Often when I perform I get asked a lot of questions, such as
“How did you start in this?”
“How long have you been doing this?”
“Can anyone do these types of things?”

The first two questions are better answered in person but the short answer is since I was in about 1st grade when I saw David Copperfield back in Omaha, Nebraska.

To answer the third question I would have to honestly say No. I am not trying to make this sound all spooky or ego-tistical but honestly no. In fact I would go as far as to say very few can. The reason is simple. You have to have a lot of confidence and be willing to go through tons of rejection.

What people don’t realise is that magic and hypnosis is simple but it’s not easy! I love that phrase (as I only heard it used in reference to sports last week) because every part of it is true. It looks simple but there are so many factors at play.

I want you to visualize yourself at a bar or restaruant having an interaction. Really visualise it. What you would say, where it is at? Who are you with?

Now change the scene a bit. It’s not friends or family but complete STRANGERS! You approach them cold and are really asking for acceptance, socially. While you are trying to befriend them you are also indirectly saying, “I’m am going to try and fool you so watch me closely.” If you really visualise that then I have just doubled if not tripled the amount of brain power you were using before. Instead of focusing on one person, you are now focusing on everyone.

I strongly believe that not everyone can just go out and perform. The simple reason is that not many people are willing to put in the time it takes to build the other aspects of performing. You see it’s not just slieght of hand but it is the interaction with everyone, shifting your attention and simply including everyone in the group that makes an entertainer fun and captivating.

If I were to break it down I would say mentalism and hypnosis is roughly as follows:
25% actual technical skill (sleight of hand)
50% interacting with people. Let’s face it, if you can’t socialize then you won’t get far at all. They have to LIKE you in order for YOU to hold their attention.
25% shownmanship. You have to present the right effects that fit you as a character as well as perform them as a sound piece.

Imagine this, if a magician came up to you at a black tie affair and said with a complete monotone voice “Hey. You. Give me your ring. Watch this.” How long would YOU be hooked? I can already tell you would never even hand over a ring!

Remember that performers want an interaction and want to socialize. That makes it just as much fun for us as it is for you.

This past week I happen to catch Marilu Henner’s segment on The View… don’t judge, where she talks about her memory. As crazy as this sounds, she has something scientists call Superior Autobiographical Memory. This means she can recall things from any given day of her life.

In the hypnosis field many believe that everything we read, learn about and experience never leaves our memory. In fact, it is always there the only draw back we all have is that our recall system is not up to speed. Let’s face it, we have all had that experience where once we heard it we think, “Oh I have heard that before!” or “Oh I have seen this episode before.”

Recently, I was fortunate enough to participate in a memory course by Remember Media. (They do have products online that I suggest you look into if you want to build your memory. Who wouldn’t want to be able to remember people’s names years after you meet them or easily memorize and entire presentation without notes!) None of the exercises were that tough or mentally draining. Before you know it, you have a full list of 20 items memorized forwards and backwards. Whether it is a grocery store list or a presentation, it’s fascinating to see just how powerful our minds actually are. As the presenters at Remember Media say, “We have the greatest computer between our own two ears. We just need a software update.”

Before I forget… back to Marilu. She was joined by two other people and there are only six people in the world with this condition. They can categorize days and instantly recall them, as if they were yesterday.

You can watch the interview here.

Today I took an interesting trip to the dentist. Now if you are like me, I am not freaked out by the dentist except for the little pick, scraping tool. It’s not the feelings behind it, it’s the SOUND! That screeching sound is like nails on a chalk board to me!

Every time I hear that scraping sound I SQUEEZE and white knuckle the leather armrests of that chair that sits below that Belmont light that much tighter. Today as my hands and forearms start to stick to the chair from the sweat that is oozing out of my pores, I realized that WE are our own biggest influences.

I know this sounds weird to some of you and may register right away to some others but think about it. We dictate our own outlook on every situaton we come across. Whether something is difficult or easy, it is the way we precieve it, it is our mind set.

Even Henry Ford said decades ago, “Whether you think you can or your can’t, either way you’re right.” This could not be more true today.

I used to think doctors, as a group, had the biggest influence on people. If someone was just diagnosed with a terminal disease, doesn’t the doctor usually say, “I give them ___ months to live.” These are just merely suggestions given to someone in a highly suggestable and emototional state of mind.

