I think it would be safe to say that just about every magician gets a little obsessed with their magic at some point. I know I'm guilty of it. It had a stronger pull on me when I first started out so I decided to write about this in the "new to magic" section of the board.

I know you know the feeling. "I want a to find a new trick or move! I want to invent a new trick or move! I want to find some people to perform for. I want to make them laugh, gasp, scream, applaud."

I don't see anything wrong with wanting that. I mean a hobby like magic can do some good for people. In fact I've always thought that magic (or similar interests) could be helpful to "troubled" kids because it has the kind of pull that makes them want to improve and to gain acceptance from others. That would be a huge improvement over the desire kids get from a troubled life to take things instead of earning them. A hobby like magic forces them want to erne that.

The problem is we can sometimes go overboard with it. You've got to remember that no matter how well you performed and how strong they are reacting to what you do. At the end of the day it's only magic. We're just entertaining people and brightening a moment in there life's. Don't get me wrong though. That's a good thing and that one brief moment can really effect someone's day. But you shouldn't go overboard with the desire to give people that. Let those moments come when they do.

Have you ever messed up a trick in front of people? You know that feeling you can get when you had such high hopes for them to give that reaction but you messed up and the moment seems like a failure. Believe me I know what it feels like. When it happens you can feel 2 inches tall. But what are they thinking about it? Do they hate you just because you messed up a magic trick? Chances are they don't and if they do hate you just because of a failed trick then they aren't anyone I care to even know about there opinion of me. To me that's like hating a mechanic simply because he dropped his wrench.

But it's just magic! IF you do a good job and entertain them they'll show some appreciation. They'll like what they saw and they'll remember you the next time the subject of magic comes up. When that happens they'll probably tell others about you.

If you mess up a trick or show then they might bring that up sometimes too. They might tell someone a story about the time they saw a magician mess up a trick. They might even explain to them exactly what went wrong? But let me ask you this. Would that even be interesting to someone who isn't a magician? Chances are it would be very boring to hear and they won't even give it a second though after that conversation.

Fail or succeed our spectators are still going to go home. Get up the next morning and go to work or school and probably not even give another thought to what you did until the subject comes up again.

If you feel that urge to learn a new trick or invent one. Just go work on something you already know. Every trick you learn can be improved. Take out one of your tricks. Walk through it and think of any possible thing that can go wrong and then find a way to solve that problem if it ever occurs. For example what would I do in this card trick if I accidentally loose the break? IF this gimmick breaks in the middle of a performance what could I do? You've always got something to work on and it doesn't always require learning a new trick.

So just remember. Do your best. Improve. Keep an open mind to new jokes and tricks but don't get obsessed with it. Believe me the sooner you realize this the less headaches (and even heart aches) you'll have over it.

I do love magic. But at the end of the day it's only magic!

Ron Jaxon

Ron , another great thread filled with good advice.
I have to admit that I haven't come to realize this just recently and by that I am talking maybe a year.tops.
I have become obsessed with trying to get my hands on anything good that comes on the market and I was always trying to come up with new stuff.this of course was interesting and exciting but in the end I came to realize that I am actually not improving my magic. I am only gathering more stuff that needs to be worked on.
after thoughful consideration and after analizing my routines carefully I came to realize that every single one of them was lacking something.doesn't matter if it was an issue relating to the mechanics or one relating to the presentation.i realized that I needed to work on A LOT of stuff and I need huge amounts of time to accomplish that.
coming to realize that has opened new doors for me.
especially on the subject of organizing my acts in extreme detail.
I can't say that I have lost my obsession for magic , it just took another route.
it went from learning more and more material to perfecting everything that I
already know.
I could go on for a very long time with this post but I will put a stop here.
I have great respect for your work Ron and for your approach when it comes to magic.
I wish you all the best

-Matt

Great post Ron!

I agree 100%.
I would much rather do 10 good tricks, than 100 tricks, bad.

Best advice you will receive for many months. Do that with every effect, prop, gimmick or whatever you have and be prepared for outs. Always.
That statement alone from Ron is worth the price of a magic book.
Great post

Grerat post, it realy made me thinking.

-Daniel

Those are some great tips. I have some real problems trying to focus on a single trick until I have it down before moving onto the next one.

I'm glad this is helpful.

Because this is the new to magic section and also because no tricks come with instructions on how to find "outs" for that trick or prop. In case you don't know of that word an "out" means something you can do to cover a mistake or to make a mistake work in your advantage in such a way that your spectators never even know a mistake has taken place.

Let's take a simple trick and analyze it. Then try and think of what can go wrong and how you would cover for it if it ever happens to you. I'm not going to explain how to do the moves or anything. I'll just name the moves.

Let's say you had a card selected from someone then returned to the deck. You cut it into the middle and held a little finger break above it. From here you can produce there card in just about any way you want right? Let's say you're doing a card to pocket.

Let's say you plan to palm the card from the deck and produce it from your pocket.

What can go wrong?
Well for one thing I could accidentally loose the break. So I truly have no idea what or where their card is.
What can I do?
(I'm going to try and write this as if it's my mind thinking about it)

Ok, I'm imaging this happening. I just lost the break and have no idea what there card is. But I do have an idea where there card is. Not it's exact position but I know about how far down I was holding the break. I can take a guess and try to cut to it. I'm sure I'll come within 5 or 6 cards of it. That'll bring it close to the top or bottom. I'll take a quick peak as I fan the cards and try to remember the top and bottom few cards. I'll do a double lift and ask them if the top card is theirs. If it is I'm done. If not maybe they'll say it's the card I know is on top or on the bottom and I do some sleight of hand to switch them (second deal, bottom deal, etc...)

OK, so that's one possible solution. Another idea. If I loose the break I can just try and side steal a card from the general area. Maybe I'll get lucky. If I don't I'll just make a joke and look at the person and say, "You picked the wrong card". So I'll jokingly put the blame on them. They might think I planned that so I can go on with the trick and they don't know if I really made a mistake of not. But I did get a laugh.

Now I have the wrong card in my hand. I can put this on the table face down and ask them what card they did pick. Openly find that card in the deck then do an ambitious card routine. But wait. I still have a card on the table. At some point in the ambitious card routine I can do a double lift or top change and make the card on the table turn into their card.

So as you can see all this is for one simple card to pocket trick. A trick that started out as a 5 second trick has turned into a longer and more entertaining routine. So not only did I come up with a solution but I've also come up with an entirely knew routine.

Imagine how many things can be thought out with a more involved trick.

Ron Jaxon

This is really a great point. I always take about one or two days a month doing no magic at all, and find myself practicing and performing much smoother after the break. I think magic is something to be digested, a little at a time, throughout the course of your experiences with it. If you get too tied to the instant gratification (which, with all the gimmicks and tricks, is an easy pitfall), frustration in magic is almost guaranteed.

You've really made me think. I've been into magic for about a year now, and I have been quite the hype-follower, buying all the latest and greatest. I'm going to stop worrying about learning new things as much as improving the things I'm still in need of perfecting. Thanks alot.

I agree with Seomagi that taking a break from practicing for a day or two really helps sometimes.
great advice Ron! nothing is as effective as thoughtful consideration when working on a routine. plus it opens a doorway to countless new possibilities.
it would be great to see more members read and put this into practice.

-Matt