Eggs In a Basket

Apr 1, 2009
1,067
1
33
California
I've noticed something among many members on here. Something that I wish I had gotten a warning about at a young age. And so I want to share it with you so that it doesn't catch you off guard as much as it did me.

When I was much younger than I am now, not to say I am old, I wanted to be a performer. An artist. I wanted to live the big dream of seeing my name in lights. Walking a red carpet. Sneaking a glance past the curtain to see a theater filled standing room only of people just waiting to see me. I would practice for years; piano, guitar, magic, acting... I wanted this dream to become a reality. And in reality, it was a beautiful dream. It is a beautiful dream. But this dream came with a price. This price, was waking up.

This price came around the end of high school. I was always practicing. studying. reading. visiting forums. buying product. Sound familiar yet? But one thing was lacking. I started falling away from school. From family. From friends. I created a false illusion of my dream. I began to fail in school. Lost motivation for anything outside of my passions, which slowly morphed into a loss of motivation in my passions. Graduating High School was looking like a mission I just couldn't complete. Luckily I managed to gather enough passing credits (with flying colors) to graduate. But I was not prepared for the next step in my life. I was not ready for college. Nor was I ready for a career as an artist. Was I good? I think so. Others think so. But outside the talent built in my bedroom and the occasional recital. I did not have what it takes to become an artist.

I didn't get to join my friends at college. I ended up making a critical decision in my life that I never dreamed of making. It wasn't me. I was going to be an entertainer! I was going to show the world what it meant to entertain. That's not what happened. I discovered the reality to putting all of your eggs in a basket.

Not all dreams come with pixie dust and rainbows. I stayed behind while the rest of my family took off to live in Germany. I slept on friends couches and basements trying to figure out what to do with the next step of my life. I woke up every morning at 4am to go to the temporary labor agency to stand in line with 20 other people with no direction and hopefully get work. And this wasn't work you can be proud of doing. I did things no kid should ever have to do. I did evictions. cleaned port o potties. carried cement buckets until the boss decided it was time to end the day. Put up circus tents. All this to make enough money to afford gas and insurance to keep my car running. There eventually came a time when I could not afford insurance and had to drive illegally for a short bit until I could make the next payment. Praying that I would get things figured out soon.

Then it happened. My girlfriend and I were on the way back to her school 3 hours away after a wedding. Everything was going well. Had some car issues the day before, thought nothing of it this day. While on the interstate there was a loud rattle and boom then the front wheel came off. We slid at 70 miles an hour. We luckily made it to the side. This was it. I was stuck. Not just on the side of the road. Luckily we both came out without scratches. The car didn't make it.

That's the week I walked into the Army's office and asked them what I need to do to sign up. I met an amazing group of men there that worked night and day to get me in. And I am putting down my cards and props and entering basic training in April to have a chance at a good life. At college. and at a career doing what I love, performing.

I come from a great family. We're not billionaires, but we're not poor. This is just what happens sometimes when you put all your eggs in one basket and put the other important things in life to the side. I want you all to work for this beautiful dream you have. But realize that to truly get there, it won't come to you on a silver platter. Work hard. Go to school. Do well at school. Make great friends. Spend time with you family. Save some money. Enjoy life. I'm not trying to be a preacher. There's more to life than your art. You need these other life experiences to build the emotion necessary to go from talented to Artist. I just don't want to see anyone fall the way I have. Magic is a wonderful art. Give it a respectable chance at becoming what you dream of it becoming.
 

Luis Vega

Elite Member
Mar 19, 2008
1,838
278
38
Leon, Guanajuato Mexico
luisvega.com.mx
That`s a good story...real by the way...

I `ve been a magician for around 4 years...but I am also an architect...also I have to deal with diabetes...and lots of things..

I guess it all goes around priorities...the first priority is your health...then your family, then everything else...so long this has worked for me...
 
Thanks for sharing your story. There's a lot of values to learn from it. Not trying to sound corny but let me take this time to thank you in advance for what you will be doing in the army. It takes a lot of courage and bravery to enlist in the military. I wish you the best of luck in your journey.
 

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
3,637
471
46
Louisville, OH
That was an outstanding post. It is all very true and something a lot of the younger gentlemen should read through carefully. It is imperative to get a good education, job, etc. Magic will always be around. Your family and friends may not. Setting goals in life is crucial and making sacrifices and paying your dues is a huge part of reaching those goals. However, do not segregate yourself so much that magic takes over your entire life and you begin to lose other aspects that you once loved.
 

