Finding Your Magic

One of the questions I get all the time from new magicians is:

·      “How do I come up with tricks?”

·      “How do I invent new tricks all the time?”

The answer might surprise you: I don’t.

I do my best to remember every day that magic should be as fun for me as it is for my audiences. That means I enjoy it as a hobby as much as I do a craft. I love learning new tricks from books and videos. I love going to conventions and scouring the dealer's room for some new, fun trick that fools me and really catches my eye.

There are so many incredible magicians creating so many wonderful effects that I don’t worry if I am not creating the mind-blowing magic. I am always happy to perform magic created by anyone as long as it makes me happy.

I have long been an advocate for people enjoying their magic and not letting anyone else dictate their relationship with it. If you don’t want to perform magic, just practice moves or learn secrets, that's totally fine. If you find the idea of building gimmicks stressful and just want to perform something that comes ready to go right out of the box, that’s fine. If you are a visual learner and need a video because translating text to movement is challenging, that’s perfectly ok. If you are terrified to perform for real people but love making videos for Instagram and TikTok, that’s great too!

Never forget that the way you do magic is for you and for no one else. The same way someone who plays guitar can either just strum on their front porch, or write romantic ballads, or play at open mics, your magic should first and foremost bring you joy. The best way to find your magic is to have fun with it.

-Erik