"Be yourself"...we hear that a lot.
I don't think anyone should be themselves because for most magicians the version of "themselves" is boring, nervous, and uninteresting.
When you go watch a movie, do you want the actor to "be himself" in every movie or would you rather see him play an interesting and different character?
And let's be honest here, a lot (not all) magicians have a stereotype of being nerdy, weird, introverted, and all around socially awkward. This stereotype is unfortunately not inaccurate. This is why magicians who are cool and have a great image appeal to such a wide audience and are financially successful, regardless of their skill level. But that is another topic.
Even the greatest illusionist of all, David Copperfield, started off fitting that stereotype. Don't believe me? Go back and watch his first 2 or 3 TV specials. It wasn't till his 4th year on TV did he go through a complete transformation of his personality, image, and waredrobe style. Only then did he become an international rock star because he appealed to a wider audience, especially women.
Truthfully...I really don't think "being yourself" is overrated. But I think the phrase should be changed to "be the best version of yourself" and that requires change and improvement....."change" is a scary thing to a lot of people. Usually those who need it most are the ones who rebel against it the hardest....kind of ironic.
In Wayne's lecture he talked about how he became a better version of himself when he started having more interest in his life other than magic. As his life experience grew, he had more material to draw from to fuel his magician persona.
I think all too often we use the phrase "be yourself" as an excuse to stay boring and uninteresting. And if you do that, not only are you not going to be a successful magician, you're not even going to be a very success person.
I don't think anyone should be themselves because for most magicians the version of "themselves" is boring, nervous, and uninteresting.
When you go watch a movie, do you want the actor to "be himself" in every movie or would you rather see him play an interesting and different character?
And let's be honest here, a lot (not all) magicians have a stereotype of being nerdy, weird, introverted, and all around socially awkward. This stereotype is unfortunately not inaccurate. This is why magicians who are cool and have a great image appeal to such a wide audience and are financially successful, regardless of their skill level. But that is another topic.
Even the greatest illusionist of all, David Copperfield, started off fitting that stereotype. Don't believe me? Go back and watch his first 2 or 3 TV specials. It wasn't till his 4th year on TV did he go through a complete transformation of his personality, image, and waredrobe style. Only then did he become an international rock star because he appealed to a wider audience, especially women.
Truthfully...I really don't think "being yourself" is overrated. But I think the phrase should be changed to "be the best version of yourself" and that requires change and improvement....."change" is a scary thing to a lot of people. Usually those who need it most are the ones who rebel against it the hardest....kind of ironic.
In Wayne's lecture he talked about how he became a better version of himself when he started having more interest in his life other than magic. As his life experience grew, he had more material to draw from to fuel his magician persona.
I think all too often we use the phrase "be yourself" as an excuse to stay boring and uninteresting. And if you do that, not only are you not going to be a successful magician, you're not even going to be a very success person.
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