Over the past few years I have had countless enquires to perform at children’s parties. When I first went full time, I wasn’t exactly sure of what road I wanted to follow. Magic has a lot of options. You can be a stage performer, a mentalist, a hypnotist, an illusionist, an escape artist, a close up magician, or a children’s entertainer. The old saying “jack-of-all-trades master at none.” When you first open yourself up to the world of magic, it is very overwhelming. You see magicians perform amazing tricks and you don’t realize the amount of work that goes into performing that one trick. You want to learn everything all at once, but you just can’t physically do it. People go to university and study a subject for 3, 4, up to 7 years, devoting all their time into the one subject. I feel magic is the same. Yes you might be able to learn the mechanics of a trick in 10 minutes, yet it takes literally years to perfect it. It would take you a lifetime to master all the different areas of magic. That is why the best magicians in the world specialize in one area. They might be able to perform a few things in other categories, yet they specialize in one.When I was first asked to perform at some children’s parties, I reluctantly said yes, knowing this is not the track I wanted to go down. Yet I needed the money, and the experience. I love kids, and performing for kids in small groups, and I love teaching kids how to perform magic tricks. I have even set up an academy where kids can enroll to learn how to perform.
But I hate putting on a kid’s magic show. From 3-10 years of age is a nightmare for me. The thought of young kids staring at me, wanting me to run around, hype them up, have streamers coming from all areas of my body sends shivers down my spine. I’m a magician get me out of here!
After I had performed at a few kids’ parties, I had a good look in the mirror. I had 2 choices? One was to get over my issues with the little people and make a show that is brilliant, full of fun, laughter, and hype. Or start saying No and follow what was truly my passion. Become the magician I wanted to become. Saying NO is hard. I still get a lot of enquires to this day regarding a children’s magic show. But it is not what I want to do. The hardest part about it is, some months are quiet and I might not have many gigs and I know I could make a quick buck by saying yes to the kids party. If I start saying yes, I could get stuck in to doing something I don’t want to do. Being a children’s entertainer is not bad, in fact I know some brilliant entertainers that do an excellent job, it’s just not for me. We all have choices to make in our lives. The choice we make now will determine our future. What are you saying yes to that could send you on a path that you are not destined for?
From saying NO so much, I have put all my focus and attention into becoming the magician I want to become. I am studying, learning, practicing to do exactly what I want to do. I know where I want to end up, I know what sort of performer I want to become, and I know what steps have to be taken to get there. My question is, do you know where you want to end up? What sort of person you want to become? What career path you want to go down? Are you doing what needs to be done to live your dream? Are you saying yes to the wrong things?
Andino