I believe that the success of a magical entertainer depends on the reason he or she does magic in the first place. Kids start out in magic for mostly two reasons. First, they want to fool their friends. It gives them a sense of superiority to know something that their friends don’t seem to know. Magic becomes a way to validate them and to make they seem special. The second main reason kids get into magic is because they are curious to find out how things work.

It is interesting to me to hear how many magicians first became interested in magic around the ages of 5-8. That seems to be the age when they start to look for some self worth and they are at their most curious.

Most children outgrow magic as they get older but as those of us who kept at it, we found that our magic grew with us.

At the teenage years, magic becomes a way to make friends and to interest the opposite sex. I think it is significant that the majority of those interested in magic as teenagers are boys. Teenage boys like to show off and impress others and magic is just the tool to accomplish that. But, what is interesting about this phase, is that the young magician starts to learn about pacing and routining (most times by sheer accident). The more you perform, the better you become, and more you start to realize that magic is more than just tricks.

Most teenage performers begin to drop out once magic becomes too much work. To become better, and to learn more, takes time and effort. It is true that the magic dabbler will go through the rest of his life content to perform his few tricks to friends and associates, but the serious student will keep at it.

As a performer grows and enters early adult hood, between 18-24, this is where magic will either wither by the wayside, or grow into something bigger. This is where the magic hobbyist will decide if magic is more than a passing interest or a lifelong pursuit. This is where magic becomes something more than a way to impress friends, pick up girls, or an ego boost. Most magicians will pick their magic specialty at this phase such as whether they are a close-up magician, stage magician, card expert, children’s entertainer or mentalist.

It is true that there are many lifelong magicians who don’t get it. Many of them will still use magic as a way make fun of people and making themselves feel better than everybody else. But, the real magicians, the ones who do get it, are the ones that discover the real secret of magic.

The Real Secret Of Magic
The real secret of magic, in my humble opinion, is this: magic is not for us (magicians) but it is for them (spectators).

When we use magic to advance a hidden agenda, such as boosting our small egos, we are diminishing what makes magic special. Magic is to create, to quote Paul Harris, the moment of astonishment. It is not to belittle, make fun of, or to treat spectators with ridicule. It should be used to uplift, exalt, and to create feelings of amazement. Many of you will find this funny or too lofty to even consider. It is my hope that this will create a desire in you to make your magic better and to make you a better person.

I remember reading magic instructions for a commercial effect that referred to the spectators as “rubes”. What an awful way to look at your audience. If you want to grow and move to the next step in your magic evolution then start looking at your audiences as real, living, and breathing humans that have great worth.

Stop looking at your audiences as people to “fool”. If you do this, then your audiences become fools and fools do not need to be taken seriously. Look at your audiences as people of worth and your magic will take on more meaning.

As you mature, let your magic mature with you, and then you will see real success with magic. If you have the same attitude about performing that you did ten+ years ago, then maybe magic isn’t for you.

Rich