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As many of you know, I have written a lot lately on creativity and the need for magicians to take action towards learning to be more creative thinkers of the magic we perform. We all own more magic then we need. We really do not need to buy more magic. What we do need is the ability to be more creative with the magic we already have.
An idea I have expressed in the past is to keep what I refer to as a “Creativity Journal”. This is a concept derived from my art school days and I continue to do it to this day. It is an easy idea and one that is not new at all. However, I find it is new to a lot of magicians.
The concept is to simply carry with you and keep with you a blank journal from which you can write down any and all creative thoughts and ideas. The goal is "free thinking". In free thinking there are no boundaries and there are no rules. You break down the barriers that hold you back. Any idea is a good idea and that needs to be written down by you.
It has often been said that the reason you write thoughts down is that there is power in the process. When you write ideas in your creativity journals, you are basically planting a seed in your mind. This seed can grow. It tells the mind and teaches it that it is ok to open the mind up to receiving these kinds of creative thought.
Like any exercise, the more you do, the better you get and the stronger you become. Think of the creativity journal as an exercise of the mind. It builds up the mind and makes it stronger.
But what I have found lately is a new tool that brings the creativity journal to a new level and makes it even easier to be creative and to retain those creative thoughts. There is a free website out there online called www.jott.com. It is simply a wonderful tool I have been using a lot lately in the past few months. Now before I proceed to tell you about it, please keep in mind that I am not affiliated in any way with the website nor do I get any compensation form them. It is just a very useful tool I have found that works for me and I wanted to share with you the readers.
Jott.com is a website that allows you to have the ability to send emails or text messages to yourself or anyone you want simply with the power of your own voice. The website is 100% free and very easy to set up initially. It takes only a matter of 5 minutes to set it up and away you go.
You can now be on the road at a show or anywhere and call the Jott number. It will ask you who you want to jott and you can freely state any name set up in your database. If you Jott yourself then you just talk for up to 45 seconds of anything you want. When you are done, Jott will send your voice message and transcribe it as text and send that text to your email address or even a text message on your cell phone. When you get home, you will have an email waiting for you that is everything you said in the phone but in a written format for you to print out or to save in your creativity journal. It is just that easy. You have the ability to Jott messages to anyone email you want.
This becomes a very powerful free tool if you think about it. Now I can be anywhere and if a creative idea comes to my mind, I can immediately send a Jott message to my email. When I get home it will be there waiting for me and I will have it all in a written format I can use. I no longer have to search for paper or try and recall an idea when I get home. I can do it the moment the idea comes to me.
Another way I use Jott is after a show is over. When I am in the truck I can send a Jott message home and tell about the show, how it went over, what tricks I performed and any notes I might want to have. I can do this while it is all fresh in my memory.
It is a very powerful tool for any creative thinker and I hope you might give it a try. I have been using it for a few months now and have really found the power in it to broaden my creativity and to help me in the process. Let me know how it works for you.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Be Yourself
I am sure we have all heard it growing up and from others in our life from time to time. Be yourself and not someone else. Act the way you would act and do what you know is right for you. Seems a pretty simple and straightforward concept. These are the lessons of life and we learn from them.
However, why does his simple phrase become forgotten in the magical arts? Why is it that we feel this phrase is no longer important or simply does not apply to us when performing magic? Perhaps we hear the phrase but pay it no attention. Perhaps we do not want to hear it at all.
Why is this so important? It’s important because too often the magical arts is filled with “clones.” These are the same people doing the same thing the same way and for the same audiences. If you do not believe me, just talk to a layperson. The attitude an opinion of lay folks is such that every magician is the same and we all look and act alike. You know what? They are right. We are and we do.
So why does this happen? There are many reasons but the biggest one is a simple word…LAZY. We are simply flat out lazy. If success were based upon taking action, then more people would be successful. The problem is most folks do not want to take the action because they see a simpler path to follow. Why take the hard road when the paved road is easier to travel?
The same applies to magic. Why try and create something that is unique to us if we can “borrow” something from someone else? It is just easier to buy a “routine in a box” and add it to your show.
I say routine in a box because that is the way things are sold these days. Now do not get me wrong here. I like magic dealers and inventors as much as the other guy. However, the fact of the matter is that things are created and sold to you so you do not have to think for yourself. The trick you buy comes with instructions, tells you what to say, how to move, gives you comedy lines, alternative patter and a DVD showing you exactly how to do it the way the other magician does. Dose this make us unique? NO! It simply makes us a lesser copy of someone else.
