Category: 2019

There is a paradox in performing magic as a solo gigging performer. It is all about you as an individual but it is also all about the audience. You have to present what only you can present, tricks that you have selected to suit your style in your own inimitable way, not copying anyone else. You have to be you and entirely you, not a facsimile of another performer. However, you also have to completely aware of those to whom you are performing and you have to tailor your material and presentation to suit them.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

I do not wear the same costume or use the same patter when I am performing a nursery school show that I do when I am strolling round a corporate drinks reception. Strangely enough, some of the magical effects will be the same, but they will be performed in very different ways. And yet, though the situations and performances are very different, I am still unmistakably me in both of them. It is all about me and yet it is all about the audience.

I have had great debates about this with professional speaking colleagues. I would argue that the audience are the most important people in the room and my colleague would say that the speaker is the most important. I have come to realise that we are both right. You have to be authentically yourself but you have to prepare and present with the audience in mind at all times.

As with magic and speaking, as with life and work in general.

No kicks from slick tricks

Who are you doing it for? Just as a magician works out which audiences could suit his or her style, you need to work out who you are going to target with whatever it is that you do. I realised a few years back that I am no longer (if I ever was!) able to compete in the expensive-suit-slick-smart-young-corporate-close-up magician market. For a while that bothered me as I had, in my head, been holding that up as the holy grail of magic work, the type of job to which I should aspire.

But then I realised a few things. I don’t really enjoy that kind of work anyway, on the occasions that I have done it. Also, I love doing the multi-generational-significant-birthday-and-wedding-anniversary type family events, I love doing open air shows at community events and I love doing kids parties. And I am really good at all of those things, if the repeat bookings are anything to go by. So why was I aiming at the wrong type of customer all those years? Since I realised all this I have been much happier and less stressed. 

Find your audience

Think about your own life. Are you aiming for the right kind of customer, the ones that you can serve better than anyone else? They will be out there, and they may well not be the same customers as the ideal customers for your friends and colleagues. And that is OK.

Build up a picture in your mind of your ideal customer. Write down their characteristics. As with my magic business, you may have more than one type if you have offer different products. That is OK, create a profile for each one. This has been called creating an “avatar”. Whenever you are designing something for your business, be it website copy, graphics, publicity material, a speech, do it all with the appropriate avatar in mind and imagine that you are designing it just for them.

What’s your motivation, darling?

I would suggest that you can enjoy much greater impact and success if you clearly identify why you are doing what you do. As an actor might say, “What’s your motivation, darling?” You need to work out your own unique contribution to this world. You need to identify what makes you feel alive. And, last but definitely not least, you need to make a living.

What is your calling?

This is Me

What is your own unique contribution? No-one else in this world will have has exactly the same life as you. They will not have had the same parents, home town, upbringing, education, food, friendships, breakups, relationships, work experience, training, hobbies, talents… you get my point. Your mix of experience, knowledge and skills is unique. Which means that you are set to make a contribution to this world that it is impossible for anyone else to make. 

Some might even argue that you have a responsibility to make this contribution, otherwise the world will miss out on your piece of the jigsaw. What do only you know? What makes you excited? What do you love doing? Do you have a burning desire to express yourself and/ or your ideas somehow? When do you feel most alive? It is worth taking time to reflect on these types of question because they can be really useful for working out what you should be doing with your life.

Money, Money, Money

Remember through all of this that you need to make a living. You will have to decide for yourself what that means in terms of income. It will change at different stages your life and career. How much do you need to live on now? How much do you need to save now for your future? How much do you need to earn to clear any debts that you have? What kind of lifestyle are you happy with? 

If you are working then one of the main reasons that you are doing it is to make enough money for your life. If you can’t make enough doing what you are doing then it won’t be sustainable for very long. You will need to do something else. If at all possible, find something that you enjoy. 

Your money-making  job may or may not be fulfilling your calling. You may need to follow your calling outside of your job, at least for the time being.

Taking the Call

People have debates about what constitutes a calling. My wife is a priest in the Church of England. She had to spend a long time discerning her calling. Everyone she asked had a different definition of what “calling” meant! 

