Building a regular business of being a full time magician comes at a cost. While growing the performing business, there are still bills to pay. For that reason, I imagine, lots of us maintain a backup "regular" job. All of my coworkers know I'm a magician outside the workplace, but it always seems like they look at me like it's just my hobby.
I always keep spongeballs on my person to have a little fun at work, but the people there don't usually get to see much more than that. So they figure I'm just having some fun. They don't see the hours of studying, reading, watching, practicing. They don't know the cost of materials, marketing, accessories, cases, etc. They don't understand the time calling places, doing free demos, and networking. It's everyday and all the time.
...until...
Then, everyone decides to go for drinks after work. That where they start to get it. I start doing some of my stronger effects for them and usually get free drinks out of it (it's almost a super power). They open up more and become instant fans, realizing it's not "just a hobby". They see the clean sleight of hand and miss all the signs. They are dumbfounded by the misdirection. There's always a "how?", "why?, "what?". Lots of actual open mouths and dropped jaws. They sometimes just keep staring at the reveal effect because they can't believe what they just witnessed.
Usually, the next day at work after a group setting tends to have a lot of hype around what they saw or didn't see. They start asking more questions and get lost down the rabbit hole. Meanwhile, the ones who didn't come out still think its childish. I try to always reiterate that magic isn't just for kids, and that I mostly perform for adult settings. It really does require just constantly performing for small groups and staying consistent.
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