I Need Help Please!

Dec 22, 2007
216
0
California: LA
hi guys...

im probably going to make the biggest decision of my life here... the problem came about like 25 minutes ago...

My dad walked into my room after realizing that i had been practicing my material for most of the day....he came in and said that in 3 and a half years, when im 18, hes going to laugh at me, because im going to be a loser sitting on my bed with my laptop practicing card tricks....i felt horrible and i thought as if i should quit magic forever....but i have strong hopes and dreams of becoming a successful stage and close-up performer... i either have to quit magic forever and NEVER come back, or stay with the art i love and make the best out of everything and raise each effect to their potential by practicing each day...if i stay into magic, then i have to practice alot to be the BEST OF THE BEST so i can make it into the real world...but so far i have been practicing for a long time, getting my tricks and sleights down, and ive been performing, but i feel as if theres no use...

I LOVE magic, and i cant stand to treat it as a hobby. it either has to be something like a job, or nothing at all...


I feel like im at home here at the Theory 11 forums, so i came to ask my fellow magicians for advice...what do you guys think i should do? quit magic or persue magic and HOPEFULLY, someday, become a successful performer...


It will be very hard for me to quit magic, but if thats whats best, then im up for it....i just dont want o be humiliated by my dad and i dont want to end up a loser and throw away my life...


if you guys think i should stay in this art, then can you please tell me who i can contact to get me started...if i start young then i guess ill have a better chance in life....


thank you so much...please reply...





(btw, i posted this thread at the E forums just a minute ago, and it pretty much the same thing...)
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,699
1
34
Don't quit, first of all.

Now, about this sitting in front of the computer thing...

Tomorrow, make a conscious decision to go out and perform for some real-live people.

Set some goals for yourself. You're about 14 or 15 now, I assume, from the info you provided. What personal goal will you set for yourself for when you are 16?

My advice? Become more active in what you do. Prove to yourself and your father that there is something to this. Offer to volunteer at school functions or local fairs.

Your father is right to criticize you for sitting in front of your computer. You're a magician. Act like one! You've got to work for it!

Immerse yourself in your art, dammit!

Hope that helps.
 
Dec 22, 2007
216
0
California: LA
Don't quit, first of all.

Now, about this sitting in front of the computer thing...

Tomorrow, make a conscious decision to go out and perform for some real-live people.

Set some goals for yourself. You're about 14 or 15 now, I assume, from the info you provided. What personal goal will you set for yourself for when you are 16?

My advice? Become more active in what you do. Prove to yourself and your father that there is something to this. Offer to volunteer at school functions or local fairs.

Your father is right to criticize you for sitting in front of your computer. You're a magician. Act like one! You've got to work for it!

Immerse yourself in your art, dammit!

Hope that helps.

Thanks bro, it helped...and i love how at the end you go from an angry tone to a soft, calm tone....lol
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,699
1
34
Thanks bro, it helped...and i love how at the end you go from an angry tone to a soft, calm tone....lol

You just gotta write with atmosphere...

...because that makes sense...

I'm glad I could be of service. Just remember, in the process of immersion, it is perfectly fine to ease yourself in, just be strict about your goals.

Good luck!
 
Dec 13, 2007
803
0
North Hollywood
dont ever quit doing wat you love. if you do you wont ever really be happy, and always have the question in your head "what if i never would of quit". Im Sorry your dad is not very supportive of your love, and I know he is not the only one to do things like that. BUt Keep doing what you love to the best of your abbility and you will be fine. Love it, and it will love you back.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,699
1
34
dont ever quit doing wat you love. if you do you wont ever really be happy, and always have the question in your head "what if i never would of quit". Im Sorry your dad is not very supportive of your love, and I know he is not the only one to do things like that. BUt Keep doing what you love to the best of your abbility and you will be fine. Love it, and it will love you back.

Yes, always do what you love to the best of your abbbbbility.
 
The only thing that worries me a little from the post, is that im worried your dad is looking at thigns from more of an educational view.

You should be focusing on school and your education, and have magic as a hobby until you are finished.

