Jeff McBlog

You can do ANYTHING you want…
you just can’t do EVERYTHING you want!

In this Museletter:

• Two secrets to achieving your dreams
• Kevin James: An Inspiration
• McBrideMagic.tv and Wonderground Updates
• Eugene Burger’s Chicago Tapes now online
• Johnny Thompson’s hot new music video

Greetings my friends,

Focus is a big part of reaching your goals. Today I will share a few secrets to achieving your dreams.

1. Meet your heroes and make them your friends.
2. Read great books that will make you a hero!

Are you the best in the world at what  do?

I read a book called From Good to Great by Jim Collins.  You should read it too.  The book changed the direction of my life …for reasons I will tell you at the end of this letter…. Right now I want to introduce you to a most inspiring friend!

Could this be the world’s greatest magician?

Google thinks so! So does YouTube!

Kevin James has just about as many “hits” as the very best of them!

Millions and millions of people witnessed Kevin’s original magic on America’s Got Talent.  I am honored that I get to tour the world in the same show with Kevin.  He is a modern master of magical art and one of the stars of The Illusionists.

Kevin’s uncompromising commitment to creating 100% original magic is a lesson to all of us.  He is continually researching and refining his inventions to go beyond the rest… to be the BEST.

We did a one-hour episode with Kevin as a special guest on Mystery School Monday not long ago:

Here’s a snippet of my recent interview with Kevin:

Jeff:  How did America’s Got Talent change your life?

Kevin:  America’s Got Talent gave me lots of grey hair but if I had a show to promote, I would do it again.  They like to put you in very stressful situations as it makes for good TV.  It is also a very vulnerable position to put yourself into.  I was very lucky that things turned out the way they did.  My Operation effect went viral on YouTube and I am still getting work from it.  I actually was asked to perform at the White House from the America’s Got Talent videos on YouTube.

Jeff: What has been the biggest TV audience to see your show?

Kevin:  I was asked to perform on a TV show in Indonesia, which also came from YouTube.  As I am getting ready to walk onstage the producer told me that it is a live show and if anything goes wrong just get through it.  We cannot stop and reshoot it.  There were 1,000 people in the studio to give a nice energy to the taping.  I went on and everything went well.  As I was packing up I asked him how many people just saw this live transmission.  He said that there are only 3 channels in Indonesia, this is prime time, this is the most popular show, he estimate that 200 million people just saw my act.  The next day at the airport we really got recognized, so I think his calculations were right.

Jeff: What is the best part about touring the world with your show?

Kevin:  I really feel blessed that I can share my magic and ideas with people all over the globe. Getting to travel and make people happy is the best job in the world.  I am grateful and have no regrets.

Read the rest of the interview in the Secret Art Journal>>

McBrideMagic.tv

Over 100 hours of FREE magic lessons await you!  We go live every Monday at 7PM Pacific time… Join the world’s greatest magic teachers for the world’s only FREE interactive magic learning experience.

Wonderground News

Each month we host the biggest and best magic party in Las Vegas. And you are invited!

See the greatest line up EVER at this week’s event.

The Mystery School teachers and students will all attend and many will perform.

Go to VegasWonderground.com for all the information. Doors open at 7pm for dinner seating. An entire evening of close-up, stage and parlor magic (and belly dancers!) for $10.

Before I go, let me tell you what I discovered from reading From Good to Great.  Jim asks the reader this question… “What in the world can you do better than anyone in the world?”  I thought about this and realized that our team could really create the very best magic school in the world. Take a look at what we are offering this year and next: http://magicalwisdom.com/events

We are in the process of making our school better and better every day! You will see for yourself when we roll out the red carpet for you here in Vegas or online at McBrideMagic.tv.

So, my friends, until we meet online or at our school… remember that you CAN be the best at one thing!

Jeff

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Bryce’s Corner on the Web

I have two bits of exciting news…

The Chicago Tapes

First, we have finally released Eugene Burger’s Chicago Tapes as online Lessons.  The DVDs are now completely sold out (OK, I think we may have one set left).  While the DVDs were only available as a set, I’ve broken them into individual Lessons, but if you want the Chicago Visions book, you’ll still need to buy the entire set.  Here are the links:

• The Chicago Tapes and Chicago Visions Set
• Eugene Goes Bizarre
• Gourmet Close-Up Magic
• Real Secrets of Close-Up Magic

Johnny Thompson’s Music Video

I was driving somewhere with Johnny a year or two ago and he asked if I wanted to listen to his new muscal recording.  Now, I know Johnny played in the Harmonicats earlier in his carrer and wrote musical scores for quite a few famous magicians, but I didn’t realize he was still involved in the music business. Needless to say, I was completely flipped out by how cool it was.  Actually, it was kinda hard to get out of my head!

