Hocus Focus
The Trick Brain of The Entrepreneur
Recently I was fortunate enough to perform magic for the good people of Nike at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando. A woman expressed her amazement and respect for my entrepreneurship. She explained her dad was an entrepreneur and from her perspective that lifestyle sucked because failure is around every corner and personally she could never deal with those odds. I agree 100%, it can suck and it's not as easy as some of us make it look.
What's my secret? Magicians are known for withholding secrets but right now I'll tell you a little bit about how I keep focused, enthusiastic and interested in my work.
First off, my success stems from belief. I have to believe in myself and what I am doing. Any great salesperson stands behind and believes in the product they are representing or selling. Many times even uses the product themselves.
The belief is only a small part because as soon as you start on your journey, failure will slap you in the face and beat you down every single step of the way. Looking back on how I got to perform at Disney World was a really bumpy road. I had to sacrifice and negotiate a lot of things in my personal and professional life. In fact, I feel like being an entrepreneur is 90% failure and 10% success.
The way I get around the reality and fear of these odds is something I call Hocus Focus. A phrase I came up with around age 16 as a young magician in Portland Oregon. Over the years this idea has grown and been refined. It started with a Thomas Edison quote, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
As a kid that was one of the most profound things, I had ever heard. To have that frame of mind you are bound for success or in Edison's case just rip off Tesla, but that's a different story. The thing that I became very good at is not letting failure get me down. A wise man once told me, "The more you hear the word NO, the closer you are to hearing the word YES!"
What is your definition of failure or success? To me, failure has become all about definition. If I perceive or define something as a failure then that is what it will be, but if I perceive it as a small obstacle to maneuver around then that changes everything for me mentally. What the average person defines as a failure I will quickly find a way to define as success or just irrelevant. If there is a contract or show I'm in the running for and I don't book it, it's not a failure. It only means that something better or more suitable is on its way. Whatever it was is not right for me at that time. See how I flip that, it's like magic!
Now I actually embrace failure because I know as soon as it happens success is waiting behind it somewhere. All I have to do is be patient and stay focused on the goal that I have set. My mom used to tell me as a kid, "Where there is a will, there is a way." She also told me I could do and be anything I want.
One of my favorite actors Jim Carey gave this amazing speech to the graduating class of 2014 at the Maharishi University of Management. He has mentioned the following in many other interviews and it always resonates with me. "I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love."
I think that is a wonderful point of view, so I took a chance and moved to Orlando.
I think that is a wonderful point of view, so I took a chance and moved to Orlando.
After believing in myself and taking a chance, I have to do what the average person doesn't want to do. "If you do what you've always done then you'll get what you've always gotten." Tony Robbins. This means I need to do things I've never done to go where I haven't gone. It takes some serious self-discipline to push yourself to those places because fear is constantly telling you failure is imminent. The great thing about this is that I've gained so much experience, knowledge and learned a great deal about myself through boldly going where most are afraid to go.
The Final most important thing of all in being an entrepreneur is to be true to yourself. I don't ask people to accept me, I just accept myself for who I am and what I do. Through this truth came a raw connection to like-minded people and actually helped attract my goals and ideas much faster than I could have ever imagined.
There you have it. My secret to living the life of an entrepreneur is to accept failure and transform it into a success through patience and diligence. This line of work or lifestyle isn't for everyone but it's definitely for me. I'd love to hear your thoughts and stories as well, so please comment below and remember to like and share.
Photo by Tony Sibley © 2004
Kardenni, a magician in Orlando.
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