Guess what day it is??
IT'S TRICKY BIZ TUESDAY!!
Let's be clear: I absolutely love my job. I'm living a dream, being able to perform and make people smile for a career! I mean how cool is that?
I've had lots of epic magic shows and experiences I'll never forget. If I had to try to pick a favorite, it'd be a seriously hard choice.
One of my favorite shows I've ever done was actually at Tannen's Magic Camp, where I am a counselor every summer. This particular show was 10 years ago... I got to perform for the magic campers, the Tannen's staff, and local kiddos from Philadelphia (check out the highlights from that show here!) This was such an amazing show because I got to perform for my peers and the young magicians-in-training. I was teaching them how to do what I do, how to perform for families, and in the end, how to thread a message into the magic.
An honorable mention for "John's Favorite Show" goes to when I got the extraordinary opportunity to perform at the Magic Castle in Hollywood last April... check it out here!
But look- sure, I've had more incredibly fun shows than I can count, but I've also had some pretty intense fails. I've had shows where I forgot to charge my microphone, I forgot to pre-set the magic props, and I've left something behind at a venue. There have been shows where I was prepared for kiddos ages 5-8 and they were actually teenagers. There've been shows where I was prepared for teenagers and toddlers have showed up. One time, a kid laughed so hard he peed his pants (okay, to be honest, this was kind of an ego boost... but still a minor catastrophe!)
Failure happens. A lot. It's proof we're trying. But by far, my biggest failure ever, was being stagnant.
Before the pandemic, I hadn't had any growth in my material for 7 years. I literally hadn't changed anything. My shows became uninspiring, and I was just going through the motions.
After the pandemic, I took time to rewrite my shows, many times leaning on the expertise of my fellow magic friends. It made me realize how dangerous it can be both for my performance and for my sense of self when I don't grow. I realized that being creative and growing is the most important part of being a performer! I took the time and worked on new shows... Now, I've got exciting new stuff like my new Secrets of Magic show!
My biggest fail taught me something incredibly important... sometimes, in order to be the best version of yourself, you don't need to be the best at what you do: You need to keep growing and improving. You need to learn to think Outside the Box.
I know I'll have some more epic fails in my future- that's just a fact. But I know I'll also have some absolutely incredible experiences that I can only have if I'm willing to fail every once in a while.
Any whoodles. Thanks for listening to my TED talk. I hope it made you think a little bit!
Have a fabulous November!
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