What are you afraid of?

What are you afraid of?

Hello Magic fans! Glenndalf The Magician here , and I would like to talk about something that affects us all. That is fear. Some fear is good, some is bad. My all time favorite show is Doctor Who, and in one episode The Doctor is explaining to a young frightened boy that fear is a superpower! It can make you run faste , see and hear better ! So, in that case, fear is good because it can safeguard you from harm. Personally, I have a very real fear of missing episodes of Doctor Who !

 So fear is a natural feeling experienced by every human being, and in some case  as mentioned by the Doctor, it is a feeling that helps to keep us safe.  If you see a vicious-looking dog coming toward you, for instance, it is probably quite wise to heed any feelings of fear and step out of the way.  All too often, though, the fearful feelings that we experience and that hold us back in life have no sound basis at all.  In some cases, for example, they might come simply from other people’s misgivings or scaremongering, such as the fears expounded by overprotective parents who perceive everything as a potential threat.

 Probably the worst fear we all face is the fear of failure. It causes doubt, and inaction. Next time you have an idea that you immediately dismiss out of hand, stop and think about why you didn’t give it your full consideration.  Is it a fear of failure that is holding you back, or even a fear of success?  Are you afraid of what other people might think?

When we feel afraid, we naturally imagine the worst possible scenarios, but often there is no logic in our thoughts.  Try writing down the worst possible outcomes if you were to go ahead, but also consider the most likely scenario.  Do some research to find out for yourself what, realistically, the chances are of your worst fears coming true and just how much more often others have met with success.  The chances are that your fears are totally unfounded. Of course we can’t talk about fear and not mention Frank Herbert’s litany of fear in his masterful Dune series. Do yourself a favor and look it up!

Of course I had to face my fear of messing up a magic trick while performing. The only way I could get over it was just to face the audience, trust in the countless hours I labored in practicing and go for it! Yes, I still mess up from time to time, but it doesn’t stop me from performing to anywhere from 2 to 200 people at a time. If I do make a mistake and the audience notices, it’s time for a well placed joke, and I move onto the next routine!

What’s stopping you from achieving your dreams? Email me at glenn@glenndalfsmagic.com and let me know. Don’t forget to drop by my website at www.glenndalfsmagic.com and sign up for my latest newsletters on my world of magic. Thanks for stopping by to read this and see you soon!

Glenndalf

Water, water!

H2O – The magical essence of life !

 Hi Magic fans! I want to discuss a topic that touches us all, and that is water! I, like most everyone on the planet, love being around water. Whether it’s the ocean, lake or river, it always feels like you’re on vacation when you’re anywhere near it. Not only do we like being around bodies of water, we also know that water is an essential to life itself.

  First I’m going to touch on some of the basic benefits, and then I’m going to share how I use water in my magic show for large audiences at dinner parties and events.

 With 60-70% of the human body being made up of water and every cell needing it to stay healthy and alive, it stands to reason that failing to replace the liquid that we lose in the form of waste and sweat each day will have detrimental effects on our health. 

Water is vital to many of the body’s natural functions including waste elimination and the regulation of temperature.  Dehydration, although particularly dangerous for the very young and the very old, can take its toll on all of us.  Headaches, tiredness and the loss of concentration are some of the most common early symptoms If nothing is done to rectify the situation, constipation and even kidney stones can be the longer-term results.

So, how much water is enough?  Well, that depends largely on the size of the individual, their level of physical activity and the climate.  As a rough guide, however, under normal conditions the average person should aim to drink around one and a half litres or 6-8 tumbler-sized glasses per day.

Don’t fool yourself that tea, coffee and gallons of fizzy drinks will keep you in tip-top shape though. The caffeine contained in both tea and coffee acts as a diuretic which makes you lose water from your body and the sugars and artificial flavors and sweeteners contained in fizzy drinks use up your body’s supply in its effort to dilute them.

I actually cut way down on drinking carbonated drinks, but I still drink a lot of tea. It’s a real challenge to drink as much water as we really need.  One thing that I do that helps me to drink more water, is to carry a lot of water bottles with me so I always have some on hand. This way I always have something to drink instead of buying a soda or super sweet drink.

So, how do I use water in my magic shows? Well, I use a bubble solution (which is part water) to create floating bubbles with a surprise ending. My favorite use of water is with my Glass Harp. It is a collection of 30 wine glasses tuned chromatically using water to attain the correct note. It literally cannot function without water!  The sound it makes is very clear and sometimes haunting tone. If you’re interested in hearing a sample, send me a message and I’ll send you a link to an audio or video link.

Thanks for taking your time to read my blog. Don’t forget to visit my website @ www.glenndalfsmagic.com and it’s probably time for you to have a nice cool drink of water! 

Thanks for taking your time to read my blog. Don’t forget to visit my website @ www.glenndalfsmagic.com and it’s probably time for you to have a nice cool drink of water! 

How to overcome writer’s block

Hi Magic fans! Did you know that writing is one of the most important part of being a Magician? Think about it, if Magicians did not write books or articles or even letters, describing our tricks and methods, our art would have died out a long time ago! But sometimes, even though we want to write, we have something blocking the flow of putting words onto paper.Here’s a few suggestions on how to write.

If you’re having trouble getting started writing, maybe you need to practice what is known as free writing to get unblocked. Free writing is very effective in getting you started on what you need to get done when you are trying to write. The idea of free writing is to set an amount of time, at least five and no more than 15 or 20 minutes, then start writing and don’t stop until that set amount of time is up. Don’t stop to look at what you have written. In fact, don’t stop at all. Just keep going till your time is up.