CaseyRudd

Director of Operations
Team member
Jun 5, 2009
3,393
3,801
Charleston, SC
www.instagram.com
Amazing post Asher. Every kid or teenager needs to read this and think about their life. I accidentally started letting that happen to me about a year ago. My social skills dropped, and I stopped going places with friends to practice my card tricks and study magic books and DVDs. My grades started to slip a little bit, but now I am going back on track and starting to hang out with friends and have a good time. Every one needs a childhood; don't let magic blind you from it.
 
Apr 1, 2009
1,067
1
33
California
Thank you for the kind words. This is something that haunts me every day. Even as I reach success. The world is a scary place, especially when mom and dad aren't there to support you. I just hope people really do take something out of my mistakes and better their future. Especially with 2011 around the corner
 
Sep 2, 2007
1,182
119
31
Houston, TX
This post is great. I've done this with quite a few things. I have gotten into quite a few (rather expensive) hobbies and I put EVERYTHING into it and focus on nothing but that hobby. I learned after I dropped about 800-1000 dollars on remote control car stuff, slowly got out of it and then eventually sold it all and only got about $300.

Magic was one of my hobbies. I was into it for quite some time and then sold all my stuff and quit...or so I thought.

I got back into magic about 5 months ago and it's been great. However, I have gotten a bit carried away (buying as well as performing). I have plenty material and have decided to buy one or two more utilities that I KNOW I will use and then run with the things I have. This will better my skills at what I already have, let me save money instead of dumping it into the newest thing and help me keep priorities straight.

Asher, the great thing about your post is that in doing what you said - keep priorities first, do things other than magic etc. - this will all HELP your magic! By keeping priorities first, you won't seem like an annoyance with cards but instead a great guy that can pull off some amazing miracles. By doing things with your friends and doing other things in general, you get experience in other things that can add to your magic even if it is simple things that you pick up like good jokes or patter ideas. Also, you can learn to scope out good times to perform and good times not to perform.

One of my New Years Resolutions is to perform LESS for the people who know me and/or see my magic all the time.
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
This is something that haunts me every day. Even as I reach success.

Asher:

Don't let it haunt you. You've shown a lot of maturity and character in making the decisions you have. In life, we all make mistakes. People who are successful are smart enough to recognize when they make mistakes and have the courage to do what they need to do to fix their mistakes. It is not our mistakes that define us, but how we react to those mistakes.

If you haven't read them already, check out two books: The first is Illusions by Richard Bach. It has nothing to do with magic, but a lot to do with life. The second is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. There is a lot of wisdom in those books.
 
Apr 1, 2009
1,067
1
33
California
You touched upon a great point. Another thing I've noticed is that you become smarter about the effects you buy. You know the world you work in therefore know te effects you can pull off. The big illusion about your bedroom is that you can pull off really any effect even if you can't do it in a real world situation
 
Sep 20, 2009
445
83
It All depends on 'your' Priorities...

Take Me As An Example.. at 5 years old i knew i wanted to do Magic.. 20 Years Later.. and i've been a Working Professional Mentalist/Magician.. A Member Of The Castle And Performer.. A Professional Mentor And A Mentalist/Magician Lecturer For Some Years Now..


'Success' is Subjective to each individual.. but also comes with Sacrifice.. i was quite lucky in the aspect i didn't have to give up my family growing up to be where I'm at now...

In the end whatever makes 'You' happy in life is what you must follow.. you can't live with the regrets of 'What if' cause that will only breed resentment
 
Apr 1, 2009
1,067
1
33
California
There certainly are exceptions. No doubt about that. But it's not a matter of "What if?" because it's not like you give up on that goal, that dream.
 
Jul 22, 2010
64
1
This is a great story. It's hard to do everything you want to do but still do good in school and succeed. I wish you good luck in the army.
 
Jul 13, 2009
1,372
0
33
Man that was a great little story. I can relate fully to your situation and know how hard it is to go Self-Sufficient. Worrying about whether or not you can pay rent next month, literally living by the seat of your pants and paycheck to paycheck. The little luxuries that you used to get and were "cheap" to you while with your parents, now seem gourmet or too expensive to indulge on. I found it funny how I thought about this similar topic just this morning, I think I was thinking about last years new year resolutions. I haven't met many of them... However, one little splinter in my side with this story...Why army? GO BULLDOGS! GO MARINES! :p
 

S.G

Feb 9, 2010
664
1
That was the most meaningful post that I have ever seen. I have started to fall into this cycle and I have made it my New Year's resolution to get out of this cycle.

Thanks for sharing.
 
Apr 1, 2009
1,067
1
33
California
I chose army because I didn't want to take my chances at being one of the few. I wanted to get my life together and be all that I can be :D. Thanks for the support guys.
 
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