Magical Musings

I was away over the weekend. I attended a magic lecture by magician, Allen Okawa. Allen is a friend of my late-friend Roger Klause who was a major influence on many magicians worldwide through his ideas and tutelage. My friend, Sid introduced me to Roger in 1998 on my first trip to the USA as well as my first magic convention.

Thai organiser Sid and Hong Kong-based professional magician, Sean McFarlane chat about magic

I enjoyed Allen’s variations on some of the classic plots in magic, mainly on cards, coins and novelty magic (for instance with cowry shells). He was entertaining, too, and that is as important in performance as in lecturing. The younger audience in attendance also left with a shift in their perception about magic. Magic is more than showing tricks to each other; it is about experiencing the human condition through each illusion. Art evokes emotions, deeper thought, and feelings.

Allen Okawa strikes a pose with lecture-attendee

What came across as important, too, was the naturalness in the way he handled an object or tool. Anything arousing suspicion destroys the illusion, and the art is in creating the illusion. A magical presentation is about theatre, and how the actor plays the part of the magician convincingly. David Copperfield, Lu Chien and David Blaine are actors on television and/or stage who display their art, as artists, through their playlets. Each act is a recreation and dramatisation of humankind’s ability to defy the laws of nature: produce, vanish, destroy and restore, and transport (across time and space) objects, livestock and people.

How much magic do you enjoy in your life?

Changing The Way You Look At Your World

Our opinions are our theories.

Theories change; thus, our opinions change, too. Our perceptions of our world are ours; they are entirely our own possessions. Our sensory interpretations of our world are part of our map. This map – a work-in-progress – is continually being updated. What is truth, fact, and reality is determined by our own choices, perceptions, mindsets and attitudes.

Positive-minded people are not born; they develop their positivism through their experiences, education, knowledge, opinions, awareness and judgments. Optimism can be learnt, although it may not be the most reliable and accurate indicator during a crisis. When crises emerge, we need to be prepared for the inevitable and unpredictable.

There are ways to alter the way we view the world with promise, premise and purpose.

1)    Surround yourself with experts, and learn from them by asking questions.

2)    Challenge the status quo. What is accepted may not be the best or most useful.

3)    Focus on useful behaviors; reduce or eliminate useless behaviors. We have choices.

4)    Focus on what has gone well; catch people doing right, instead of only the wrong.

5)    Participate in sports: it builds character; promotes a sense of healthy competition, excellence and achieving goals.

6)    Celebrate with others. Celebrate the success of others.

7)    Be inspired by role models, films and biographies. Ask what makes these people tick, differently.

8)    Learn by doing and immersing yourself in the experience. Plunge yourself into the change process.

9)    Travel is a good way to make comparison and contrasts with what we know, and have yet to know.

10) Stay actively in touch with others; network actively with people you have placed in your contact list. The future is about connections and connectivity. Harness technology for these reasons.

Is Free Really For Real?

Are you attracted by things free? Seriously.

Chris Andersen, editor of Wired magazine proposes a challenging argument for business and commerce in FREE. He proposes that free is the way to go with digital products and services.

Guy Kawasaki points us Andersen’s video presentation organised by Guy’s Garage Technology Ventures bootcamp here:

I will post more, shortly on my thoughts about free, pricing, value and perceptions about free.

It’s free - I assure you. No catch.