Dear Friends:
I’m convinced that most performing magicians aren’t fully aware of the very real power of our magic. Far beyond its ability to entertain, magic can help us shift our audiences’ attitudes and beliefs. The lessons we learn when we learn magic can be applied in many different areas of our lives. This month’s Museletter features some profound thoughts of how this works from our good friend David Morey. If you’ve attended Magic & Meaning or one of our Master Classes in Mentalism, you probably already know David and his work. If not, let me enlighten you about some of David’s qualifications.
Chairman and CEO of DMG Global and Vice Chairman of Core Strategy Group, David is one of America’s leading strategic consultants. He is the award-winning co-author of The Underdog Advantage (McGraw Hill), and has helped add hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and value to a wide range of Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Morey has worked with some of the world’s top business leaders—and with five Nobel Peace Prize winners and eighteen winning global presidential campaigns. He is also an accomplished magical performer.
Along with Eugene Burger and former acting head of the CIA, John McLaughlin, David has written a new book, due out next month, about how the lessons we learn from magic can translate to other areas of our lives, and particularly to business. Here is David Morey:
“Explains how thinking like a magician can take you and your endeavors to new heights of success.â€
–from the foreword by David Copperfield.
We three authors have been mixing this magical broth for almost a decade, and the book is dedicated to our dear teacher, mentor, and friend, Eugene Burger, who moved to what he himself called the “ultimate capital M Mystery of life†while this work was nearing completion. But let us be clear: This is not Eugene’s last book or final chapter, because his voice from these pages is as enduring as are his teachings.
All three of us came to write this book through magic—but we all are more than magicians: a political and corporate strategist, a world-renowned magical thinker and philosopher, and the former acting director of the CIA. Our mission: Apply to the strategic innovation of business, everything we know about magic—as we say in the introduction:
“In writing this book, our objective is not to create a new generation of magicians, but to publish in one place and for the first time, the Creating Business Magic strategies of the world’s greatest magicians—to use the force and metaphor of magic to empower boundless imagination, drive leadership, and create success in your business, your career, and your future. At the core of this book is the belief that imagination can make magicians of us all.â€
Over 50 years ago, consulting legend Peter Drucker said: “Business has only two functions: marketing and innovation.†And the magician inside us all brings to marketing and innovation—and to life itself—untapped magical strategies, magical synergies, and magical powers.
The magician’s magical powers include the ability to understand perception, drive aspiration, fuel imagination, anticipate change, direct attention, bolster persuasion, grab the dialogue, and empower belief. Our book shows how using magic as metaphor and applying the principles of conjuring can challenge assumptions and empower imagination to:
“Creating Business Magic” takes the reader along a path of genuinely magical thinking. Beginning with imagination, the authors illuminate the power of perception, ways to innovate, to think out of the box, break down conceptual barriers, and finally bring out the magician inside us all. These are the essential ingredients of every powerful magic performance, and here the authors take you behind the scenes in magic to explain how thinking like a magician can move you into new realms of imagination, creativity, and accomplishment.â€
Our idea of synergizing magic and business is inspired by Albert Einstein’s wonderful quote: “imagination is more important than knowledge.†This, in fact, is fuel that drives our core argument—that imagination is the secret source of all magic and all magicians, and that imagination has driven progress and breakthrough across the ages. Imagination invented the wheel, imagination created the information revolution, and imagination just sent an unmanned spacecraft all the way to Pluto.
We magicians know that the real magic happens well before any show begins—in the way we learn, prepare, practice, rehearse, disrupt, experiment, and strategize. This is the real magic of any magical performance, just as it is the real magic of any innovation, any business, or the conquering of any of life’s challenges.
Our book, then, is a tribute to the magician inside us all—because our inner magician is so very and increasingly important today. As we write:
“For every one of us, the way of magic is the way of slow movement along a path of growing and learning to be a magician. Whatever philosophical beliefs you hold, accept this book as an argument for “fideism,†for empowering your own beliefs. In the case of the authors, these are the beliefs of the magician. Believing in what you do, say, and live is the ultimate calling of your inner magician. “I have something wonderful to show you tonight,†was co- author Eugene Burger’s favorite pre-show mantra. So it should be for all of us. We all have something wonderful to show you tonight.â€
We magicians have so many wonderful things to show you tonight: So many wonderful ways—in and out of business—to help put to work innovation, invention, and imagination. This is our inner magician’s real secret. It is, more than ever, a secret we need today in business and in leadership. This is the secret of the magician inside us all—the remarkable power of our imagination.
