A lesson in Perseverance

Apr 26, 2016
65
26
I want to take a second to show you my lens on life. The other day, I almost quit magic. I felt dead, tired and frustrated by my own shortcomings. I let despair get the better of me. I spent a long night, until 3 am in the city, trying as hard as I could to make even a dollar. I didn't even need the money. If I'd gotten anything, it wouldn't have made up for the cost of coming out. I got home and sat there, in the darkness, blaming myself for my failures. I told myself that magic was dead, that I was a failure. I felt truly defeated.

And then, the most incredible thing occurred. I found in my thoughts a devils advocate. The thought tugged at me. It called to mind the long hours of practice, the days worth of study. It put worth to my effort, and I realized that if not for the bitter of my shortcomings, I would never have tried as hard as I did to make my magic successful. I thought of the pulled muscles, the blisters, the sleepless nights perfecting each sleight. I looked at the old hat that I'd found in a hat shop. I realized that I had forgotten why I did magic. In that moment, crystal clear, I realized that I didn't do magic for money, or for myself. I did it because I wanted to make people smile. It was always done for others. Making them happy made me happy. I understood that we as magicans may do things for profit, or enjoyment, but ultimately, we're artists and entertainers. We exist to make others feel.

I never want to let that go. It hurts me every day to know that magic is fading away from the world. We live in an uncaring world, obsessed with the here and now, of knowing exactly how and when things happen. The age of information has connected us more than ever, and along the way, it has started to strangle the joy of entertainment. I refuse to let that happen.

So, to finish this, what I learned is that, in order to preserve the things we care about, we need to fight for it, and we need to spread the light of entertainment like a torch, from one to the next. We can't get discouraged. Please, if you are young, and frustrated with your progress in magic, don't give up. You are the future of magic, and without you, the thing that every magician holds dear will die. I ask that you work hard, so that one day, you too can light a torch for someone else, until one day it burns bright, and to never let yours go out. Magic is such a beautiful thing, and it's our job to keep it safe, and keep it alive for the next generation, because if we don't, we won't have it anymore. Thank you for your time.

-Someone who loves magic
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
It's good to hear you worked through it. I have totally been in that spot, particularly after busking, where everything seemed to go wrong and I felt like a complete failure. I was lucky to have friends to encourage me, and a burning desire to change my life situation to push me to keep going to find my niche and market. I will probably never be a rockstar magician who's banking millions, but I do create a very unique and satisfying experience for my audiences and that makes me happy.

I do want to address this point, though:

QUOTE="eternalredking, post: 463096, member: 135752"]It hurts me every day to know that magic is fading away from the world.[/QUOTE]

I don't think this is true. Magic is more popular than it has been in decades. On top of that, magic has been around for thousands of years (probably). It has to evolve to keep up with the times, but I don't think in any way that it is currently diminishing.
 

CWhite

Elite Member
Jul 22, 2016
769
962
You just have to push through the dark to get into the light.
As a great explorer once said "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming".......
 
Jan 26, 2017
2,173
1,338
23
Virginia
Great Motivational story, and I'm glad you continued man!

However, the one thing I need to disagree on is that you said magic is fading from our modern world. I think its changing and growing, but certainly not fading.
 
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