Looking back on magic in 2008

As we move into the new year, I look back on how 2008 has been for the magic world.

A lot has happened in 2008. Some good for magic, some not so good.

I remember the NBC reality show about mentalism called “Phenomenon” (and the Criss Angel fight).
- GOOD for magic

Criss Angel’s Cirque du Soleil act.
- NOT good for magic

A TON of new tricks were released to the magic fraternity
- GOOD for magic

A TON of new tricks were released to the magic fraternity
- NOT good for magic

Here at TheMagicTeacher.com, I’ve been busy, busy, busy…

- I released a few tricks and DVDs:

(Unmake, Shelled, the Numismatic DVD, and the S.O.S. DVD)

- I’ve developed a web site community for serious card magicians:
(www.CardTrickInsider.com)

- I’ve written a book for beginning card magicians: (http://www.HighImpactCardTricks.com)

- I’ve maintained my professional performing schedule.

- I’ve had a ton of FUN with magic.

For 2009, I’ve got some pretty big dreams – Including becoming THE BEST and MOST POPULAR magic teacher on the Internet.

Can we do it America? YES WE CAN! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)

I want to inspire others to make great magic and spread wonder the way that Mark Wilson’s Complete Course In Magic inspired me.

I want the next Criss Angel, David Blaine, Doug Henning, or David Copperfield to be a student of me, Tim David.

Hey, maybe it will be you?

I hope so, because I’m going to do whatever I can in 2009 to help you achieve your dreams in magic.

Deal?

Go spread some wonder!

- Tim David

P.S. Did you check out Steve Fearson’s new trick that came out yesterday? It’s pretty good mentalism:

http://emagicsupply.com/137-MentalDirectory-51-custom.html

Guess What I’m Doing Today???

Happy Monday.

I hope your Holiday season has been going well and I hope you were able to use your magic to make someone’s day brighter during the season.

For me, this entire month has been A TON OF FUN!

Except for the fact that my New England Patriots did NOT make the playoffs for the first time in six years.

But hey, I’m not ashamed of an 11 and 5 record. Especially because they went out strong and won the last four games of the season.

Sometimes, even though you do everything right, things just don’t work out for you. All you can do is come back next time and try just as hard if not harder.

Jim Rohn tells the following story:

“A farmer plants his seed. Right before harvest time, a hailstorm comes and wipes out his entire crop. Does he plant his seed again next year?

Yes! I can’t promise you that another hail storm won’t come, but I can promise you that if you DON’T plant any seed, then you won’t even have a chance.”

If YOUR 2008 did not go as planned, if the “hail” rained down on your crops, then it is my hope that you come back and make 2009 your best year ever.

Which is exactly what I’m doing today.

My December was amazing because I MADE it amazing. I planned for it way ahead of time and then I stuck to my plan – regardless of how I felt that day.

Today, and for much of this week, I’ll be planning my entire 2009.

I have BIG dreams and I KNOW that I will accomplish them regardless of any economic climate.

2008 was great, but 2009 will be my best year ever.

How about you?

Go spread some wonder!

- Tim David
See me on FaceBook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Tim-David/44503187521

P.S. I also bought the new book test effect from eMagicSupply today. It’s a pretty cool idea that I haven’t seen before. Very practical and usable.

It’s also one of the funniest tutorial videos I’ve ever seen.

You have a prediction in an envelope.

Someone picks a page in a phone book and looks at a word.

Your prediction is 100% correct.

See it here…

http://emagicsupply.com/137-MentalDirectory-51-custom.html

If you like mentalism, you’ll love this routine.

Christmas Toy Explosion…

My soon-to-be 2 year-old daughter had quite the Christmas this year.

She’s the first (and still only) grandchild on both sides so she was spoiled rotten with new toys!

Seriously, it looks like a Toys ‘R Us exploded in my living room right now!

Toys are EVERYWHERE, but Elmo is still king. The way she plays with her new “Elmo Live” is adorable.

On Thursday we finished up our “12 Days of Christmas” series.

I’ve just got to show you this video…

It’s not magic, but it is the most amazing version of the 12 Days of Christmas song you’ll ever hear.

So if you have never heard this song before, now’s your chance…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kYEK-pxs_A

If you have heard it, you probably have never heard it like this.

There’s also a magic lesson in that video and it is this…

Those singers have serious chops. They are EXCELLENT at what they do and the songs they choose to sing highlight their talent.

But also, they take time to be funny and ENTERTAIN the audience.

As magicians, you need to be EXCELLENT at magic and excellent at entertaining.

Magic alone is not going to get the job done with today’s tough audiences.

You need showmanship, charisma, stage presence, and the “IT” factor.

Don’t worry if you weren’t born with it. Like magic, it can and MUST be practiced.

Go spread some wonder!

- Tim David

P.S. Incidentally, the best selling item throughout the entire 12 Days of Christmas was my card magic book for beginners…

http://www.HighImpactCardTricks.com

But you intermediate and advanced card guys might NOT be aware of its sister website:

http://www.CardTrickInsider.com

The Top Five Tricks I’m Buying With My New Gift Certificates

I hope you had a great Christmas. I know I did.