Photo Credit: Sheryl A. Garrett
Augmentation by: Animated Conjuror
For thousands of years, magical secrets have been handed down from master to student… Now you can become part of that tradition.
http://www.magicalwisdom.com/about/winter-training
“The real secrets of magic are passed from master to student… in whispers.â€
           – Eugene Burger
“It’s like a day at the real Hogwartsâ€We have a new video trailer that shows our team hosting 30 corporate executives at our Magic & Mystery School. During our 3-hour custom-made event, participants experienced:
The participants raved about this unique experience… take a look.
“The BEST event we have ever attended in Las Vegas!â€
Call Abigail to book your next event at our venue. 702-450-0021
Q: What do the following magicians have in common?
Mac King, Teller, David Copperfield, Mike Hammer, Mat Franco, Xavier Mortimer, Greg Gleason, Criss Angel, Tommy Wind, Chris Randall
A: They all have unique shows in Las Vegas and every one of them has given back to magic by sharing their wisdom at the Magic & Mystery School with our students! Thank you to all our superstar guests for sharing your secrets of success with our students.
Guess who visited Mystery School?
You will never believe who shows up at the end of this video below!
Become a Master of Attention
Magicians are masters at attracting, holding, directing and mis-directing attention… their livelihood depends on it!
“Street Performers use powerful tools for grabbing attention and holding it.
You can use these skills in your indoor shows, presentations and business talks!â€
Register now: http://www.magicalwisdom.com/events
My favorite street magic routine
“BRAVO!†is what the audiences say every time I perform this routine!
After years of study, I created what I feel is my best version of the “Cup and Ball†illusion. I’ve studied the masterworks of Rezvani, Benson, Vernon and Garcia… and have put everything I have learned into this exciting routine.
One final thought… The following quote inspires me to practice my magic every day…what is your daily practice? What habits are you cultivating this season?
Greetings and Happy New Year! Tobias, here, writing from Silicon Valley, where I continue to learn more and more about new ways of doing business. I’m almost finished with the new book, currently entitled Money is the Best Applause: A Wizard’s Guide to Business and Marketing for the Independent Performer. If you have suggestions for a better title, please drop me a line.
In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy reading a selection from the book. This part is all about building relationships. Building great relationships is one of the keys to having a business that thrives, instead of one that is always struggling. Here’s the excerpt:
RELATIONSHIPS
It’s who you know
The famous comedy pianist Victor Borge once pulled one of my clients over during a week on a cruise ship. “You’re very talented, son. I want to give you a piece of advice about this business. I’ve been in show business for over 70 years, and this is the most important thing I’ve learned. Always remember – it’s not what you know. It’s who you know. Now…go be successful.”
Who knows you?
Good advice, as far as it goes. Jeffrey Gitomer, the famous writer on salesmanship and marketing (if you don’t have his books, get them, or just look him up online and sign up for his weekly newsletter), in his Little Black Book of Connections, takes the statement one crucial step further: “It’s not who you know. It’s who knows YOU!”
Although it does do you some good to know lots of people – to know who they are and how to reach them – it’s infinitely more productive to have lots of people know you and think well of you. The more true friends you have, the richer your life will be, both financially and in human terms. This chapter teaches you to build and nurture relationships.
What have you done for them lately?
It’s one thing to have acquaintances. But you want acquaintances who want to do things for you. By and large, those are people for who you’ve done something – and within recent memory. Our subconscious minds function on the principal of reciprocity – the idea that if you do a favor for me, I owe you one in return. My subconscious isn’t particularly happy until I’ve returned that favor. More on this later.
6 degrees
Have you ever had a friend tell you about one of their friends, in glowing terms? Maybe they just want you to know about their friend…they’re claiming bragging rights. Perhaps they want to ask a favor for their friend – would you put in a good word with your boss when their friend comes in for an interview? This is the power of expanding a network through degrees of separation. You don’t know their friend, but you do know and like them, so you’re willing to do something for their friend. There’s a theory that none of us are more than 6 connections away from anyone. Want to reach the CEO of YouTube? You know someone who knows someone who knows someone…who knows her. Maybe you can use that connection to get an introduction.
The more good direct connections you have, the more people you can find using shorter routes to the people you want to connect with.
Who do you need to know?
So – who are the people you need to know and to have know you? Let’s have a look.
Your Team Members
You certainly need full contact information for your team members. You need to be able to reach them by phone, e-mail, and probably their snail mail addresses in order to send them documents, payments, etc. You may also need to visit some of your team regularly.
It’s a good idea to also track down and get information from potential future team members. Do you want to get the William Morris Agency on your team? Start by finding out how to contact them!
Potential Clients
Potential clients will most likely make up the bulk of your contact list info. You’ll want to know how to reach them, how to track what they’re doing, and as much information as you can about each of them.
