimal Magic

Stuff!

I’ve been thinking about stuff lately.  Quite literally, stuff.  I have too much of it.  I sit in my office surrounded by piles of crap. (not literally), and it’s beginning to piss me off.  So I’m going to clear it all out.  I’m not sure how but I’ll do my best.  I’ve always pined for the minimal life style but with two kids and a job like mine it’s proved almost impossible.  Not any more.  I will be calm and f**king Zen like if it kills me!   I’m even considering giving away magic books in a Leo Babauta fashion, but don’t call me, I haven’t got that far yet and may never get that far. read more

The Busker & the Street Performer

Photo by MichaelERay

There are two distinct ways to approach performing on the street, there’s the way of the Street Performer and the way of the Busker.  (These definitions are mine by the way. Many people use the term busking and street performing to describe the same thing and they are as right as I am.)   read more

Do you Know What You’re Doing?

You know the test that you can pose to people, “Can you tell me what the numbers on your watch are, Roman or Arabic?”  Most people can’t tell you because they have been looking  at the damn thing every day for such a long time that it is now taken for granted and ignored.  Well how mindful of your environment are you when you perform.   read more

Why are YOU a magician?

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself why you’re a magician?   What is it about magic that makes you want to and gives you the confidence to perform?  Why not be a juggler or a straight forward stand up comedian?  (Okay I understand why you don’t want to be a juggler.) The reason you do it now might not be the same as the reason you started in the first place and might suprise you.  I started because I needed a job when I was an out of work actor and even then it was selling magic not performing it.  Back then I was driven by a need to make a living and although this outside force still exists it isn’t my driving force anymore. read more

Complete Failure and Incomplete Success

I have a lot on my mind at the moment.  I’ve got a lot of things that need to be done and I’m not doing them.  I should have written a post 2 weeks ago but other things got in the way and I began to feel myself slipping backwards.  So I’m going to try and remedy this by posting about procrastination and the art of the incomplete project. read more

Cabaret or not?

Most close-up magicians will say that they do a cabaret, however most of them don’t.  What they do is Close-up magic and they stand further away.  It’s a bad habit formed from magicians usually being  given the job of compere and then later on trying to tie that same material into an act.  A good cabaret needs structure and it can’t be a hotch-potch of tricks thrown together.  It needs a beginning a middle and an end.  Structure is what makes the difference between a poor cabaret with strong magic and a great cabaret with standard effects.  The structure is more important than the magic. read more

Planning Ahead & Thinking Aloud

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

I’m not one for New Years resolutions but I do believe in planning ahead. It also seems that change is taking place in the magic business whether I plan for it or not. So I really have been thinking long and hard about what the next 12 months will mean to me. Starting with the big one – my job. read more