When I was 17, I showed my 14 year old cousin a card trick. I fooled his simple brain, and I was rubbing it in. Instead of being amazed, he was annoyed. He snapped and said,
“You think you’re so smart, because you tricked me. You’re not. You have no friends, no girlfriend. You sit in front of the TV and practice magic tricks all day. You’re a hermit.”
That day, I learned the most important lesson in magic: It doesn’t matter how good you are. If you’re not likable, you’re not going very far.
Years later, I was working as a security guard. I had a master’s degree, and I was feeling sorry for myself because my 12 dollar an hour job only required a high school diploma.
I’d once been a professional magician, but left because the economy took a downturn and I wanted job security.
Unfortunately, the job was security. But as a security guard, I started applying little lessons from my days of magic. Like the one above: be personable and professional.
Another one: be opportunistic.
As a magician, I would have spectators try to guess the top card of the deck. They would say, “four of diamonds” or another random card. I would turn over the top card, and it would not be the four of diamonds.
“But how cool would that have been if it was?” I would joke, and start the actual card trick.
But! Once in a while, the random top card really would be the one that they guessed. Suddenly, from their point of view, that opener was a miracle.
Be opportunistic, even a long shot gets in once in a while.
Back to security. I was a contracted guard working for Chanel in their corporate office. I was friendly and professional. While I wasn’t happy about eating humble pie every night, I knew that this job could open doors. It was a longshot but…
Eventually, when there was an opening in the mailroom, I was uniquely situated to leverage the opportunity. People seemed to like me, and I was politely opportunistic in raising my hand for the role.
And I got it!
Suddenly, I was a full time employee of a major corporation, benefits and all. I still didn’t feel great about being just the mailroom guy. But it was a huge step up.
Another magic lesson: no work is below you.
In the magic days, when times were tough, I would take whatever gigs I could, like children’s parties and tutoring kids. It wasn’t work that I found artistically interesting, but it was work.
I didn’t want to do kids magic, but I put my heart and soul into every show. I knew the responsibility I had, being the very first magician that most of these little ones had ever seen. I showed up and made the most of it.
That same mindset followed me as I pushed a mail cart now. It wasn’t the work I wanted, but I’d make the most of it. I’d be the best mail guy that they had ever seen at Chanel.
Stacking on the three skills above — being nice and professional, being opportunistic, and making the most of the hand that was dealt — I was quickly promoted to senior clerk.
Now I was managing a facilities team responsible for three offices and nearly 400 employees. Suddenly the dark days led to more opportunities.
Eventually, that mailroom job led to a corporate career that has seen my job title grow into the executive ranks. There have been a lot of ups and downs in that 12 year journey. But, the successes that I had drew a lot from the lessons of magic.
Delicious little magic life savers.
This is the beginning of a new series on Vladdit – Magic Lifesavers: how the secrets of magic help find success in work and in life.
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