What Do You Do When Everything Falls Apart?

That’s what happened to me recently. I made one of my biggest blunders ever in my career and I had no great way to fix it in time.

I was hired to perform my science show at two schools in Buffalo, NY. For context, I love In Niagara Falls, NY, about 30 minutes away.

I loaded up my car the night before, having already checked my supplies and charged the batteries for my microphone. I was ready to go.

I get to the first school and unload. Everybody was nice and welcoming. I was even starting to think, “Hey, I could start enjoying this performing thing again.”

Then I opened the trunk where all my science show supplies were. I had already set up the backdrop, banners, and sound system.

When I opened the case, I couldn’t believe what I saw.

Supplies for my math show.

For context, some of my shows get loaded into a Leffler-style table. Others don’t. When I perform my math or science shows, I don’t use a suitcase table. And the math and science shows were packed in identical-looking trunks.

I do have large orange signs on each trunk identifying what show is inside, but I apparently didn’t look at the label before grabbing it and tossing it into my car.

I looked at the clock. It was 35 minutes until show time. My house was 30-ish minutes away. I had no solution for making this work and still starting the show on time.

I had considered just doing the math show and presenting it as science. But I had shot myself in the foot because my microphone and music were packed in the science show.

I had never done anything this bad to sabotage a show in over 20 years.

I admit I was distracted that day. I was preoccupied with the fact I would soon be going in for my first colonoscopy. I was beyond worried about it, so I had been distracted in everything I had done the last few days.

What would you do? How would you handle this show disaster?

This week’s newsletter was scheduled to tackle the final part of the five-part success system.

For those of you keeping score, the first four parts are:

1.   Know your outcome

2.   Get the knowledge you need to attain your goals

3.   Take action

4.   Monitor and adjust as needed

This week’s topic? Never giving up.

Years ago, I learned this system from an old Dave Dee course. I soon learned it was not original with him. Like all good material, it had been repackaged and delivered in different ways over the years.

Even the great Tony Robbins, who I adore, is selling repackaged NLP concepts and training.

My point? When it comes to foundational information, nothing is really “new.” Technology may change, but the bedrocks of success will remain constant.

When I set out to teach this success system in my newsletter, I resolved to bring a bit of myself to the table. I had decided long ago I was going to get personal in this newsletter. I think it brings an authenticity to it, a unique voice you’re not going to get anywhere else.

I know other magicians send out newsletters and some are great. Others read so impersonally I don’t feel I’m getting to know the real person writing it.

I mention all of this because I was stuck on how to wrap up this success system. What personal anecdote could I convey? What pearls of wisdom could I impart on you, dear reader, to drive home the importance of a simple yet powerful message?

I had considered trotting out the tired story of Harland Sanders, the guy who founded Kentucky Fried Chicken. It’s a great story and very inspirational. But it’s been done to death by the motivational speaker circuit.

No, I wanted something personal to me. To show you everyone needs to remember never to give up.

Because I considered just throwing up my hands and saying “forget it, I’m going home. I gotta get back to copywriting, my main source of income.”

Deciding right now to never give up is critically important if you want to be a successful magician. And despite my love of copywriting, I still want to succeed as a magician.

You will hit roadblocks. You’ll run into problems. Big ones.

And as my friend Tim used to say, you have three choices when it comes to handling a problem:

1.   Go around it.

2.   Climb over it.

3.   Barrel right straight through it.

But it starts with a decision to move forward.

And the kinds of problems you’ll face are legion. You might try a trick in front of an audience, and they hate it. And it costs a thousand bucks.

What do you do?

Me? I try it a half dozen or so times. If it doesn’t get the reactions, I sell the darn thing. You gotta listen to your audiences.

Try a marketing channel and it doesn’t get you the gigs? This one is tougher. If it’s direct mail, there are a lot of factors. Is your piece aimed at the right audience? Is it the right time? (If you mail to schools in July and expect immediate bookings for August, you’re setting yourself up for failure.)

The point is you must decide how you will handle failure.

If that invisible thread breaks in the middle of a show, what do you do?

When I buy a trick, I think of every conceivable way it can fail. Then I plan on how I will handle it.

If a thread breaks, all you can do is come up with a self-deprecating line and move on.

But my point is, plan on how you’ll handle failures. And move on.

Never give up. It’s that simple.

Oh, and how did I handle my Buffalo school show fiasco, you ask?

I got lucky. Real lucky. And I think this has to do with The Attractor Factor. That’s a topic I’ll tackle in full next week. (And the week after that, I’ll get to my promised way to create an effective USP for your business.)

I walked into the office and owned up to my mistake. I explained I had grabbed the wrong case and had to go home to get the right one. But I could be ready to start the show 30 minutes after our original start time.

They said they could make that work. (Not all schools could have, so I got lucky there.)

I drove home and got the right case and dove back to the school. (I used to travel hundreds of miles away from home so that was another lucky break.)

As I started hurriedly setting up the rest of the show, the principal came in and asked me for a favor.

My show was originally supposed to be for grades K-3. The older grades were going on a field trip.

The field trip got canceled at the last second due to rain…while I was racing back to the school.

“Can we have the older grades attend your show? They’ll be in the back. You don’t even have to call on them.”

I said, “Sure. And I have some of the supplies I need for the older grades’ version of the show I’m doing today.”

She gushed her thanks and hurried off to tell her beleaguered staff they had a way to occupy 200 older students who had just been told they weren’t going on a planned trip.

Suddenly I was the hero. The delayed start time of the show wound up working in the school’s favor.

I was the star of the day. And not only did the older grades come, but I made a point of calling on several older kids to help during the show.

Never give up. It’s that simple.

Next week, I’ll talk about the Attractor Factor.

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:


1. Grab my FREE report for professional working magicians.


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In this 2-hour video training, I’ll reveal exactly what your website needs if you want to succeed as a professional entertainer in the 21st century. Get all the details by clicking HERE.


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Not sure how to move your magic business forward? I’ll analyze your complete magic business (website, market, competition, and more) and give you a complete game plan for getting your performing business to the next level. Find out how by clicking HERE.


4. Work with me privately.


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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