At that time Johnny wasn’t quite sure where it was all going to go.  Well, I found out a few days ago when he called and said they had made it into a music video.  It’s already getting around and he’s really hoping it will go viral.  I suspect it will.

Check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgLZZAa_JuA

In case you don’t know about Johnny already, he’s one of the greatest magicians of our time and has been an influence on almost every magician working in Las Vegas, and around the world, today.  You can learn more about The Great Tomsoni and Co. at their website:

http://www.tomsoni.com

Dear Friends:

We have just passed the Fall Equinox, and we enter the magical month of October.  As summer ends and the days begin to grow shorter, we gather in the harvest of our activities over the past few months, have a look at where we are in our lives, and consider what sort of changes we might wish to make for the future. Our guest author this month is George Parker. George is one of our faculty members and advisors at the Magic & Mystery School.  When he is not working with us, he is a “Corporate Alchemist,” performing his magic across Europe in order to help companies transform themselves. Today he shares a bit of his wisdom about magic and transformation with us here:

Transformation

As a magician, I have had numerous conversations about what is real and what isn’t real in my shows. To me, there is no hard black line that separates fact from fiction. Our brain doesn’t even distinguish tangible reality from fantasy. I will not tire you with the scientific background of this claim. Instead, I’ll illustrate it with a simple example. What happens to you when you THINK you lost your wallet? Adrenaline and cortisol (a stress hormone) are produced: very REAL substances. In turn, they will induce new, mostly panicky, thoughts. Of course, ninety-nine out of a hundred times, you have just misplaced your wallet; it’s not REALLY gone. The whole experience was produced by yourself.

From a magical point of view, the insight that our thoughts produce tangible reality and the other way around, is very useful. We can help restore the broken connection between imagination and tangible reality. We can help people to envision a future they want and make that image very real in their minds — only to stimulate them to connect that image to current reality. We can even invite them to time-travel and re-write their biography, only to end up with a better person today. My wife, Marja, and I recently did this exercise. She wanted to be a little bit more of an extravert. To do that, she traveled back in time (in her mind), and made up some new events that were much more supportive of the extravert personality trait she wanted to develop. She started to feel better immediately. For me, the most exciting part was her question: and who were YOU in my new timeline? This isn’t about denying or ignoring important events. It’s about what you do with them once you’ve processed them.

What do you love and hate about your past? How would you edit your processed past in order to end up with something you need today?

Aaaaahh, isn’t magic in its essence the wonderful art of transformation?!

Virtual School update from Bryce:

I recently added two new Virtual Lessons from Jeff:

• Jeff shares his insights into proper show construction in Act Construction 101
• Learn the very best close-up and stage magic effects Live from FISM

I’m currently working on another lecture from Jeff and a large collection of material from Eugene. You’ll be the first to know when it’s ready.

From Tobias:

As I write this, Jeff McBride is on a plane flying back from Panama, where he has just wound up his month-long tour with The Illusionists in South America. He’ll be home just long enough to unpack and repack his bags before heading off to a very special weekend in Louisville, Kentucky. Our friend Ray Smerlin, of Smerlin Entertainment, has arranged a full on “McBride Magic Experience,” for Saturday and Sunday, preceded by two performances by Jeff on the stages at the city’s “First Friday celebration.Tickets for the show and lecture on Saturday and for Jeff’s workshop Sunday afternoon are going fast…so be sure and get yours now if you are in the Louisville area:
http://smerlinentertainment.com/Press/JeffMcBride1005.htm

October is a VERY full month here at the McBride Magic & Mystery School — and most of the events scheduled are nearly filled…but we do have one or two slots left for each one. So check out the schedule and make your reservations now for these and future classes and events:
http://www.magicalwisdom.com/

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions about any of our events… or about booking Jeff McBride for talks, performances or our “McBride Magic Experience.”

Best wishes for a wonderful month of magic!

Sincerely,
Tobias Beckwith
tobias@yourmagic.com