First, some immortal words:
I’ve got something to say, boys,
I’ve got something to say.
Just as soon as I can find a way, boys,
I’ve got something to say.
Okay, maybe not exactly immortal words, but they’re pretty good ones from David Allen Coe from his 1980 album “I’ve Got Something to Say” — in which, ironically, much of radio didn’t feel he had anything to say they wanted to hear. (What else was new?)
I’ve been a David Allen Coe fan since 1977 when I first heard, “Willie, Waylon and Me.” I own every one of his (mainstream) released albums through 1982’s “D.A.C.” at which time I agreed with radio. Then, in a form of irony usually reserved for Quentin Tarantino movies, radio decided Coe did have something to say and subsequently began playing his songs. (For the record, my favorite DAC album remains, “Human Emotions” — his “Back in Black” if you will.)
At the very beginning of this blog last year I mentioned that blogging as a concept is not new. A few of us had online journals many years ago. Back then — as now — you decide you have something to say, and you say it. Getting people to read it, on the other hand, is the trick.
These days, with blogging software making the process of online publishing as transparent as is, say, J. Lo’s insincerity, you don’t necessarily have to have something to say in order to go forth and say it. You only need to know how to find Blogger and you’re off to the races. (Here I am torn between linking to an example of what I just wrote, and being polite. I’ll lean towards politeness for the moment.)
Now, this is not an anti-blogging/anti-blogger post. Far from it, actually. I’m a big, big fan of laying it out there and letting the viewing public chew you up and spit you out, if that’s what revs your engine. Writing is a creative endeavor (unless you’re of the recent plague of recyclers who take what’s already been done and write it in a different font and/or color) and, by it’s very nature, creation is given to interpretation and critique.
And, in case you haven’t noticed, some people just don’t take criticism very well. (Here I again avoid the intense desire to link to a perfect example.)
The best thing those people could do for themselves is to get over it, already. Not only does no one really care about the emotional state of a blogger they will never meet in person, the very act of demonstrating through your blog that you are unhappy is like hanging a big, thick, juicy steak around your neck and hopping into the lion’s den, with or without hoisting the one-finger salute to the Big Guy in charge.
Color me silly, but I can think of a few better ways to spend an afternoon. But if it makes you happy, please, don’t forget to staple the “Kick Me” sign to your rear end, too.
No, this is about actually having something to say.
Escamoteurettes is not a daily. These days, it’s not even a weekly. It is, literally, as I state at the top of this page: my occasional outbursts. Sometimes I just don’t believe I have anything to say so I resist the crack-like urge to type. (Note that I didn’t say I was always successful…)
Unfortunately, this is not an urge many others can avoid. Proof of this is found by going to any blog hosted by Blogger.com and click the “Next Blog” link at the top right corner. Do that for ten minutes straight and you may very well consider moving to a mountainside in Montana in your own little wooden shack. (Or maybe not. Who am I to say.)
Of course, blogging isn’t the sole proprietor of impropriety or literary vacuity approaching the life-sucking black-holeness of, say, a Jessica Simpson. You can find plenty of nothingness in the present crop of releases in the world of magic and mentalism. Not all releases, naturally, but enough to concern you if you’re at all interested in the art or not a dealer.
You’d think that here in the year 2005, with the amount of available knowledge flowing like a river, useful, quality books would be falling from the sky. But that’s just not the case. I think too many authors confuse wanting to having something useful to say with actually having something useful to say. Not a minor distinction, but apparently as difficult to see for some as their bald spot in a mirror.
I mentioned my hell shelf not so long ago — filled with relatively useless books and booklets. They stand in testimony to the fact that you should not judge a book by its cover. But also the fact that, sometimes — maybe oftentimes — you have to waste a lot of money to find value.
So when I find something written by someone who actually has something of value to say, I like to spread the joy. And with that said, let us explore Corporate America.
For many people, Corporate America leaves a taste in their mouth comparable to cooked spinach someone left on the counter for twelve years, or yesterday’s Big Mac. Either way, it’s just not good.
But for other people, Corporate America is a way of life, sometimes apologized for in the same way you might follow up a sneeze with, “Pardon me. Lord, where’d that come from.”
I’ve long held the opinion that life isn’t what happens to you; life is your reaction to the things that happen to you. We’ve all been both beneficiary and whipping boy to what corporate America is. And, really, attaching to “corporate America” the same sorts of actions and feelings and opinions that you would, say, to Dr. Phil, is not fair. (Mostly to corporate America, but I’ll leave it at that.)
