Designer Performs Magic, Turns Dream Into Reality

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

In today's story, a graphic designer pursues his lifelong passion of magic and becomes a resident magician. It turns out to be not only the perfect complement to the routine of a creative professional who works on his own, it also ends up paying a good portion of his monthly bills. I like this story because I've always liked the idea of being a magician myself, but I haven't actually ever gone out to study the practice. Unfortunately, you can't just, you know, wave a wand, at least as far as I've discovered so far. So I get the chance to live vicariously through people like David, who you'll hear about in this story.

Also, the real-time update, today I am headed to Austin, Texas. I'm excited to be at Book People Tonight, one of my favorite bookstores in North America and really the world. So I look forward to seeing some folks there, and then I believe tomorrow I am on to Denver. The tour is always an exciting time for me, and speaking of living vicariously, if I'm not able to see you personally on this tour, I hope you enjoy the updates as I go from place to place. You can also follow those on my Instagram at 193 countries, 193 countries.

All right, stay tuned for "Designer performs magic turns dreams into reality." Ever since he was given a magic book of simple tricks as a child, David Nolan, not to be confused with David Copperfield, has been enthralled by magic. But while he enjoyed his tricks in private, performed occasionally at a friend or relative's birthday party, he never sought to practice his art in public. To David, magic was not just about performance, it was about the theory and history behind every trick. Mastery was his priority, not the spotlight that came with performing. But later in life, when David heard that a magic-themed bar in his area was holding auditions for magicians, he jumped at the opportunity.

A British graphic designer by day, David was happy with his work and never considered performing magic for strangers, but realized this was a challenge he just had to take up. So even though the idea of performing was terrifying, he auditioned for the role. His years of practice would pay off as the bar hired him as their resident magician. This gig laid the foundation on which David would build his new creative outlet. Six weeks after landing the role at the magic bar, he performed his first show.

It was during this act that he realized how much he loved the adrenaline he felt as he performed each part of his carefully rehearsed set. Even though doing three stand-up shows each night was draining, he knew that there would be no better reward than amazing others. It was also a good compliment to his day job because life as a designer meant a lot of work in isolation, and performing magic gave him an opportunity for creative expression and meeting new people. Determined to accelerate his magic career, David decided that he needed to build a name for himself beyond the bar. He would give out his business cards to spectators who came to watch him, which sometimes turned into bookings for him even months down the road.

He also resolved to build up his social media pages. This turned into another avenue for potential clients to get in touch after watching his show. It wasn't quite as easy as pulling a rabbit out of a hat, but those efforts turned into opportunities to perform at corporate events, private parties, and even weddings. Quite the sleight of hand for someone who not too long ago had never performed publicly. Of course, this kind of performance is not easy, especially at bars.

David would sometimes have to engage with awkward, aggressive, or just tipsy spectators. He also learned that he wouldn't get a warm crowd every show. But he says that's just part of performing magic. You have to learn to convert the disbelievers as well. So he turned it into a mental challenge and now says that the more difficult the customer, the calmer and more composed he becomes.

For any aspiring magicians out there, David has been happy to share some advice. There's no magician's code stopping that. He says you start by having a solid routine that you can perform blindfolded. Put together a showreel, some kind of video, no matter how small and limited it might be, because these days anyone booking you will want to see it. Also, magic is ultimately a sensory experience, and you need to make sure that people are as intrigued as you are.

Once you have the basics down, you can start expanding your repertoire and then catering your performances to different audiences. This advice has certainly yielded good results for David. Although he initially had no intention of making money from magic, he's now managed to generate enough profit in year one to cover his share of the mortgage. With stronger branding, marketing efforts and an increased skill set, he's confident that he'll do even better in his second year. Like David, you too can turn your dream into reality.

It might take more than a wave of that wand, but the reveal is worth the effort. So here's a thought. If you're feeling discontented, especially in your career, maybe the answer isn't necessarily that you need to quit your job. Maybe you don't need a complete career change. Maybe what you need is a hybrid lifestyle.

So here we have a situation of a guy who's a designer by day, magician by night. Often this kind of pairing works well. It reminded me a bit of episode 252 of the show long ago. This guy from Dubai, who is a managerial accountant, earns $1,000 a month hosting poetry slams. So there you've got an accountant / poet.

Often that sort of, you know, professional / creative pairing works well. Sometimes I hear from people who are managerial accountants by day and they start doing accounting or bookkeeping by night. It doesn't always go as well. Sometimes it does, but often it's really important to find something that is a different sort of creative focus. That way you're doing one thing for your day job, and then you can totally switch mindset to go and do that second thing.

I also want to give a shout out to Nate Stanilworth, a good friend of mine who has a book called Here is Real Magic. I was reminded of that book as I worked on this episode. Nate is actually coming to the World Domination Summit this year. I'm excited to have him speak and present and maybe even perform on the main stage. And if you're looking for a wonderful, very personal history of magic and how it's changed somebody's life and how he goes and seeks to rediscover it in India, just a beautiful book. Again, it's called Here is Real Magic.

All right, that's it for today. Inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better. Today's shout outs, including links to everything I mentioned, are at sidehustleschool.com/886. Thanks so much. The 100 Side Hustles Tour is well underway, and I look forward to continuing to bring you episodes each day as I go along.

Have a wonderful day wherever you are in the world. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. From the Onward Project.