I think that an important question for every performer to ask him or herself is: "Why do I perform for people?" To put the question another way: "What is my goal in performing?"
There are so many possible answers, including, (1) "I just get a big charge out of blowing people's minds"; (2) "I want to entertain people, make them smile, and bring them joy"; (3) "I'm a sadist and it brings me joy to fool people with tricks they desperately wish they could figure out, but can't, ha ha ha! (Anyone know a good counselor?)"; (4) "I crave attention from people and performing is a good way to get it"; (5) "I'm hopeful that it will make me more attractive to potential romantic partners"; (6) "I want to give people a glimpse into the seemingly impossible and inspire them to believe they can create magic in their own lives"; (7) "OK, I'll admit it, I'm a show off and it satisfies my BIG ego"; (8) "It's about the techniques for me, I love learning and performing tricks that involve difficult moves and sleights"; (9) "I'm very intrigued by ESP and psychic phenomena, so I enjoy learning and performing mentalism or mental magic"; (10) "I'm fascinated by the gambling world, and never go anywhere without my copy of Expert at the Card Table"; (11) "I want to be successful as a professional magician or mentalist because I hate my boring job and my *@!#&! boss"; (12) "I don't want it to be all about showing how clever I am, but rather involving the spectators as participants, making them the center of attention, and helping them feel great about themselves"; (13) other reason - fill in the blank >________________________________.
I think when we ask ourselves this question and come up with an honest answer, it will guide us as to the type of performer we want to be, the material we choose, and how we present it, or it may even cause us to re-evaluate and go in a new direction as performers.