I’m sorry I haven’t been posting on my blog, as of late. We are engaged in a HUGE project that is taking precedence over just about everything else. Orders are going out, but everything else is being put on the back burner for another month or so.
I am dying to let you know what this is all about, but will have to remain silent for the time being. I promise to fill you in on all the details once I am able to.
But all is well and thriving, so be patient!
Richard
It has been 30 years since ThoughtScan was originally developed. It has undergone the “test of time” and is now in the arsenal of many top mentalists.
In order to celebrate, we are offering Guidebook Number One - The Act as a free bonus along with the ThoughtScan package. This book contains invaluable tips and ideas for use with the apparatus.
Note: if you already own the first Guidebook, you can receive a discount. See our store for details.
In these days when so many different Q&A routines are being offered, go with the best. ThoughtScan can be used COMPLETELY SURROUNDED. The information is easily available without any fumbling and allows access to ALL the information AT ONCE. There is no chance of dropping anything. The apparatus is completely separate from the collection process with no VISUAL CONNECT which is VITAL to a professional presentation. By the time you begin, you are TOTALLY CLEAN. And yes, 30 years of experience have proven that ThoughtScan looks completely NORMAL!
Invest in the CUSTOM MADE apparatus the PROS USE. In addition to the board, you will also receive a detailed instruction book for doing the WHOLE ACT. Many consider this alone to be worth the price of the outfit. This routine has been refined over many years and is PERFECT! You will never need anything more and the apparatus will last you a LIFETIME!
Don’t be taken in by the latest passing fads that don’t really work. Don’t pay big bucks for a few items you can buy in your local stationary store for under $10. Don’t be taken in by the hype!
GO WITH THE BEST! THOUGHTSCAN!
In order to continue the theme of my last post, I want to talk about laughing and smiling!
I have written about this in some of my books, but I know not everyone buys all of them. (I have no idea why???) But let me give a condensed version here.
People laugh for other reasons than humor. They laugh when their team wins a game. They laugh when the hero in the movie gets out of a tight spot and beats the bad guy. They laugh when they win $100,000 in the lottery! And they laugh when they see a complete mystery!
Smiling may not be as grandiose as laughing, but it’s in the same category. People smile when they are happy! There is nothing as contagious as a smile. If you want your audience to smile, you have to smile, too. As a matter of fact, we could all probably smile more. Aren’t the people you really like the ones who always seem to have a smile on their face? Now I’m not suggesting that you walk around with a smile on your face at all times, even when a dog is biting your leg! But do me a favor; try to smile a few times more tomorrow than you did today. And go for a few more the day after that.
If you walk out on stage and smile, your audience will, too. Before long, they will be laughing at your jokes and at the mysteries you create! And then they will applaud because they love you and so will the people who booked you watching the rest loving you! And then the entire world will be great!
Richard
A mentalist is supposed to be a master of the mind. Probably the most important skill he can demonstrate is mastery in reading his audience.
Knowing the proper tone to adapt, the kind of speech, the type of humor and how to address each assistant is paramount to success. The mentalist must be able to control the moods and temperament as he progresses along in his show. The only way this can happen is if he connects with them right from the start.
I am of the old school and believe the only really reliable way to do this is to really love your audience. To love your audience as a whole you have to love people individually.
When you meet someone, whether on the stage or in life, if you find yourself mentally passing judgment before you really get to know them, stop and rethink your mental process. You may be going places that aren’t deserved and you may have it all wrong. Always give the benefit of a doubt to each individual you meet and see if you don’t have more friends at the end of the day.
In your professional career, whatever your status, the more friends you have, the further you will go.
Richard
I get a real kick reading the Magic Café. It’s very much like watching politics on the news where up is down and black is white. The logic so often displayed is just plain ignorant and completely self serving.
What I am about to say does not concern anyone in particular. The problem mentioned in my last posting has been resolved. This is a GENERAL COMMENT that pertains to many new products put on the market lately.
INDEPENDENTLY CREATING AN EFFECT THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN PUBLISHED IS NO EXCUSE FOR MARKETING IT!
It is the duty of the creator to thoroughly research an effect before he puts it out. It is not a question of whether or not something was deliberately copied, it is whether or not it has been already on the market, is still on the market, if it is new or ancient and HOW CLOSE the new offering is to it.
Now along these lines there are degrees and degrees. I talk about this in my new Guidebook. As I said there, I don’t demand that everything sold be entirely different than everything already marketed, but it needs to be different enough. If a person wants to publish a new ambitious card routine, I don’t think he needs to go through the entire history of ambitious card routines crediting each and every contributor, but that also does not mean he can publish a routine that is so much like someone else’s that it is 90% the same! The only justification is, of course, he gets permission from that person to do so.
If Magician A invents and markets a disappearing wand that works on a fairly new principle, Magician B cannot make and sell the same wand if Magician A has had his on the mainstream market and it is well known. Magician B cannot say his is different because it is silver instead of black. He cannot say that he is justified because Magician A didn’t invent the idea of a magic wand or the concept of making it disappear. And he certainly cannot say he is justified because he was unaware of Magician A’s wand and was busy in his tool shed working on his wand idea.
That is logic, pure and simple.
But it doesn’t matter. Too many magicians post on the Café for the simple sake of looking for an argument and having the delight of seeing their words in print. No amount of reasoning or common sense will ever change their behavior and that’s why I don’t post there anymore.