Who are they to say how long someone will live? We see survivors everyday and I bet none of them had the attitude, well… yeah, I should get over this… probably. It is the survivor’s mind set that will dictate the attitude.

On a more positive note, one way you can help others by influencing them, without them knowing it in a non-magical way if they are feeling down, is to NEVER ask the questions:
“Why are you so sad?”
“Why are you so down?”

The reason this will trigger a worse feeling in that person’s mindset because when you use the word WHY you are secretly asking them to justify their state of being. Whether or not their aware of it, you are cementing WHY they feel down. This will confirm to them how bad they feel and give them an excuse to feel that way.

Instead ask them, “What can I do to cheer you up?” or make them laugh or even make them see something different and fascinate their conscious mind and critical faculty with something like a magic trick or puzzle to get their mind off of whatever is bringing them down.

Last night was the Oscars and for the first time I actually watched the entire thing, all 3 hours! Not that I’m proud of that… it’s just rare. 

Ever since I was a kid I have been a fan of the movies and the way that they can allow you to escape reality, if only for a moment, and truly believe anything is possible!

Now our critical factulty part of the brain knows very well that they are built off of imagination and false reality but it wasn’t until the Oscars were almost over before I realized how it is exactly the way Mentalists create false reality. What is it that makes movies seem completely real when we know they are not? Is it the hours and hours of work we never see that potentially streamline the ideas into our head?

Think of it this way, a film maker doesn’t see a DeLorean and think, “Wow, what if there was a teenager who was oddly enough, friends with a much older scientist and would travel through time, with the car being the time machine and would attend his parents high school dance after hitting 88mph?!” There is no way they made that leap from seeing that car.

Instead, the film maker creates the plot and THEN fills in the blanks along the way. Mind reading and mentalism are the exact same process. When I create a new effect I always try to think: What is the end result? What do I want the audience to think was AMAZING and walk away, possibly thinking, “Wow, I wish I had that ability! How did he get inside my head? How could he possibly know that?”

A perfect example of this process is an effect I do with a hotel key card.
Effect: The spectator thinks of any hotel in the world. Without saying a word they think of the city and the actual hotel. Once they have changed their mind many times and settled on one, only then do they, for the first time announce it. Keep in mind nothing is ever pre-written down or verbalized until they settle on one. In the spectator’s head it is a completely free and fair choice. Without anyone touching them they reach into their pocket and inside is a key card to that exact hotel from that city!

Sounds impossible, right?

For months I thought, how do I force this decision on someone without them knowing? How do I get them to choose that city in all the world, with no props or visuals? After multiple methods and constantly going back to the drawing board I figured it out.

You can relax, I won’t give away the secret but it took me countless hours, ideas and scrapping all my magic methods and going with a hypnotic approach. The end result never changed, having them think of a hotel and city plus the key is in their pocket/wallet. But the method was recreated dozens of times. I wasn’t happy until the effect was streamlined

Just like in the movies and Hollywood all the audience is left with is the finished product and not the journey. But if the vision of the end result is defined enough, that’s all they need to believe.

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Recently I have been on the look out for new types of hypnotic inductions. Although the ones in the past have worked fine, as they are classics, I feel as  a constant student of hypnosis you can always learn and push the limits with hypnosis and never reach an end.

To be honest I feel as though they are not 100% with everyone and I am OK with that. I have heard EVERYONE is hypnotizable but the METHODS vary from person to person. If you think about it, everyone goes into trance multiple times a day. Don’t believe me, look around your office or library and see people dozing in and out… but don’t laugh! Better yet, have you ever driven somewhere and when you get there… don’t remember driving there??? You were in a “driving trance”.

As an entertainer I am concerned with how it looks to the audience. I have seen many hypnotists do crazy phenomenon that I am not convinced is worth the risk. To give you an example, there is an induction called Zap. Now this induction works but at a steep price in my opinion. No I’m not saying because it is $150+ dollars but because of the audience management.

I have seen many performers not do the proper pre talk. By that I mean they do not fully describe hypnosis to the subject or see if they are 18 years or older or ask if they have any medical conditions. These seem like simple things but can make a world of difference, especially if you don’t want to get sued!

I personally don’t hypnotize people under the age of 18 (unless their guardian is right there next to us the whole time) and I always make sure they don’t have a serious medical condition or better yet, ask before I do something that could be even remotely strenuis.