If you don’t know what you want to say while you’re practicing free writing, start out by writing “I don’t know what to say.” And if you have to, write that over and over till your time period is up.

Probably what will happen though is that your thoughts will start flowing and you will find yourself writing. Don’t worry about spelling and other mechanics, just write. If you have a computer, that will work great.

Set up your document and get everything ready then turn off your screen and write. It’s easy to not judge what you’re writing when you can’t see it!

Free writing forces you to start putting words down onto paper (or screen). Trying to make something perfect the first time you write it out is probably a recipe for disaster. Instead just write, then go back and throw out all the stuff you don’t like, keep what you do like, and see if you can develop it further.

So give it a try! Who knows you could write the next great novel!

Still don’t know what to write.Try sending me an email just to tell me you are blocked! Let’s see where that goes!

Your magical friend, Glenndalf.

Tips for creative thinking!

 Hi friends! Glenndalf The Magician here with just a couple of thoughts on creative thinking. As a Magician who loves to create new and original magic routines, I thought I would share some techniques that work for me. You may not be trying to come up with the next greatest magic trick, but these tips are general enough  to help you with just about any area you may be working in.

 Need something new?  Different?  Innovative? Here are four ways to get your brain thinking  creatively :

• Brainwriting.  This works best with a group. Gather your trusted friends. Have each person write down one idea, or solution, that he or she wants the group to consider. Then have individuals pass their idea to the next person, who adds his or her own thoughts and suggestions in writing. Continue until each person receives the paper on which he or she wrote the original idea. Then, as a group, explore and pick the best ideas.

• The worst idea. This technique helps you overcome “creative performance anxiety.” When you think of the worst possible idea to a given situation, you're able  see problems in a different way, thus paving the way to come up with breakthrough ideas.

• Mind excursions. This is classic " begin with the end in mind" . Imagine what it is that you are trying to create or resolve as already existing. Write down what it looks like, how it makes you feel and what others might say when they see your finished product.

• Great thinkers. This technique requires that you put yourself in the mind of an innovative thinker, like Beethoven or Micheal Faraday, or a superhero like Reed Richards or Wonder Woman. My go to person to think of is my all time favorite writer, Isaac Asimov! When you approach a concept or problem from the thinker’s perspective, this can result in creative, innovative ideas.

 One of the greatest feelings of all is creating something new! We all have the capability to do this, it's just a matter of time and effort. Make it  a weekly habit that you set aside an hour or two to work on that project that you've always had in the back of your mind, and just do it!

 That's all for now, I look forward to your comments, and start thinking!

www.glenndalfsmagic.com

Magic at a moments notice!

  Last week a good magician friend of mine called me up to ask me if I could fill in for him that evening and perform a 30 minute magic show for a local association. It was 10:30 a.m and the show was scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
  I said yes immediately and got started to prepare for the show. I contacted the person in charge of the event  and got the details (how many people, what kind of show did they want, etc. ) and made arrangements for payment.
  With those details out of the way I concentrated on my set list, props, music and equipment. All of this was a snap for me because for over three years, I produced and performed a weekly magic show for a total of 161 consecutive weeks. Needless to say, I was ready for this. My show consists of a variety of magic, from startling productions, to fast paced manipulation ( the hardest form of magic, for which I have a diploma in.[http://chavezcollegeofmagic.com]) and comedy pantomime. I try to put on a magic show that I would like to see; fast paced, visual and funny.
  The show went great. There was plenty of applause and laughter through my performance and my closing routine received a nice reaction from the audience. I mingled with the members after the show to thank them for their attention and was pleasantly surprised with some very complimentary  comments. One woman said " You made me feel like a kid again!" another couple told me as they were leaving that they thought my performance was better than any that they had seen at the  Magic Castle. They both made me feel good.
  Being ready to perform at a moments notice is paramount to putting on a great show. After I finished my three year run, in addition to my paid gigs, I continue to perform in a variety of places (bookstores, restaurants, malls, etc.) just to stay on top.
  I thanked my friend the next day and let him know about how it went.

   Performing magic is a passion of mine and when it goes great and people enjoy your performance, it just doesn't get any better than that!

Thanks for reading!
www.glenndalfsmagic.com

Hello again!
Glenndalf the Magician here to tell you a little bit more about my world of magical entertainment here in Los Angeles. Performing magic at Comedy clubs is certainly a great experience, especially when you have a receptive audience. Above is a recent picture of myself performing at flappers comedy club in Burbank. This particular night was interesting because there were more than just one magician on the line up. Once we were all introduced we checked with each other to make sure we didn't have any over-lapping routines. Turns out I had one similar to the magician following me. It was just a simple matter of not doing my last routine so my fellow magician could open with his. Cooperation, going with the flow and just having a good time so the audience will be more entertained is the main goal of any entertaining effort.
Be sure to check out my website www.glenndalfsmagic.com for more information and magical videos of me performing magic live!
Until next time, have a magical day!
Glenndalf

New magic video!

Hi friends!
     I just wanted to share an experimental video that I produced a couple of weeks ago. I wanted a short video on my website that showed a quick card trick to visitors. After all, if your looking at a magicians website, shouldn't it have some magic?
    After a two day shoot, I was finally happy with the result. I'm sure other magicians will pick it apart ( that's what they do) but it's for regular people, not magicians.
   I'll keep you posted on my upcoming videos, in the mean-time, let me know what you think. I'd appreciate the feedback.

Have a great day and see you soon! glenn@glenndalfsmagic.com