It seems the older I get, the more I find myself realizing that all of the advice I’ve been given from other people in all of my 33 years, is starting to see the light of day. Motherly, fatherly, sisterly, friendly – ALL of the advice, sadly though, as of writing this, I can’t seem to think of one piece. It comes and goes and I am suddenly reminded of who told me what and try to use it to my advantage. I’m not a book smart individual, if anything, I have more street smarts and even that isn‘t saying a whole lot. I say street smarts because I was held up once at gunpoint. It was “smart” of me to listen to this guy who came in from the “street” waving a pistol. See? Street smart. And living in Los Angeles, I have been VERY fortunate to be able to meet anyone I’ve ever wanted to meet of the celebrity status. These meetings consist of me mumbling and somehow managing to ask for a picture. The pictures I don’t usually put on public display. Usually kept in a book that I look at occasionally to remind myself what a thrill it was at the time. It’s mostly full of comedians and magicians – people whose work I admire entirely. I know it sounds like I’m telling you two different things – good advice and celebrities, but stick with me. A few years ago, I came across some writings of a gentleman named Andy Nyman. Andy is from the UK (I’ve come to realize that most great comedians, actors and magicians are from the UK) and he is a well-respected actor by the public and an even more respected mentalist by magicians. I have his lecture notes, his DVD – I even have his picture up on my fridge as a sort of inspiration. Penn & Teller, Max Maven, Bruce Campbell and Theodore Annemann, by the way, surround his picture on my fridge, amongst others. His mind reading effects are quick, simple, mind numbing and puzzling. The only thing you really have to sell is yourself, which is how mind reading effects SHOULD be. He does it and he does it right. Not long ago, I had the chance to see Andy Nyman perform and lecture. My mouth was open every second. Here, in front of me, I have Andy Nyman working the crowd, making me laugh and leaving my dumfounded. A perfect day. It seems in my world as of late, life has been tossing me some curve balls. I assure you I have PLENTY to be thankful for and I don’t take it for granted like I did when I was younger. I have a lot of unanswered questions about myself, where I’m headed and what I need to do to succeed – succeed in life and other aspects of my life. When Andy was done with his performance and lecture, people were milling about, doing this and talking about that. I saw my window of opportunity and approached Mr. Nyman. In not so many words, I told him how much I loved his work, how much I respected his thinking – and I was being sincere. I wasn’t just saying it as I have with other people in the past. We talked a bit about mind reading stuff, other magicians, etc. He thanked me over and over again for my compliments. Maybe I had a genuine gleam in my eye when I told him everything I had said. Whatever it was, he looked at me right in the eyes and gave me one piece of advice that I’ll NEVER forget. It’s a piece of advice that would mean nothing to anyone except me. It wasn’t about magic, technique, a good book to read – nothing like that. Like I would expect a real mind reader to do, he seemed to know everything about me without me giving anything away. I’ve heard his piece of advice from people before and I don’t know if it was the heat of the moment or just meeting a highly respected mind reader or what, but it really, honestly and truly resonated with me for some reason. I’m not going to tell you what he said, because, again, I believe it to be just for me. It was a gift from Andy Nyman to me, Seth. He may have not known it and probably doesn’t even remember me, but for that 5 minutes of us talking, it’s a moment and a piece of advice I’LL remember for the rest of my life.
