Friday, January 14, 2011

Magic Moments mean....?

Wow - I've always wanted to do this because I can't imagine that I am the only person who thinks the way that I do. What I mean by that is, how I feel about "affecting" people in a positive way.
This is the first of many posts I hope and I'm looking so forward to getting some others on board here so that we can share with everyone how we have and can continue to "affect" people positively.
I am a professional magician - I am also a professional salesman. Personally, I think the two go together nicely. In each profession, I have myself in the position to positively affect individuals who are in a lot of cases, total strangers. I feel that once they feel what I'm feeling or attempting to convey...we're not strangers anymore. Therefore, I feel like I've had the awesome opportunity to make friends all over the country.
"Affecting" people is not about telling them what to do or about guiding them or coaching them...at least not to me it isn't. It's about how you made them feel. It's about something you did or said that sparked a positive emotion in them. I've often wondered after one of my magic shows when people have come up to say a few nice words after, shake my hands, or in a lot of cases, give me a hug, how those individuals lives may have changed because they took the time to spend some time with me. I know that my life changed because I spent time with them.
So...going forward, I want to hear about your "Magic Moments". Those awesome little stories that affected your life because you affected someone elses.
I'll start it off by telling you one of the most amazing things that ever happened to me:
A few years ago, I was hired to perform at an elementary school for their semester rewards program. As a magician, I love these types of programs, because it's just a lot of fun and you aren't tasked with selling a message to the kids. Three quarters of the way through the show, I had this cute little girl come up on the stage to do a trick with me - "the spotted bag" for you magicians out there. She was a little cautious and a little timid but nothing out of the ordinary that I could see. We started doing the trick together and she giggled off and on - at one point, I told her to think of a magic word, she fell deep into thought - it was very cute. Once I was ready, I said, "ok, nice and loud, shout out the magic word!" She blurted out "Abracadabra!" and a very weird silence fell over the room - she began to giggle again and then the rest of the kids started to laugh. We finished the trick, she took a bow with a big smile and everyone loved it. Oddly, I noticed a couple of teachers in the back of the room wiping tears from their eyes. At the end of the show, I was packing up and sparked up a conversation with the janitor who was helping me clean up the mess I have a tendency to make at kid shows. He said to me "wow, must have been a great show, I heard you made Lucy talk". I said "who's Lucy?" He explained that she was the little girl I had up on stage who yelled out abracadabra. As he was explaining this to me, two teacher approached me to fill me in the details. Goosebumps came over me and a huge lump grew in my throat as one teacher explained, "Lucy's been here for nearly three years. No one's ever heard her talk."
I don't know how Lucy is doing today - I wish I did, but I'm sure she hasn't forgotten that "magic moment" where for a couple of minutes she felt it was perfectly ok to be just like all the other kids. It is truly one of the most compelling experiences of my life...I'll never forget it and I know that I am who I am today because of it.
Thanks for taking the time to read about one of my greatest "magic moments". Please take the time to comment and or if you don't mind, share one of yours.
Kevin

2 comments:

  1. I enjoyed your story. I as well got goose bumps and brought tears to my eyes. What a blessing for Lucy. I think I would contact the school and find out more about her.

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  2. What a wondeful story. It's amazing how magic can make such an impact. Great article. Keep up the good work and positivness.
    Mark Presley

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