Magicians & Audience
Take a seat!
Photo by Julius Drost on Unsplash
Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts.
The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course,it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".
“The Prestige”
Marred by the contrast of duality, every corner of the universe seems conflicted. Dark matter and photons are woven together, creating this amazing illusion of light and dark, day and night. Then there are philosophical and sometimes spiritual contrasts like Yin and Yang, Evil and Devine, Good and Bad etc.
This duality expresses itself in our social lives. There are doers, and there are those on whom things are being done. There are drivers, and then there are those who are being driven, mostly against their will and by force. The doers, The Performers, are the magicians who have learned a specific skill to command your attention. On the other hand, there is the audience who are in awe and mesmerized by the magic. The magic is nothing but an illusion created skilfully by the magicians. There are just two things that separate Magician from the Audience:
Trick or Knowledge of the Trick
A skill that comes with Practice
The Magicians:
These are born with a fire in their belly. They are never satisfied. They challenge the Status Quo. They are continuously striving to improve. They are learning, failing and learning. These are the magicians you will see in great teachers, explorers, entrepreneurs, business leaders etc. They don't intend to fool the audience, and rather the audience is unable to catch up to magicians' speed and pace. Being a magician is a choice. It's a choice that is incredibly difficult but highly satisfying. The magicians have a germ that needs to come out and explore. These are the people who take humanity forward.
The Audience:
At times we want to be part of the audience. But mostly, it's a state we accept as a matter of fact due to lack of perseverance. When you see people like Elon Musk or Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs who are/were magicians in their own field. Do you not want to be like them? Watching a magic trick is fun, but would you not like to be on stage one day and perform the trick yourself. Would you not like to own a company that solves pressing problems of the day? Would you not like to be an actor who inspires you the most? Would you not like to be the leader who you look up to?
The social world is clearly divided between the performers and the audience. While it is certainly ok to be amongst the crowd sometimes but in certain fields, which is the field of your interest, you should be solving the most pressing problems of the day. That will create magic.
We can create magic in things that we love to do. What is needed?
Knowledge and Skill.
The world is waiting for your third act, the hardest part, the part we call.
"The Prestige".