Podcast #306: What a Magician Can Teach You About Being More Successful | The Art of Manliness

Almost every boy goes through a magic phase at some point in his life. When I was eight, I was convinced that I was going to be the next David Copperfield. Besides walking away with some cool tricks to do at parties or to impress your nieces and nephews with, my guest today says your childhood magic phase can impart some important lessons on being successful as an adult. His name is David Kwong. He’s a magician, New York Times crossword creator, and now author of the book Spellbound: Seven Principles of Illusion to Captivate Audiences and Unlock the Secrets of Success. Today on the show, David and I discuss how several key principles from magic can be applied beyond the stage and make you more successful in business and life. We’ll learn what it means to “load up” in magic and how Richard Branson used that principle to start Virgin Airlines, and why storytelling is key for executing both a successful magic trick and a successful business. We also discuss how magicians plan for tricks gone awry and the lessons non-magicians can take from that preparation. We even get into the mutual admiration Theodore Roosevelt and Houdini had for each other and how Houdini personified Roosevelt’s ideal of living “the strenuous life.” Follow us! https://ift.tt/YAd15k http://twitter.com/artofmanliness