You may love it, and it may be what you end up doing, but you need a backup just incase!
 
remember if your going to go full time pro, theres alot more to it then the "art".

it then becomes the buisness of magic. promotion, advertising, marketing yourself. getting steady shows and on and on. you might want to think about how your going to do those things and start appling them. alot of the fulltime pros i know don't do much "difficult" stuff. they are busy on the buisness side
 
Dec 15, 2007
33
0
Hawaii
I was in the same boat kid..But i decided to NEVER give up what i started and I can honestly say that i have seen a BIG improvement in my magic . Im starting to do events and shows for 300 people. Of course it takes HARD WORK to accomplish something but in the end it pays off. I have to agree with some of the guys in the forums though, just go out and excel in your art. I have a bigger advantage than most magicians cuz i live in Hawaii and there are not many magicians here PERIOD. So its a BIg help, but keep on pursuing what you believe in; if it doesnt work, then magic wasnt your calling but it can also be a hobby to make a persons day special!:D. I wish the Best of luck for you!
 
Sep 1, 2007
648
0
30
Canada
Ask your father respectfully, and calmly what he wanted to do with his life when he was a kid. Start to have a conversation about dreams and passions. Try your best to make him understand your point of view, after (of course) hearing his.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,699
1
34
Ask your father if he ever had a dream as a kid.

And then he'll sit you down, hand you a beer, and say, "son, once I had a dream myself, a long long time ago...It all started when I was but a boy growing up in what is now the former USSR. You see, magic was forbidden by Stalin, as it was a capitalist indulgence..."

OK. I'll stop there...
 
Dec 11, 2007
51
0
Lebanon, Bierut
well if u love this art and wanna become a star from it u have to experiment ur skills, i dont mean to go to the street and perform to ppl randomly, as u said u wanted to become a stage and close up magic right? so attend a party or something and perform on stage if everything goes alright then continue and if not just quit it. and remember if u put ur head and heart into something u will achieve it no matter how hard it is. so plz take my advice;) btw im now 14 years and i got into magic and xcm a year ago and now just a couple of months ago i performed on a stage for a bday party and it went fantastic:)
 
Sep 1, 2007
662
2
Your Dad is probably trying to make a point about you spending too much time on your magic and not enough on schoolwork, socalising with friends etc. Despite your hopes of being a professional magician, in all likelyhood this is not going to happen! So logically you need to spend time on other things as well at this stage in your life just in case.

I am a semi professional magician. I am performing at a wedding in just a few hours, I'm booked solid every weekend through the summer season, and even into next year. I'm not the only magician in the area, but I have the greatest demand and I charge a decent amount of money too. I'm not saying this to brag, but to make a point - I only started learning magic after I finished my education about 4 years ago. So if I can make a success out of it in those circumstances, you can too!

The statement "I can't stand to have it as a hobby, its got to be a job or nothing" isn't a mature way to think about the situation. You obviously have a passion for magic which is great, so why not do it "just for fun" for now?

Cheers,
David.
 
Dec 17, 2007
1,291
2
31
Melbourne, Australia
Your dad seems like a jerk. Hell, he IS a jerk if he's going to say something like that.

Parents who aren't supportive of their kids is one of my pet hates. It makes me so angry because I'm sure they had dreams and ambitions when they were kids.. why is it so hard for them to remember? I don't buy the whole "they mean well" garbage because you can mean stuff all you want, but it doesn't mean what you're doing is right. Take the Family First groups who can't handle a little smut on TV - they "mean well" when they try to take shows off the air, but it still doesn't justify the fact that many others enjoyed the so-called "smut."

Sorry to go off trail, but it just seems to similar to me.

There's one thing I want you to do - prove your father wrong. Prove him so wrong that it hurts.
 
Dec 10, 2007
627
0
Texas
Man, if it pleases you, then by all means you can quit. Nobody is stopping you, but c'mon man!

It's simple...Do what you love! Do what you do best! If annyone says anything good or bad it's your choice to take it in or not.

It's not your fathers desicion for you to quit or not. It's yours. If you want to listen to your father, then by all means -We'll respect that.
If you leave -So long, do your best in life!
If you stay -I'll see ya around!

-Eugene
 
I'm sure by now you've decided to stick to magic. And if you have, work on performance, not tricks themselves. That way you can socialise while practising your magic. Everybody's HAPPY!!! Yay.

PS.
Look at you Mr Attention. People you can talk about me once in a while.
*Runs off crying*
 
Mar 16, 2008
183
0
Melbz
Stay in school bonezy. Finish it first before you make any life changing decisions. Keep magic as a hobby for now.

good luck bonezy!
 