If you’re like me, then your friends and family buy you gift certificates to magic shops for holidays and birthdays.

Why? Because they know we love magic and can never get enough!

This year at Christmas was no different, and I have a few gift certificates to magic shops that I can’t wait to use.

Here’s what I’m getting…

5. Lior Manor’s Cell Phone Opener

I’m not even sure if this is available at the magic shop I have a certificate for, but if it is, I’m gettin’ it!

This is one that I’ve never seen, and it is relatively expensive. But I’m willing to take a chance because it is put out by a guy I trust, who is a “worker”.

He’s out there DOING this stuff and proving night after night that it “plays well” for real people. That type of experience is invaluable to any performer.

4. Hip-Pocket Mullica

I saw Nate Kranzo lecture recently and he motivated me to get one of these babies.

This routine is proven, and I can carry it around with me wherever I go.

I personally am not a fan of the card-to-wallet effect, but I know that most spectators go ga-ga over it.

3. Banachek’s Psychic Touches

I’ve done other versions of the Psychic Touches before, but only in casual settings. I’m ready to add a “touches” routine to my act and I want to get the advice of another pro like Banachek.

Experience is SO valuable and although I know the “secret”, I still want to improve my magical education by learning from other experienced pros.

2. How to Perform Stand-Up Comedy

I’m not just a magician, I’m an entertainer. It’s important to grow in my ability to entertain audiences.

Remember this, you can always get better at something.

And the number one item I’m going to buy with my gift certificates is…

1. My new S.O.S. Coin Production DVD!

Yep, it’s now available in magic shops around the world.

If you have a gift certificate, then this DVD should be at the top of your list too.

Everyone loves to see money appear…Especially in this economy!

Okay, that was a shameless plug!

But seriously, did you catch all the important lessons in today’s post?

Here they are again if you missed them:

- It’s important to invest in your art if you plan to get better.

- Buy stuff that you plan to USE. Have a purpose for your purchase!

- Buy what your spectators like, not only what YOU like.

- And sometimes it’s okay to buy stuff just to learn the secrets!

Go spread some wonder!

- Tim David

P.S. If you want to watch a demo video of my S.O.S. DVD, it is at:

http://www.TimDavidMagic.com/sos.html

Merry Christmas!

Happy holidays everyone!

Take some time today to be thankful for the truly important things in life.

- Tim David

(P.S. Go Celtics!)

Fraud Alert in the Magic World…

Whatever you do, don’t visit MagicalUniversity.com.

It is a knock-off site that is apparently trying to steal money from people.

I have NO affilliation with this site whatsoever, they are using my name and some content from my web sites (as well as other magicians names and web sites) in order to try and rip people off.

I’m going to be personally working on getting this site taken down and getting those con artists punished to the full extent of the law.

Our LAST Day of Christmas…

Well, it’s been fun.

In the last 12 days together, a lot has happened, and a lot of magic has been shared with the world.

Now, we’ve reached the end and it’s the last day before the REAL Christmas Day arrives.

I’m going to take some time off to be with my family and I suggest you do the same as well.

The Holidays only come once a year! (Unless you count all the other holidays – Like “Flag Day”…)

Since this is the last day, what do you say we go out with a BANG?

For the next TWO days, I’m going to re-activate every single “special of the day” that we’ve had during our 12 Days of Christmas.

That means today and tomorrow you can pick any or all of these…

Solid Breath – $4.98 (save 50%)
http://www.SolidBreath.com

Solstice – $3.48 (50%)
http://www.TheMagicTeacher.com/solstice.html

High Impact Card Tricks – $2.99 (70%)
http://www.HighImpactCardTricks.com

Unmake – $7.48 (50%)
http://www.TimDavidMagic.com/unmake.html

NUTTY! – $2.79 (60%)
http://www.TheMagicTeacher.com/nutty.html

Symbiotic – $5.99 (60%)
http://www.TheMagicTeacher.com/symbiotic.html

Sly Art of Misdirection – $9.97 (50%)
http://www.TheMagicCollege.com/slyart.html

Floating Card – $3.48 (50%)
http://www.Free-Floating-Card-Magic-Trick.com

Numismatic DVD & Download – $17.97 (40%)
http://www.TimDavidMagic.com/numismatic

S.O.S. Coin DVD & Download – $26.94 (40%)
http://www.TimDavidMagic.com/sos.html

The MEGA Package (Everything + more) – $77.81 (50%)
http://www.TheMagicTeacher.com/mega.html

So if you missed something, now is your chance to grab it — Today and Tomorrow ONLY.

Once Christmas is over, so is this special.

For now, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

And don’t forget to spread some wonder!

- Tim David Claus (I’m gonna miss being Tim David Claus)

P.S. Thanks for being a part of my magic world in 2008. I’ve got a lot of great stuff  planned for you in 2009, so stay tuned! It’s going to be a rockin’ year.

Are You Ready For “The Question”?

It’s already Christmas Eve Eve!

This year has just flown by…And so have the “12 days of Christmas”. We’re already up to “11 Pipers Piping”.

