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Matt Graves Special user Huntsville, Alabama (USA) 504 Posts |
I hate to say it, because I'm made some good friends here, but I'm leaving the board. This is a great forum, and I have nothing against it, but I'm not going to be on the internet much anymore. So if you don't see me, you'll know why. I've failed at magic and everything else . . . it was just a vain hope I had, that I could get back the "magic" of life that I had when I was into magic before, when I was twelve or so. Well, time marches on, and the world gets colder and crueler. There is no magic in life . . . it's no use pretending, at least not for me. I'm gonna' get some kind of real job and trash my stupid dreams. Thanks to everybody who tried so hard to help me out . . . I'll miss you guys . . .sorry to have taken up your time . . .
Cheers, |
Stephen Long Inner circle 1481 Posts |
Matt,
You have made clear from your many wonderful posts on this board how much you love magic. It is a shame to see you go and it saddens me deeply that anyone with as much love for the art as you have can simply walk away. I can only sit and hope that you will come to your senses and realise that no dream is "stupid" if it is your dream. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out. It doesn't matter much to me." -- Lennon When these words mean as much to you as they do to me, maybe then you'll see... Yours hopefully, Stephen
Hello.
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Dave Egleston Special user Ceres, Ca 632 Posts |
Hey Matt:
You can't fail at magic - I've not performed for over 8 years - and may not perform for another several years - Magic is just that - What other hobby/job/obsession can you just get on a keyboard and immediately get advice, comments, and greeting from some of the top professionals in the field? On this great site alone - I've seen postings from Randy Wakeman - Darwin Ortiz - Dan Farmer and other top names in the world of magic Unsolicited advice: (my specialty) Get a real job - and continue with your dreams - Who knows? after a little refocussing - you may come up with the next revolutionary double lift and your name could live forever!!!! You've got more people who care about you than you'll ever know Regards Dave |
McCritical Regular user 156 Posts |
Quote:
On 2002-08-19 16:41, serling307 wrote: I may be projecting a bit here, but this doesn't sound like the decision is completely yours. If this is the case, you need to reevaluate your sacrifices and your personal boundaries. There's no reason you can't take your magic to your day job (and if you get a third shift, even better...you have time to practice and discover new techniques). I hope you find a job that brings you a little closer to that killer effect...keep your eyes and your mind open. |
BroDavid Inner circle America’s North Coast, Ohio 3176 Posts |
Friend Matt,
We have all been at or near that point somwhere in our lives. And sometimes we need to take a step back to get a better perspective. I will and I am sure that goes for many others, would miss you and you posts. Whether at the top, or what seems like the bottom, there is an solid answer to the question; "Is this all there is?" You have friends here. And I would guess that you have friends elsewhere. Don't hesitate to pull one of aside, and just talk - or scream - or cry. You are not alone friend! We are with you! And we are here for you! I will also pray for you. God Bless you! BroDavid
If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.
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Jim Morton Veteran user 361 Posts |
Quote:
I've failed at magic and everything else . . . Failure, shmailure. That kind of thinking leads nowhere. In the words of Cher in Moonstruck, "Snap out of it!" What, exactly have you failed at? Can you shuffle cards? Then you haven't failed at that. Can you do an Elmsley count? Then you haven't failed at that. Failure is the fine art of judging your success by what you haven't accomplished instead of what you have. Believe me, you are never, never too old to get back into magic. As for your dreams, I think you should always shoot for whatever dreams you have, but remember that the journey is as important--if not more important--than the goal. Jim |
Matt Graves Special user Huntsville, Alabama (USA) 504 Posts |
I'm sorry; I guess I can't really leave this board when I've got so many friends here. I had a lot of people e-mail privately about it . . . truth is, I'm just getting to a really desperate point where I feel like everything is crashing down on my head. I really love doing magic, but sometimes I feel like it's no use to keep going with it. There's never any guarantee that I can make a living off of it . . .but all my other ideas for jobs are kind of iffy, too . . . and whenever I mention getting a normal job for a while, like Wal-Mart or Blockbuster or whatever, it doesn't go over well with my parents. I thought about going to college to be a librarian, but everybody is warning me that the pay isn't good enough. Money isn't everything to me . . . many rich and famous people have committed suicide . . . the stuff of happiness is a little less tangible than money . . . but yeah, you people are right. There's no good reason to quit magic or abandon this board. When I was into magic before, I don't remember there being a board like this where people could discuss magic peacefully. I tried the newsgroups, and I got flamed so much that I finally quit even reading them. This board is ten times better. There are arguments, sure, but at least people aren't cussing each other out every other message. I appreciate all of you here. I'm lucky to have friends like you, no kidding.
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Peter Marucci Inner circle 5389 Posts |
serling307 wrote: "There's never any guarantee that I can make a living off of it (magic)."
Of course not. And there's no guarantee that anyone can make a living from being a baker, a banker, an airline pilot, a doctor, etc. In short, there are NO guarantees. That's what makes life such a banquet! When Winston Churchill was 55 years old he wrote that the best of his life was behind him and that he judged himself a failure for not succeeding at anything that he had done. This was BEFORE he was British prime minister and led that country through World War II, leaving a legacy of some of the greatest words in the English language. And remember the words at the end of the movie It's A Wonderful Life: "No man can be considered a failure if he has friends." Serling, you've got 'em right here! cheers, Peter Marucci showtimecol@aol.com |
jecar Veteran user 358 Posts |
Quote:
On 2002-08-25 20:19, serling307 wrote: Serling, Many people try to make a living from magic and unfortunately many fail. I once tried to make my living from owning and operating a magic shop. Results...I lost everything. However, life goes on and I'm just as happy now as I ever was, even though my dream didn't bear the fruit that I wanted it to. I also personally know a magician that is in the field full time as a magician. He has had some difficult times and his future is in real jeopardy, because he doesn't have any retirement benefits, nor a savings plan for when he gets old. Magic is very hard to make a living at, unless you happen to get lucky and become a big time entertainer. I have my dream of becoming a PEA member. I do realize that it will never happen, but it doesn't hurt to have dreams. You just can't let the failure of your dreams to materialize, become devastating to you. BTW, I still dream of becoming a millionaire. That's why I keep buying lottery tickets. Hope this helps...in the meantime, why not make magic a hobby and nothing more. Jerry Cargile .. |
iluznst New user Los Angeles 66 Posts |
Hang in there.
I'm new to this board, but a bit of ecouragement here. Do what you need to do survive, ie. make a living, eat, pay rent, whatever, and in those few precious moments of private time enjoy what ever avenue of magic appeals to you. I'm 35 and I'm just now getting a handle in the field of Magic. I always have some magic related thing with me whether it's a deck of cards, a book or magazine just to keep me focused on the craft. In so far as failing, I don't think there is isn't anybody on this board who hasn't had an occassional setback on one or more occasions. This is probably going sound easier than it seems, but try build on or rather learn and realize why something didn't work and approach it from another angle. You have plenty of time ahead of you, though it probably doesn't seem so, to learn and get to where you want to go. Keep your Dream alive. DA ps: Most public libraries have free computer access should the need arise. |
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