Michael Hyatt has a very practical starting point. He suggests that you need to find something 

• you are good at,
• you are passionate about and
• that can enable you to make a living.

However, Dan Cumberland thinks this is limiting, and I slightly agree with him.  https://www.themeaningmovement.com/calling-comes-from/

However you do it, once you find your calling, find a way to follow it!

Transformation is the ultimate magic trick. Transform yourself, transform your environment.

The Type that Writes

A couple of years ago I decided that I wanted to become the sort of person who writes books. However, the whole idea of writing a book seemed completely daunting. I needed a transformation.

My typing was an obstacle – slightly better than two fingers, but I had to look at the keyboard and I was slow. Learn to touch-type was the first step. I found an online course that allowed self-paced learning with as little as five minutes per day. Great, that was achievable – who can’t find five minutes each day?

Hey presto, a year later I could type using all my fingers and without having to look at the keyboard. As a bonus, I have saved more than five minutes per day because I can now answer emails more quickly. And my typing speed continues to increase as I use it.

Once my touch-typing was sorted, I realised that I would never really get anything written unless I established a writing habit. So, phase two, the next stage in the journey, the next mini-goal. I committed to going to the library at the start of each day and writing for an hour. So far it is going well!

Writing a book once seemed like an impossible dream. But now with touch-typing and a writing habit, it no longer seems impossible.

Disappearing Clutter

The same principle transformed our garage. We don’t keep a car in our garage, rather it is a store room for magic props, along with tool kits, camping stuff and kayaking gear.

Six months ago it was a complete mess. There were corners that hadn’t been touched for ages and boxes that hadn’t been opened since we moved in several years ago. But, I thought, this has to be done. The commitment was ten minutes per day after the morning dog-walk and – ta da! – six months later we now have a beautifully organised and de-cluttered garage. It has been transformed!

Having seen the benefit of this little-and-often philosophy, I have now applied it to other areas of life. Exercise, organising the office, reading books, developing marketing materials, even developing relationships. 

Visualise your goal, break it down into bite-size chunks and then establish a habit and routine that allows you to achieve it in a manageable and enjoyable way. 

And watch yourself perform the ultimate magic trick!

As a magician I must practise, practise, practise before presenting my seemingly impossible effects to the waiting world. The method becomes invisible as I develop muscle memory to perform secret moves without apparent thought or effort.

When I start performing to lay people the practice continues. In fact, many argue that this is when the learning really begins; only when I perform can I see how a trick will be received, how certain lines of patter will or will not land and how the rhythmic timing of a trick works best.

But how to practise? I have never been a big fan of extended practice sessions. I much prefer the “little and often” approach. I have packs of cards all over the house, in my car and in every jacket and bag that I take out with me. In a spare couple of minutes I can whip out a pack and work on my new moves. Muscle memory builds up much better this way: short, intensive training, have a break and then come back to it later. I have heard dancers say the same sort of thing.

This “little and often” principle can be extended to many areas of life with great effectiveness.

Doing the Impossible

How often do you get demoralised about a goal because it looks too large, too daunting, plainly unachievable? You say to yourself, “I could never complete that task, it would take too much time and energy,” or look at someone successful and think, “I could never achieve what that person has achieved.”

Well, try breaking it up into little steps. When asked, “How do you eat an elephant?” the answer is, “One bite at a time!”

First of all, picture yourself having achieved the goal or completed the project. How does it feel? Great, I bet. Ask yourself whether there is any real reason that you shouldn’t get there. What is the real difference between you and someone who has already achieved it? Probably just determination, consistency and possibly a bit of learning. When I see another magician do an amazing shuffle or flourish with cards I am tempted to think, “I could never do that!” However, I know – because I have forced myself – that given enough “little-and-often” practice I can actually do it. Now people look at me and say, “I could never do that!”

Get your goal in mind. Then identify what has to change and what you need to do to get there. Break it down into sub-goals along the way. And then break the sub-goals down further and further until you have a practical step that you could easily take today.

Then you will achieve the impossible. Just like a magician learning a trick.