Creativity and Fame

Why we misvalue creativity

We're living in an age where people want to be famous for no reason whatsoever. They're just in love with the idea of being famous and of getting attention from every single side. This might have to do with people wanting to be rich, and famous people usually acquire wealth, but I feel that it has much more to do with insecurity and enjoying a feeling of approval.

Magic is, of course, no different. Many magicians dream of being the creator of a successful magic product and wish to have their products on the shelves of magic shops. There is nothing wrong with this, or with wanting to be famous. However, people don't seem to want to work for it. People want to acquire all the goodness at the end of the journey, without ever actually going onto the beaten path.

In the magic community, we have this weird assumption that if you're being creative enough, you will have a routine worth sharing, one that will sell at the dealers, and will eventually be your golden ticket to fame. 

Because of this, we pay attention to all the wrong details. Rather than studying a routine, the basics, and becoming adequate in all of the ways of performing magic. We start focusing on the early stages of making the routine "original". This is a huge mistake. I'm sorry to break it to you. Changing the double lift for a top change doesn't make it original or a new effect. It makes it handle better for sure, but changing just that little factor doesn't give you the right to publish the routine under your own name. You will lose more respect than you will gain through this.

If you genuinely want to be well respected by your peers, then learn the basics and do them better than anyone else, or get really good at a specific field in magic and know more about it than anyone in the world.

The best magicians in the world tend to respect well-thought-out and greatly constructed magic from adequate performers; doing the basics better than everyone else will get you to places you've only ever wanted to dream of. Look at Ben Earl, Michael Vincent, and Gabi Pareras. The basics might not be why we remember them, but they're the foundation for everything they've built.

-Rico