How many of us have also seen a magic show and flat out stole the routine and patter of the person we saw? Be honest with yourself. The answer is a LOT of us. We get caught up in the power of the effect and the reactions we saw. The problem is that we forget that THAT magician caused the reactions. It was not simply the effect itself. If the effect or prop was getting the reactions, then why not just place the prop on a table and walk off stage. The point is that the magician makes the entertainment experience.
Therein may lay the problem. Can anyone be like this magician? No, they can’t. Would you want to be this magician? No, I would think you would want to be yourself. Would someone else garner the same exact reactions as this magician? Probably not.
They would still get laughs and reactions but not the same way. The reason is simple. They are not that magician. They cannot possibly know or perform the nuances that the magician brought to the performance. They may replicate what they saw. However, replication with some minor updating is NOT being creative or true to you.
We need to get over this idea that stealing others acts or routines will make us a better performer. That simply does not happen. It makes for more magicians performing more bad magic.
What we need to remember is that simple phrase…”Be Yourself.” Learn to find out who you are as a performer. Find your own unique style and define your character on stage. Know what that character would and would not do. Remember to script your routines so it fits who you are.
Is this tough, well yeah it requires you taking some action. But remember that any success requires you taking that first step.
As always, I encourage you the readers to let me know your thoughts. So if you have any thoughts on my articles or suggestions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me directly at magic4u02@aol.com. I would love to hear from you.
However, why does his simple phrase become forgotten in the magical arts? Why is it that we feel this phrase is no longer important or simply does not apply to us when performing magic? Perhaps we hear the phrase but pay it no attention. Perhaps we do not want to hear it at all.
Why is this so important? It’s important because too often the magical arts is filled with “clones.” These are the same people doing the same thing the same way and for the same audiences. If you do not believe me, just talk to a layperson. The attitude an opinion of lay folks is such that every magician is the same and we all look and act alike. You know what? They are right. We are and we do.
So why does this happen? There are many reasons but the biggest one is a simple word…LAZY. We are simply flat out lazy. If success were based upon taking action, then more people would be successful. The problem is most folks do not want to take the action because they see a simpler path to follow. Why take the hard road when the paved road is easier to travel?
The same applies to magic. Why try and create something that is unique to us if we can “borrow” something from someone else? It is just easier to buy a “routine in a box” and add it to your show.
I say routine in a box because that is the way things are sold these days. Now do not get me wrong here. I like magic dealers and inventors as much as the other guy. However, the fact of the matter is that things are created and sold to you so you do not have to think for yourself. The trick you buy comes with instructions, tells you what to say, how to move, gives you comedy lines, alternative patter and a DVD showing you exactly how to do it the way the other magician does. Dose this make us unique? NO! It simply makes us a lesser copy of someone else.
How many of us have also seen a magic show and flat out stole the routine and patter of the person we saw? Be honest with yourself. The answer is a LOT of us. We get caught up in the power of the effect and the reactions we saw. The problem is that we forget that THAT magician caused the reactions. It was not simply the effect itself. If the effect or prop was getting the reactions, then why not just place the prop on a table and walk off stage. The point is that the magician makes the entertainment experience.
Therein may lay the problem. Can anyone be like this magician? No, they can’t. Would you want to be this magician? No, I would think you would want to be yourself. Would someone else garner the same exact reactions as this magician? Probably not.
They would still get laughs and reactions but not the same way. The reason is simple. They are not that magician. They cannot possibly know or perform the nuances that the magician brought to the performance. They may replicate what they saw. However, replication with some minor updating is NOT being creative or true to you.
We need to get over this idea that stealing others acts or routines will make us a better performer. That simply does not happen. It makes for more magicians performing more bad magic.
What we need to remember is that simple phrase…”Be Yourself.” Learn to find out who you are as a performer. Find your own unique style and define your character on stage. Know what that character would and would not do. Remember to script your routines so it fits who you are.
Is this tough, well yeah it requires you taking some action. But remember that any success requires you taking that first step.
As always, I encourage you the readers to let me know your thoughts. So if you have any thoughts on my articles or suggestions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me directly at magic4u02@aol.com. I would love to hear from you.
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