Mar 30, 2008
203
0
DC
If you really appreciate the art of magic that much, forget about sitting in front of your laptop all day long. Go out and perform. Become a street magician. Present your art. You will gain experience and this will help you become more well-known.

As you go to the movies, restaurants, or even if you are just hanging in the park with your friends, imagine everyone else around you to be your audience. Perform for them.

If you do this enough, word MIGHT even reach your father of your skills.

Your father laughs not because magic is lame, but because the way you are going about doing it makes you seem so (take no offense). Your father probably doesn't think David Blaine and David Copperfield are lame. He might not think they're amazingly cool or anything, but David Blaine has astonishing stunts and Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty "dissapear".

He would appreciate your art more if others tell him how great of a performer you are.
 
hi guys...

im probably going to make the biggest decision of my life here... the problem came about like 25 minutes ago...

My dad walked into my room after realizing that i had been practicing my material for most of the day....he came in and said that in 3 and a half years, when im 18, hes going to laugh at me, because im going to be a loser sitting on my bed with my laptop practicing card tricks....i felt horrible and i thought as if i should quit magic forever....but i have strong hopes and dreams of becoming a successful stage and close-up performer... i either have to quit magic forever and NEVER come back, or stay with the art i love and make the best out of everything and raise each effect to their potential by practicing each day...if i stay into magic, then i have to practice alot to be the BEST OF THE BEST so i can make it into the real world...but so far i have been practicing for a long time, getting my tricks and sleights down, and ive been performing, but i feel as if theres no use...

I LOVE magic, and i cant stand to treat it as a hobby. it either has to be something like a job, or nothing at all...


I feel like im at home here at the Theory 11 forums, so i came to ask my fellow magicians for advice...what do you guys think i should do? quit magic or persue magic and HOPEFULLY, someday, become a successful performer...


It will be very hard for me to quit magic, but if thats whats best, then im up for it....i just dont want o be humiliated by my dad and i dont want to end up a loser and throw away my life...


if you guys think i should stay in this art, then can you please tell me who i can contact to get me started...if i start young then i guess ill have a better chance in life....


thank you so much...please reply...





(btw, i posted this thread at the E forums just a minute ago, and it pretty much the same thing...)


Uhmm I didnt bother reading any other replies but heres my two cents. First, get ready for life buddy your in for a rude awakeing. Second, Pro magiciains mostly dont make alot of money comparably to a steady doctrine career so you'll just have to do it for the love of the game. Third, even if you choose the road in magic you will still need to suffice on paying the bills till you start actually building repeat business and clientale so you need to start learning how to start juggling several different options and careers. Forth, you sound like your dads right if it shakes you up that bad then maybe coming on here at T11 and asking us has already answered your question. Either you know this is what your going to do or your hearts just not into enough to get you through the turmoil thats awaiting you in this competitive field. I would suggest taking a step back re-evaluating how you can coincide two fields of work until you really find out if you have what it takes to make a living in this field. Sorry about being straight with you but this is coming from someone who is actually working in the field with years of experience and I want you to know the reality of the situation. Hope this helps.

My mentor in magic use to tell me. Being a magician can be the lonliest life in the world. Woman get pissed at the commitment cause its not them and you have so many secrets that the line of truth and deception is always a game that cant be won we understand what the average one does not and that is our curse.

Shane
 
Your dad seems like a jerk. Hell, he IS a jerk if he's going to say something like that.

Parents who aren't supportive of their kids is one of my pet hates. It makes me so angry because I'm sure they had dreams and ambitions when they were kids.. why is it so hard for them to remember? I don't buy the whole "they mean well" garbage because you can mean stuff all you want, but it doesn't mean what you're doing is right. Take the Family First groups who can't handle a little smut on TV - they "mean well" when they try to take shows off the air, but it still doesn't justify the fact that many others enjoyed the so-called "smut."

Sorry to go off trail, but it just seems to similar to me.

There's one thing I want you to do - prove your father wrong. Prove him so wrong that it hurts.


Try being a parent and you'll realize how naive your post really sounds. Everyone complains parents today aren't involved enough with their children nowadays. This is crap! Its important to push your children into a direction they will only benefit them. Your a child that thinks like a child get some knowledge of how to really support someone then I will listen to whatever response you so choose to post.
 
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