Tomorrow will be our last day of Christmas (and then the real Christmas day happens on 12/25).

But we ain’t done yet! Let’s get to today’s big lesson…

-=-=-=-=- “THE QUESTION” -=-=-=-=-

When people find out you’re a magician, they probably ask you “The Question”…

“Can I see a trick?”

Now you’re on the spot. What do you do?

Do you sheepishly say, “Uh, I don’t have any tricks with me right now”…

Or do you hit ‘em right in the jaw with a strong trick?

A great magician will always have something s/he can do at a moment’s notice – with no preparation required.

It’s called “impromptu magic” and you simply must have some strong impromptu effects in your toolbox if you want to be taken seriously as a magician.

What’s yours?

I have several, but one of them I really like is “Solid Breath”.

It doesn’t require anything, and it really boggles people’s minds.

Watch the video demo at:
http://www.SolidBreath.com

(You guessed it, this is today’s special Christmas deal!)

Solid Breath is normally $9.97, but today ONLY it is 50% off. (That’s just $4.48)

Get your Solid Breath (2008 edition) now at:

http://www.SolidBreath.com

Go spread some wonder!
- Tim David

P.S. I’m going to post this email at my blog, and here’s what I want YOU to do:

Post a comment telling me what YOUR favorite Impromptu trick is.

That’s it. Whatever trick you do when people ask you, “The Question”, post it at my blog:

http://www.TimDavidMagic.com

I’ll pick one post at random and that person will win a special prize from The Magic Teacher.

I haven’t decided what the prize will be yet, but it will be good, I promise.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

One Thing A Magician Must Never Do…

Don’t you hate it when someone leaves a door open and you want it shut?

In my house, the doors must be closed because we have a 2-year-old (well, almost 2) running around and we don’t want her to fall down a set of stairs.

I especially don’t want her in my office where I keep all my inventory!

She can destroy dozens of DVDs and decks of cards in mere seconds.

And if she gets into the spare office, then she’ll see all her Christmas gifts!

What does any of this have to do with performing MAGIC?

Everything.

The great Johnny Thompson once taught that a great magician must “close all
the doors” on the spectator.

An “open door” represents any possible explanation for how you do a trick.

Great magicians don’t give the spectator ANY hope of figuring out how they did
any trick or routine. How about you?

Every time the spectator thinks he has an idea as to how a trick works, a great
magician will “slam the door” on that idea.

How?

Through his words, his actions, his patter, and his skill.

For example, a spectator might say to himself, “I think he’s palming it.” (Open door) Then you show your hand apparently empty. “But that’s impossible because he just showed his hand empty” (You’ve just slammed the door shut!)

As a magician, you must anticipate where any open doors might be, and then slam them shut before the spectator can even get there.

If you leave them with something that they can’t even begin to possibly explain, then you’ve created a pretty high-impact moment for them.

Here’s another example…

When people (magicians included) see my Solstice card effect, they can’t explain it because all the “doors” have been slammed shut…

- The way my left hand holds the cards in a “Death Grip”

- The fact that my right hand doesn’t even touch the deck

- The fact that it happens so quickly

All of these things are designed to close the doors in the minds of the spectator who is watching the effect.

And guess what?

It works, baby.

Your homework is to take one of your tricks and find a way to close all of the doors in the minds of your spectators.

Go spread some wonder!
- Tim David

P.S. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget today’s special deal in honor of the “12 days of Christmas”.

Since it’s the Winter Solstice, it only makes sense that the deal of the day should be 50% off of my “Solstice” Death-Grip Card Change download!

http://www.TheMagicTeacher.com/solstice.html

So instead of $6.97, you’ll get it today only for $3.48.

P.P.S. Remember, the discount won’t show up until the checkout page (the page that says “Tim David” at the top).

What every magician needs to know

Today is day 9 of our email mini series (12 days of Christmas).

Today’s theme? “9 Ladies Dancing”.

I’m going to give you a secret about magic that, if you learn, will make ladies dance with excitement after watching you perform magic.

(Some gentlemen may dance too…)

Here’s the big secret:

The ONLY thing that matters about your magic performance is how it impacts your spectators.

Does it inspire them? Move them? Thrill them? Make them laugh?

What is the “impact” that your magic has?

And here’s the REALLY big secret that every magician needs to know…

“Fooling” your audience is not enough.

Take another look at your magic and see how you can add another dimension to it and make your performances more impactful.

I’ve written an ebook for beginning magicians called “High-Impact Card Tricks”

It is a collection of tricks (with video tutorials) that carry a huge impact when presented for real spectators in real situations.

You see, magicians are not supposed to create their acts for other magicians.

We need to perform for the rest of the world! After performing professionally for as long as I have, I’ve realized that certain tricks work better than others in the “real world”.

The “impactful” tricks are the ones that I’ve included in this book.

Read about it and enjoy a WHOPPING 70% discount (only $2.99) at:

http://www.HighImpactCardTricks.com

Go spread some wonder!
- Tim David
http://www.HighImpactCardTricks.com

P.S. Today’s deal of the day will expire in 24 hours. Don’t miss this one.