In the induction mentioned above, Zap, it is done with an arm pull technique that off sets their balance both physically and mentally. Although done properly can be highly effective but if someone who saw it on YouTube tries it, can be extremely harmful. You may not know if they slept on their arm weird that night and it has been tense all day. Just got a cast removed from their arm. Have extremely painful arthritis in the wrist and hand.

These little questions that go unnoticed by the audience but truly separates the men from the boys in my opinion. It keeps the professionals working and the amateurs in trouble or worse yet, sued.

Finally, in my humble opinion, out of all the inductions and hypnosis sessions I have done I find 4 out of 5 times when you tell someone to sleep and they “drop” the audience is far more impressed with the least amount of physical contact to that person. To have control over them without touching them, that is magical!

If you do want to learn more about hypnosis a few sites worth checking out are:
Head Hacking
Street Hypnosis

As both a student of magic and hypnosis I learn a broad range of manipulations from verbal to visual and of course most go under the radar. I want to share with you a simple way to give people options yet at the same time EVERYTHING is under your complete control. Don’t worry there is no hypnotic trance goig on, in fact you don’t even say the word SLEEP! It is far easier than that.

The best way to explain it is to give an example. Say you are a parent and you have a child, we’ll go with the name Luke. You want Luke to be in bed by 8pm. You say to Luke, “You know Luke, you have been really good today, I will let you stay up to either 7:30 or 8pm. Since you have been extra good, you can decide which time you want.”

Keep in mind it seems simple but remember its the SIMPLE suggestions and influences that go under the radar.  Luke thinks he is deciding when he goes to bed and he feels rewarded, so it’s a positive experience for him. Meanwhile, both times are before the parent wants him in bed so the parent is winning as well. All you are doing, as they say in the hypnotic world is framing the situation to what you want.

This doesn’t just have to be with kids. If a group of people from work are all going out to lunch and you feel like a certain type of food you can say, ”Since ___, is the leader of this next project you decide whether we get Italian or Mexican food!”

It’s a simple twist in the language that can ultimately have a huge impact. Chances are it has been done to you and you may not have even realized it. Maybe a car salesmen saw you looking at a car and said, “Would you like this car better in red or grey?” Either way you answer it shows him you want to get that car.

**If you wish to learn more about linguistic effects a great place to start is with Wonder Words by my friend Kenton Knepper.

Originally Posted on August 15th, 2011

Hypnotized people will do something they don’t want to do!

A great example of this that has gained massive popularity over the past ten years is how hypnotized people will commit crimes, like robbing a bank, or even worse acts!
To see it in action click here!

This is bogus because when a person is hypnotized they still won’t do things they wouldn’t do normally, they will adhere to their core values. Now this stretches past classical hypnosis routines such as acting like a celebrity, forgetting their name, walking on the moon and imagining they are on a beach. A person might not do those things in everyday life but there is a limit, their ethical and moral code.

It has been shown in studies, especially by Milton Erickson that while hypnotized people would not even hit another person if there were no reason to.

Keep in mind even though a hypnotist says the word “SLEEP” it is not actual sleep. You may not be able to remember anything afterwards but you are aware of everything during the process.

You can get stuck in Hypnosis!

This is completely false as well. People drift in and out of hypnosis all day long. They just don’t know it! It is a natural state to go in and out of. Have you ever driven a car and once you got to your destination you don’t remember driving there! That was a state of hypnosis usually referred to as a “driving trance”.

Have you ever got lost in a book or been to a movie theater and when you got done it seemed like a different day or you don’t remember the time passing by? You were in an altered state. Shocking I know!

Hypnosis is different for everybody but the worst that could happen to you is that you drift away and actually sleep and wake up a few minutes later feeling bright and refreshed.

Hypnosis only works for certain people or “I can’t be hypnotized!”

Again, this is wrong. If you can dream, sleep, concentrate and relax… guess what? You can be hypnotized, as all humans can.

As I said before, hypnosis is a natural state to drift in and out of. People do it throughout the day. To be honest, I believe I have drifted in and out a few times while writing this blog!

The bottom line is that everyone is suggestible to a degree, everyone can relax, sleep and concentrate so in turn, everyone can be hypnotized if THEY WANT TO BE.
For those who insist they cannot or flat out don’t want to be, they are the ones missing out on an enjoyable experience.