Direct Clients
Direct clients are those who hire you directly. The Mom hiring you for a birthday party is a direct client. They’re terrific, and since they’re the ones you ultimately must satisfy, they’re very important to you. However, if you have to interface directly with every potential direct client yourself, you’ll waste a lot more of your time marketing and trying to get booked than if you use Arms’ Length clients.
Arm’s Length Clients
An “arm’s length” client is an event producer, agent, or someone else who will book your show to lots of other clients. I highly recommend using them, and cultivating great relationships with as many of them as you can. They will do the lion’s share of your marketing work for you. Sure, they’ll take their cut – but if they take 25% and double your overall take, who cares? They’re worth it.
It’s much easier to handle a close relationship with 10 event planners than with 500 direct clients, believe me! What’s more, these are professionals trained over hundreds of events each year. Where most direct clients might throw 3 or 4 events a year, the event planner has the experience of hundreds. Which one do you think will know the business of putting on the best event, and will know how to deal with you in a more professional manner? Which one do you think is more likely to hire you a second or third time if they have a good experience with you?
Past Clients
Past clients are likely to be your best source of future work. You want to collect as much information about them as possible. If you’ve been hired by a company, who within that company was responsible? How do you reach them? What are the names of their support team (secretary, receptionist, assistant, partner…)? Do they have families? What are their names?
Journalists
You want to be able to send information to local journalists who might provide you with publicity. This could be in the form of their newspaper columns, mentions on radio or TV news, interviews, blog mentions…whatever. Seek them out, figure out how you can reach them, and start making friends! Keep all of your media contacts in a list that you can use again and again when you send out press releases.
Fans
Fans can be a big part of your team. Someone who has loved one of your shows in the past will recommend you to their companies, bosses, spouses…in short, to others who can hire you. Nurturing a “fan” base can pay off in a big way. A few years ago, Criss Angel opened his show at the Luxor in Las Vegas to almost universally bad reviews. However – the show had advance sales of over $5 million, made up mostly of Criss’s fans from his TV show! The show survived and thrived, and that gave Criss the chance to build the excellent show he now performs. Whether you’re working birthday parties, corporate events, or selling tickets for your shows in theatres, your fans will form the biggest basis of support for your work.
Create a newsletter, create social media pages and other ways where they can talk about you. Respond to their posts whenever you can. Your relationship with your fans is probably the greatest asset your business can have. Nurture them!
That’s it. I’m hoping the book will be finished by the end of March, and available for sale sometime in April. I will keep you posted here with regard to its progress.
And, speaking of progress, we have quite a bit of that to report!
From all reports, our team had a great time and won rave reviews all around for their performances two weeks ago at The Magic Castle. A special highlight of the week was a program Eugene Burger: A Celebration of Life on Wednesday afternoon  –  it turns out the rest of the magic community loved him just as much as we did! http://www.magiccastle.com/photo-gallery/eugene-burger-celebration-of-life/
Since returning to Las Vegas, Jeff and Abbi hosted our first ever “Magic for Beginners†session, which was a great success. On the final day of the class, students were joined by one of our first official corporate tours of the Magic & Mystery School. The executives were treated to stage and parlor performances, and a tour of the great room, library, movement studio and backyard stage  –  and they all even learned some simple magic tricks they can use in future presentations and social situations.
All that is in the past, though. Let’s look forward!
The Master Class in Deal (in the U.K.) is nearly sold out. If you were thinking of attending, now is the time to register! http://www.magicalwisdom.com/events#565
There will, of course, be additional events while Jeff and Larry are in the U.K. as well… including a show at the Astor Theater in Deal with special guests (http://tinyurl.com/y93rbeov), an event honoring Eugene Burger at The Magic Circle, conventions in Ireland and Scotland… and more!
Something special, recently added
Immediately after the tour in the U.K., Jeff will be going on for a special 3-day event in Belgium, hosted by our friend Alexis Brouard. Three days of classes, and it’s already half-filled only a couple of weeks after we opened registrations. Jeff will be teaching lots of new material at this workshop, so even if you’ve attended one of his classes before, this is not to be missed! Learn more and sign up now: http://www.jeffmcbride.be/
Special note regarding the class in Belgium: There was an early-bird discount, which ended on January 30. However, just for the readers of this Museletter – send an email to events@alex-si.com before Feb 15 and you’ll get a chance to get that early-bird discount. Be sure and mention that you read about it here. I suggest you do it now!
So… that’s at least some of our news from the Magic & Mystery School. We’ll have lots more for you mid-month, but I think this particularly Museletter is already long enough! We’ll see you again in two weeks.
Best wishes.
Sincerely
Tobias Beckwith
tobias@yourmagic.com
HOW DO MAGICIANS CREATE THEIR ILLUSIONS?
Read the secret formulas below… they can help YOU think and create like a magician!
STEP #1
Ok, let’s start by looking at this playful little map below. It looks very simple, but is actually a formula for making BIG magic.
