A Powerful Mental Tool?

“Did you say six shows?”

My client nodded her head. “Is that a problem?” she asked.

“No,” I said. “I’ll make it work.”

It was ten minutes before my first of what I thought was going to be four performances. I had just finished performing a 90-minute stage hypnosis show. Thirty minutes later I was due to move to another room and perform several mini-ghost shows for small groups of teens.

My original pitch to the client was for 20-minute shows, one every half hour. That would give me ten minutes between each show and re-set props, get a drink of water, etc.

But when I made the pitch to my client, she only heard 20-minute shows for two hours. So they stuffed six shows into those two hours.

Plus all the kids had signed up for each show. For context, I told my client these were to be small shows to keep things spooky and intimate.

Everyone loved the idea. I had been wanting to test out some séance material for months. But rather than pitch my long-time client on seances, I sold them as ‘ghost hunting shows.’

Now I was faced with performing two extra shows for no extra pay and no time to reset. I couldn’t cancel the extra shows because I wasn’t going to disappoint those kids.

Welcome to one of the most valuable tools a professional magician can have in their arsenal.

It’s called reframing.

In NLP, there’s an entire therapeutic technique called a 6-Step Reframe. It’s designed to simply shift your thinking.

But in day-to-day life, reframing is useful for a multitude of situations.

One day I was grumbling to my wife that I had to carry my equipment up two flights of stairs at one school. Their elevator was broken and of course, their auditorium was on the third floor.

As I walked back to my cart for my first of many loads of equipment, she simply texted back, “Well, you get your workout in today.”

My wife is a master of reframing. She can fire off a good reframe in seconds.

You know what? It worked. I suddenly didn’t feel as bad carrying my stuff up those stairs. And besides, I was making more at that one gig that I used to in about two weeks at my former day job years and years ago.

How do you do a reframe? Simple. Just look for the good in any unfortunate event.

Granted, sometimes it’s tough. Like the time I was doing a high school assembly in Canada. Those kids were so disrespectful. During my blindfold act, they drew lewd pictures. They shouted out inappropriate things throughout the show.

And the whole time the teachers just sat watching the shows with their arms crossed. I’m not one to blame audiences for a bad show. And I’m experienced enough at high school shows to know I do a great job. But this was a bad audience, period.

What was my reframe?

Halfway through the show, I told myself, “At least you never have to return to this school.”

Here’s another reframe I’ve used in the past. And for me, it’s a biggie.

Like many magicians, I’ve had gigs cancel. And it often happens at the worst times. Like during a particularly slow month.

If it’s a high-paying gig that cancels during a slow month, my first instinct is to panic. “What if all my gigs cancel?” “What if I have to get a job?”

(Yes, those thoughts were different during COVID-19.)

But most months if I feel my panic taking over, I’ll look at the rest of my schedule. And my past years’ numbers.

I then tell myself, “One lost gig isn’t going to ruin me.”

So that’s it. That’s the technique. Look for the bright spot in any situation.

First, it might seem hard. But with practice, it becomes a great mental exercise you can use to get yourself out of a mental ‘jam’ and get back on track for the rest of your day/week/month.

How did I reframe my situation with my four shows turning to six?

That was easy. This whole séance / ghost show thing is new. And it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for months now. My reframe came quickly.

“Hey, I get two more ‘reps’ for this new kind of show.”

I’m proud to say I kicked ass in those shows. And I even got the adult chaperone in the room with me to record quick testimonials/comments from the kids as they left each show.

Not only did I get verification from my target audience that was I was doing appealed to them, but I also got video testimonials I can use on the new website I’m building targeting teen and adult spooky shows and mentalism.

If I hadn’t done my little mental reframe, I probably would have been in too negative a state of mind to come up with the idea for the videos.

What situations have YOU encountered that you could have reframed in your mind?

Until next time, have a great week.

--Cris

P.S. By the way…whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you grow your magic business to book more shows at higher fees:

 
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Need help in multiple areas? I can help you with your website, direct mail, email, or other marketing strategies. I also offer consulting services for crafting magic routines or even entire shows. Want to find out more? Shoot me an email at cris@theprofessionalmagicianclubpro.com.

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