Hello everyone! As I lay in my bed resting, and meditating on some of the wonderful experiences I've had here in Las Vegas at Magic Live I have been thinking how truly amazing this convention has been this year. Both in the amazing shows, and educational focus panels, as well as the awesome people you get to meet and hang out with.
I wanted to take a minute out of my day, and go back through my notes I've taken so far and share some quotes, and pearls of wisdom with you folks, the ones unable to attend this convention for what ever reason it may be. I realize that sharing everything with you devalues the cost of my admission, so out of respect for the presenters, and the convention I won't do that. But I hope a few of these little insights that I can share with you will be worth your time reading this thread, and I hope it will not only help you grow, but also spark more intellectual discussions on the boards.
There really isn't a format to the information I'll share. It's just there. As you read through it, understand that I'm writing it as a stream of flowing thought. There isn't structure, or form. It just exists to exist.
I'll start with Giovanni Livera's opening monologue from the general session on Monday about "it".
It
You can't beg for it
You can't borrow it
You can't steal it
If you have it
You know you have it
If you don't have it
Look for it
If you have talent for it
You may have it
If you have passion for it
You may have it
If you have talent
and passion for it
You've got it
Everyone has an it
Find it
Cherish it
Grow it
Share it
That's it.
What I like about this monologue is that as simple and poetic as it is, it really inspires me to continue searching for my "it".
The following is a quote from Lou Serrano's motivational lecture on the Business side of Show Business.
"A lobster, when left high and dry among the rocks, does not have the sense enough to work his way back to the sea, but waits for the sea to come to him. If it does not come, he remains where he is and dies, although the slightest effort would enable him to reach the waves, which are perhaps within a yard of him. The world is full of human lobsters; people stranded on the rocks of indecision and procrastination, who instead of putting forth their own energies, are waiting for some grand billow of good fortune to set them afloat." - Orison Swett Marden
Lou also went on to drop this pearl of wisdom when he said "Knowledge without action, is useless." which is a powerful reminder that just because we know how to do something, unless we are actively trying to pursue doing it, executing it, and achieving it, it won't happen. It's not enough to want to be a magician, for example, but you must also go out there and BE a magician.
Ken Scott in his lecture about marketing the family friendly show has this quote to share "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~Maya Angelou
What a powerful statement. It's not enough that we learn how to do card tricks, or that we go out there among the people and perform for them, but the magic really happens in their minds when we establish some kind of personal connection with them. If you want to be remembered for something more than "that guy who did that one thing..." then connect emotionally with your audience, and leave them with an experience not a puzzle.
There's also been this underlying theme this year promoting the advantages of learning from books over learning from visual media such as DVD's. A lot of what they pointed out isn't without merit. There's some wonderful things in books that were invented years ago, that no one is doing anymore now days. It's a virtual gold mine waiting for someone to do a little research, and rediscover the mountains of information contained in these lost treasures. However book collecting can become a tedious, and expensive process. Good thing we have the internet! A lot of the old books have lost copy right protection and have entered open domain. They can be downloaded as PDF's for free at www.thelearnedpig.com.pa You now have no excuse to not collect and learn from the masters that have come before us.
I'll bring this post to a close with this last quote, again from Lou. "People will forgive you for making mistakes, or messing up, but what they won't forgive you for is being boring."
I'll let you chew on that last one for a bit. With yet one more day left to go in this convention, I'm excited to see what more tomorrow will bring!
Cheers,
Draven
I wanted to take a minute out of my day, and go back through my notes I've taken so far and share some quotes, and pearls of wisdom with you folks, the ones unable to attend this convention for what ever reason it may be. I realize that sharing everything with you devalues the cost of my admission, so out of respect for the presenters, and the convention I won't do that. But I hope a few of these little insights that I can share with you will be worth your time reading this thread, and I hope it will not only help you grow, but also spark more intellectual discussions on the boards.
There really isn't a format to the information I'll share. It's just there. As you read through it, understand that I'm writing it as a stream of flowing thought. There isn't structure, or form. It just exists to exist.
I'll start with Giovanni Livera's opening monologue from the general session on Monday about "it".
It
You can't beg for it
You can't borrow it
You can't steal it
If you have it
You know you have it
If you don't have it
Look for it
If you have talent for it
You may have it
If you have passion for it
You may have it
If you have talent
and passion for it
You've got it
Everyone has an it
Find it
Cherish it
Grow it
Share it
That's it.
What I like about this monologue is that as simple and poetic as it is, it really inspires me to continue searching for my "it".
The following is a quote from Lou Serrano's motivational lecture on the Business side of Show Business.
"A lobster, when left high and dry among the rocks, does not have the sense enough to work his way back to the sea, but waits for the sea to come to him. If it does not come, he remains where he is and dies, although the slightest effort would enable him to reach the waves, which are perhaps within a yard of him. The world is full of human lobsters; people stranded on the rocks of indecision and procrastination, who instead of putting forth their own energies, are waiting for some grand billow of good fortune to set them afloat." - Orison Swett Marden
Lou also went on to drop this pearl of wisdom when he said "Knowledge without action, is useless." which is a powerful reminder that just because we know how to do something, unless we are actively trying to pursue doing it, executing it, and achieving it, it won't happen. It's not enough to want to be a magician, for example, but you must also go out there and BE a magician.
Ken Scott in his lecture about marketing the family friendly show has this quote to share "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~Maya Angelou
What a powerful statement. It's not enough that we learn how to do card tricks, or that we go out there among the people and perform for them, but the magic really happens in their minds when we establish some kind of personal connection with them. If you want to be remembered for something more than "that guy who did that one thing..." then connect emotionally with your audience, and leave them with an experience not a puzzle.
There's also been this underlying theme this year promoting the advantages of learning from books over learning from visual media such as DVD's. A lot of what they pointed out isn't without merit. There's some wonderful things in books that were invented years ago, that no one is doing anymore now days. It's a virtual gold mine waiting for someone to do a little research, and rediscover the mountains of information contained in these lost treasures. However book collecting can become a tedious, and expensive process. Good thing we have the internet! A lot of the old books have lost copy right protection and have entered open domain. They can be downloaded as PDF's for free at www.thelearnedpig.com.pa You now have no excuse to not collect and learn from the masters that have come before us.
I'll bring this post to a close with this last quote, again from Lou. "People will forgive you for making mistakes, or messing up, but what they won't forgive you for is being boring."
I'll let you chew on that last one for a bit. With yet one more day left to go in this convention, I'm excited to see what more tomorrow will bring!
Cheers,
Draven