Innovation & Magical Creativity
We magicians have an impossible job! We have to appear to break the laws of nature on a daily basis… Now you can learn to solve your challenges like a master magician!
STEP #2
Do you know the difference between Creativity & Imagination?
YIKES! Recently I was schooled by one of the great thinkers in our business…. It was a bit embarrassing, but here is the story.
I was giving a keynote speech at a recent conference on “Magic & the Mind.†After my talk, I met a fascinating man named James, who shared his thoughts on this topic.
James said, “Imagination, in its purest definition, can be like an undisciplined, unfocused wild child that molds and forms ideas, pictures, images or concepts. Depending on the focus, the outcome could be productive or unproductive, fear or love, motivational or stifling. Creativity is the harnessing, conscious, disciplined focus and application of the imagination to form original ideas, a vision, a product, an outcome especially in, but not limited to, artistic work.â€
At that time I did not even know who I was really speaking to… then I realized I was talking to one of the leaders in the world of “thinking!†I was talking to creativity expert James Mapes!
James Mapes is the best-selling author of Quantum Leap Thinking, which is a great book I’ve been reading for the past few weeks. There are some amazing ideas there to inspire your creativity!
Watch a TED talk of James Mapes in action. (Let me know if anything happens to you when he brings out the magic lemon!)Â http://www.jamesmapes.com
STEP #3
Study and read the work of the masters, and get a mentor!
Here are 2 ways we can help you live your dream.
PERSONAL COACHING http://www.magicalwisdom.com/about/magic-for-beginners
ONLINE MENTORING https://www.magicalwisdom.com/shop/p/product/skype-mentoring-package
Tobias just gave me a new book called, Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss.
Here is a free taste of the book… and a free audio book!
https://tim.blog/2017/10/03/tribe-of-mentors/
Innovative Illusions and How We Created the Magic Trick of the Year.
We Hate to Even Call It a “Trickâ€.
This is our all time best selling magic item. Professionals around the world are using this in their shows… this is the 2nd effect in my stage show! Take a look:
Jeff’s version of this classic effect is a solidly onstruccted routine, guaranteed to bowl you over with fun, entertainment and magic. –Â Levent
Now you can get the “Best Ever Knots off Silk,†so YOU can delight your friends and audiences.
https://www.magicalwisdom.com/shop/p/stage-magic-manipulation/best-ever-knots-off-silk-bekos
This is one of the great models of creativity.
Brennan’s Hierarchy of Imagination:
http://creativeleadership.com/cl/brennans-hierarchy-of-imagination.html
McBride Magic World Tour News:
The Magic Castle Hollywood
Euro-Tour 2018
The Dean of the McBride Magic & Mystery School, Larry Hass, and I will tour Europe this spring. We have created a very special tribute to our first Dean’s life, magic & memory. We are calling it…( drum roll please!)
“The Eugene Burger Legacy Tour.â€
Find out more about the Eugene Burger Legacy Fund here:
http://www.magicalwisdom.com/eugene
The UK TOURÂ will kick off in the spring. The time is now to book your class here in Vegas or in the UK
http://www.magicalwisdom.com/events
Wonderground
The Las Vegas Magic Cabaret & ShowcaseÂ
Photo Credit: Sheryl A. Garrett
Jan 18th 2018
8pm – MC’s Shocker and Bizzaro!
Liz del Sol – The Feminine Mystic
David Groves – Direct from the Magic Castle
Jordan Rooks – A Surprise Inside the Magic
Dyno Staats – Steam Punk Magic
SHOCKER AND BIZZARO
9pm – The Shocker host close-up and strolling magic shows
Dyno Staats – It’s SCIENCE!
David Groves – Master of Deception
Bizzaro – For him, “normal†is just a setting on the dryer!
Steelfyre- Performs his world-famous dice act at the Wonder-bar
10pm – Show Extravaganza
Your Masters of Ceremony are Shocker and Bizzaro
Bizzaro -Â The Name Says It All
Jordan Rooks – Poetic Mystery
Shocker – Power Punch Magic
Liz del Sol – Midnight Magic
Swingshift Sideshow – Freak’in Awesome Stunts
Bizzaro – THE GRAND FINALE BOWS
PLUS: Photography by Sheryl Garrett. Bar Magic with Zack Pattee, Scott Steelfyre, Corey Rubino, Taylor Lloyd, Sudaa Nar Fire Tribe Belly Dancers, Psychic Sideshow with Alan Scott, live art with Areeya – and many more surprises and special celebrity guests
 The Final Muse Inspiration for Today.
We are always here to help inspire your creativity! Please just call us at the school, we would love to connect with you 702-450-0021
See you in Vegas or on TV!
Jeff & Abigail