Richard
Many, many years ago I developed an effect called, “Out of Hand.” What I wanted was a 6 card repeat effect that was different, logical, had a story and a kicker ending. What I came up with was an effect where the magician somehow gets 5 aces in a Poker game! He tries 3 times to throw away the duplicate ace, but it keeps returning! Then he throws away 2 cards! Then 3 cards! Each time he looks down and has the original 5 aces! Then, in desperation, he throws down 4 cards. When he looks again, he has a royal straight flush in spades! But then, when he turns over the cards, all the backs are different and made up of novelty back designs! The effect is direct, easy to follow, entertaining and easy to do.
Now this routine was not developed by throwing a can of paint against a wall to see what sticks. It was carefully thought out and crafted. The effect has a humorous, but easy to follow premise. It builds throughout with the number of cards being thrown away. Each card comes off the top of the stack in order with no rearranging of any cards or weird handling. The audience can see each and every card as it is slid into view and they are not obscured by the hands. And finally, the climax is completely unexpected and very funny because of the strange nature of the back designs.
In addition to appearing on my Challenge Magic video and my Mind Mysteries series, this effect was marketed and a dealer item. We had thought about putting it out again, but didn’t want to go through the trouble of finding all those novelty cards. Of course, the idea of just using different color backs was discussed, but it was felt that would really lower the entertainment value of the effect and ruin it. We decided to just leave it on the video and let magicians make it up themselves if they liked it. Heck, the cards would only cost a few bucks and it was easy enough for anyone to make up!
NOTE:
At this point this blog entry has been modified from the original. I can do that because it is my blog!
The person I had an issue with about his version of this effect was man enough to call me and discuss the problem. Since this is not an effect I am actively marketing, my only concern is that correct magical history is preserved. He agreed to include all the background facts in his literature and on his DVD. With that, I am satisfied. Again, I acknowledge his doing the right thing and appreciate his going out of his way to clear up the problem.
Richard
OK. The UPS man just dropped off my copies of the new Guidebook 5 and I have reread it yet once again!
Guys, this book is 50% bigger than any of the previous Guidebooks and contains all kinds of information way beyond just talking about the effects on Mind Mysteries Volume 5. If there was just one Guidebook that I would have you buy, its this one. I personally feel this book is absolutely relevant to so much of what is going on in the Mentalism community today. Many of my peers who have read it feel the same way. If this book doesn’t get you thinking, I don’t know what will.
Please try to pick this up. If you don’t like it, let me know right here. I will be waiting!
Richard
Sometimes I think I complain too much, but then I think I don’t! This is a general comment in regards to a topic I covered extensively in my new Guidebook 5.
I grew up in one of the most exciting times in mentalism. I have known men that were incredible thinkers in the art. They unselfishly published their ideas and these are still readily available to anyone who wants to research them. In addition, there are plenty of people around who are older and well-read who are more than willing to offer their knowledge if asked.
I mention this because of so much material being offered today that is nothing more than a rehash of already published ideas. If this is done knowing of the original, it is just plain wrong. If it is done in ignorance, then it is arrogant. Too many newcomers get an idea in their head and think it must be new. They do not attempt to research it or ask around to those wiser than themselves. I call it arrogant because they assume that no one before them was smart enough to think of it!
I recently started a thread on a forum where I offered to discuss what I would consider to be standard and classic effects in mentalism. I was amazed at how few were even aware these effects existed! And when I offered to explain any they were interested in (this was a closed forum to the public) I got almost no responses! So is it any wonder that so much of the past is lost and, worse yet, no one seems to want to know?
Like so many things in life, history is paramount. To assume that, because we live in a world of technological wonders, we are somehow smarter than earlier generations is a revolting concept. Instead of honoring past knowledge, many disdain and laugh at it. Then, when they offer up some “new” idea that is a watered-down imitation of something worthwhile that has been explored by great minds of the past, they think they have done something amazing. I am not just talking mentalism here!
The first knowledge one attains should always be history. Twice, I have offered a paraphrase from the movie Jurassic Park in my books For anyone who missed it, here it is again.
I’ll tell you what the problem with the magical power you’re using here.
It didn’t require any discipline to attain it.
You read what others had done and you took the next step.
You didn’t earn the knowledge for yourselves
so you didn’t take any responsibility for it.
You stood on the shoulders of geniuses
to accomplish something as fast as you could
and before you even knew what you had
you patented it and packaged it
and slapped it on the Internet
and now you’re selling it.
paraphrase
Jeff Goldblum
Jurrasic Park
Richard
I just want to take this opportunity to wish all my friends a very Happy Easter. This is an important time of the year for me and a reflective one. May it be as moving for you, too.
Richard
Ok, the bad news first.
The one-half sale price on Guidebooks 1 thru 4 is officially over.
Now the Good News.
The reason for the end of the sale price is that Guidebook number 5 is now available. It is currently available in eBook form as an instant download from our website. The hardcopy version of the book will be available within 2 weeks.
We tossed around the idea of only offering this new volume in hardcopy as that is now my preferred way of publishing my books. But since the other 4 volumes were available in eBook form and since many overseas customers prefer the electronic version, so as not to incur shipping and other costs, we will continue to offer this and future Guidebooks in both versions.
Thank you for your support and please let me know what you think about this new offering!
Richard
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