Selfish people like you who wants others to experience the hard times you experienced?
Exsqueeze me!
Enzo, it's not a matter of you experiencing "hard times" other's have endured, it's a matter of actually learning what something is, what it is about, etc. Steerpike is like me, he's a guy with tremendous passion when it comes to Magic as a whole; he's sick and tired of seeing people wasting everyone's time by playing with "tricks" rather than learning to do Magic and too, he's tiered of the half-wits that think Mentalism is done the same way magic is, when the two are complete opposites to one another.
Most that have jumped into Mentalism over the past 12-15 years have done so out of ego and little other; they want to be able to not just amaze people, but allude to the idea that they have some kind of Psychic ability (and that includes those that take the more analytical path like NLP and body language presentation themes). It still comes down to a "Look at Me, I'm Special" reality that goes well beyond what is common to those doing traditional magic or any other aspect of entertainment.
for the first 20+ years of my career I specialized in grand illusion; my small show required a 20ft cube box truck to move about and the big show needed two 40 ft. semi-trailers. Even when I was working that stuff I was tinkering and learning Mentalism, slowly weaving it into my shows until finally deciding to do nothing but Mentalism or a mix of it with Bizarre Magick; the transition started in the late 1980's and more or less became official by 93. . . a car accident in 96 is what lead me down the "Old School" philosophic look at how Mentalism was to be done -- small groups, living room type settings. But if you haven't caught on, I've already been doing Mentalism for a minimum of 18 years full time and collectively, over 25 years total. I now it at least as good as I knew the big illusion world and have won accolades in Mentalism that compare to those earned in that previous incarnation.
Why this short bio? you ask
So you can understand perspective and why people like I and Steerpike get short, snappy and disgusted by lazy, excuse ridden newbies that won't take things seriously. Mentalism. . . that is to say, Mentalism that is done properly, requires a deep investment of personal time as well as a solid understanding around the craft you cannot get from a DVD or PodCast or any other such medium. Nor, as I've pointed out, are such vehicles economically sound; you get less solid material from such sources than you get from a book that cost as much or less.
If you honestly want to learn how to do something and do it right, you will figure out how and where to find the time it deserves; professional muscians that actually gain noteriety typically invest between six and twelve hours a day dedicated to learning their craft; the instruments they play, the different styles and theory associated with music, etc. Put another way,
Half-measures Avail Us Nothing! they are a bigger waste of time at the end because what you will be able to deliver will be half-assed -- incomplete, lacking passion and respect for both, what you are doing and the poor folks that must endure your weaknesses.
Find some pride within yourself, take a deep breath and choose to be an exception to the rule; don't allow yourself to be just another one of the "kids" doing the same crap everyone else is doing; choose to be someone that gives a damn about how they are perceived by the audience as well as his peers -- choose to do whatever it takes to stand out in your field in a positive light that inspires others rather than representing the lowest of common denominators.
If what Steerpike has said were "selfish" he'd not have said it; he's trying to kick you off your lazy butt and challenge you to prove him wrong -- to prove that you're more. Which begs the question, at least for me, "
Are you going to do just that, or are you going to prove him right -- that you really are an ungrateful spoilt brat that only wants to take the easy way out?"