When an art form — like mystery entertainment — crosses roads with business, not everyone is enamored. There are some who hold the opinion that art should stay pure — whatever that means — and not have intercourse with business. This point of view fails to consider that art continues as a direct result of someone, somewhere, doing business with someone else. It’s like complaining about taxes — no one (I know personally) loves them, but try living your life without the benefit of them. (This is closely related to the concept of going a week without a rationalization.)
But this is not a debate on the pros and cons of going pro. This is about the recent e-book from Richard Osterlind titled, “The Business of Magic“.
Value in stark honesty. You learn lesson number one in the preface.
I’ve been around the block a few times myself. I can take my experiences in several wholly unrelated disciplines over the last thirty or so years and apply them to their unrelated brethren and note some similarities in success. And from that personal experience, I can say that Richard Osterlind knows exactly what he’s talking about in this e-book.
In every secret society there are a vast number of members who would just as well prefer the secrets remain secrets. Anyone breaking out of that mold is treated in much the same as someone breaking a union picket line (with or without the broken kneecaps.) So it is in the world of magic and mentalism.
I’ve spilled much digital ink chronicling the uproar over Richard Osterlind’s “Easy to Master Mental Miracles” DVD set. For all the hue and cry, I noticed the world is still spinning many months subsequent to their publication. Funny, that.
The world of corporate mystery entertainers is, necessarily, smaller than the general population of magicicians and mentalists who sell their performances in various venues. How large — or small — is the corporate world is anyone’s guess. Getting everyone to admit they are part of that world is like getting everyone who watches to admit they tune in each week to “American Idol” or “The Apprentice.”
I’ll admit to it. I’ve admitted to it before. I’m rather proud of the work I’ve done in the corporate world. It’s not my interest to be a well-known name in our relatively small world. I’m perfectly happy making a better than average living at it, though. Still, I haven’t written a how-to and have no interest in doing that, either. Osterlind, on the other hand, has spilled some of the more important beans on the table. The results may needle some in the business, but I’m not one of them. And here’s why.
First, good, working magicians and mentalists are at the capricious mercy of watercolor-painted warriors who ply their trade in an unprofessional manner without any regard whatever to how their actions may impact those of us who are actually serious about this stuff. I have to assume the thought just never crosses their minds that they are denegrating the art (and business) of magic with hack performances that would embarrass even a two year-old. (I hold on to this as an excuse because the only other explanation is just too sad to consider.)
One can make a large living in the corporate world. Now, some may argue this point with me — and that’s fine — but it’s my opinion that the big money goes to business people who incorporate magic in their presentations and not the converse of that. The world of business is about business.
Next, there are, essentially, two ways one can learn the business end of magic: trial and error (lots of trial, lots of error), or finding someone who has fought, won and lived long enough to tell the story.
The bigger problem with the trial-and-error approach is it assumes the trial-and-erroror is wise enough to note what doesn’t work and try something else. That takes dedication, awareness, and lots of new business card designs. Most burn out before “making it” — it’s hard, a lot harder than most are willing to admit.
In my opinion, the second method is preferable. The issue with that, though, is finding someone who isn’t blowing smoke up your nose and charging you $295 for the privilege.
There is precious little in the way of on-the-money publications on the corporate end of the magic business. Those who are making it are generally too busy making it to spend time telling you how to do it, too. It’s been my experience that those who do shout from the rooftops about how they are spilling the “real secrets” of corporate magic probably would just as well slip from the roof and hold their peace.
On the other hand, Richard’s latest e-book is long on real-world, practical, valuable advice. I’m not going to spend a lot of time convincing you of either the opportunities available in this corner of the magic world, or of the value Osterlind brings to you in this modestly priced book. In the course of eight chapters, Richard covers the core knowledge you need to have to be effective and successful in the corporate world (although Osterlind mentions the contents are applicable in other areas as well.)
What I will say is this: if you have any interest in making serious money in the world of magic, get this e-book now. It, Ken Weber’s, “Maximum Entertainment” and common sense are all you really need to add to your working repertoire to earn a very nice, sustainable living doing magic and mentalism in the corporate world.
Osterlind definitely has something to say. I think you’d do well to listen.
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