You should not be in magic

Every now and then I will hear one magician being overly critical of another. Maybe because a magician could not do a “classic palm” with coins, or a “pass” with cards. Critical magicians might condemn such inabilities with phrases such as "you should get out of magic", "you should not be in magic", or "you will never be a good magician". 

This type of criticism is mean, hurtful, and can be damaging to a magician starting to learn the craft. It is not constructive in any way. That being said, there was this one guy who came into a magic shop where I was. He told a story about how his gig went the night before...

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"I was performing a kid’s show for about 20 kids yesterday. All of them from ages 6-8. It was a nice home, lavish furnishings, beautiful wooden staircase, and deep pile white carpet. All was going well until I got ready to do the fire-eating".

WHAT!?, I thought to myself. Fire-eating at a kids show?! Kids will try to duplicate what you did during your show after you leave! Never do fire magic or tricks like sword swallowing at a kids show. Ugh! I was frustrated, but he continued...

"I pulled out the torch and lit it." (For clarity, the “torch” to which he referring is an 18‑inch long,1/2 innch diameter aluminum rod. Screwed onto the top of the rod is a cotton head that has been soaked in lighter fluid).

"I was waving the rod about to show the flame, and the head flew off! It landed on this white carpet of hers, so I stomped it out before it could spread. Made a terrible burn mark, though".

I stood there with my mouth hanging open. There were twenty things I wanted to say to this guy, and they all tried to come out of my mouth at the same time! It sounded like I had a drooling problem. He continued...

"And you know, she didn't even pay me for the gig"!

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So, I did meet someone who truly should not be in magic. He was a danger to himself and others. He gives magicians a bad name.

As for the rest of you, I am here to help guide you on this wonderful journey we call “The Art of Magic”. You know where to find me, when you are ready.

-John

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