When we want to learn something new or level up our magic we seek advice, right? It makes sense to seek out wise words and build a solid theory of what needs to be understood and what to expect. However if you want to learn faster you need to start getting your own advice in order to level up your magic and performance skills.
What do I mean by this?
When starting something new itâs probably the first thing we seek, âadviceâ, and now more than ever before in 2022. We have access to hundreds of hours of youtube videos and more blogs, groups, and newsletters than you could ever consume in a lifetime. If you start advice hoarding youâll only be tricking yourself in to thinking youâre being productive, when in fact all youâre really âdoingâ is nothing. Collecting knowledge is a pointless exercise unless you do something with it.
Learn by doingâŠwhat though?
âKnowledge without application is simply knowledge. Applying the knowledge to oneâs life is wisdom â and that is the ultimate virtueâ
â Kasi Kaye Iliopoulos
In 2022 more than ever we are experiencing a pandemic of procrastination. You no longer need to pay for information, itâs all out there for free, a simple Google search away. This is both a massive opportunity for our generation but is also just a big a threat, this abundance of knowledge begs the question âwhat exactly should we be actioning?â.
Information overload give us too many options, leading to a feeling of overwhelm, we get stuck in the research stage rather than taking action.
Everyone knows âhowâ to lose fat or build muscle, both are a simple equations;
Lose fat; Consume less calories than you use.
Build muscle; Consume more calories than you use, and lift heavy things.
Okay there is some nuance here, but fundamentally if you were to follow the simple equation youâd accomplish the desired goal.
Summing it up
In a nutshell; people (including myself) have a tendency to put off the action and instead replace it with âadvice hoardingâ, which creates the feeling of accomplishment but leaves us no closer to our desired goal, instead the endless consumption of advice under the guise of helping us make âwell informed decisionsâ is actually taking us no closer to our goal and is harmful to our mental health. I find myself endlessly researching and putting off taking action, this makes me feel useless, incapable, and like I am wasting my time here on earth.
It takes 60 seconds
The first step is the heaviest - If you can relate to this feeling I encourage you to close the laptop, and for just 60 seconds pick up the props, move your body, say words, and have fun - give yourself permission to stop after 60 seconds, if you want to keep going then go for it!
You will be taking the first step toward achieving your goals and you will be one step closer to giving magic to someone else, which is why you fell in love with magic in the first place, isnât it? Start moving!
Maintaining consistency long term
There are two things I do to turn this time wasting void around and start making progress, fast!
1) Setting a deadline with consequences
Setting an abituary deadline isn't enough for me, I need one that has real life consequences. For example; entering a competition, selling tickets to a show, making a promise to a paying client. These have all worked for me, the higher the stakes the better!
2) Paying for accountability
I struggled with consistency going to the gym for YEARS, as soon as I started paying a Personal Trainer everything changed. I became consistent because I was not just financially invested I also donât want to look useless or let down someone else. My progress has been massive since making this decision.
A healthy handful is all you need
If we want to learn a new routine then it is worth getting a bit of a head start, spend no longer than 2 hours researching, watch the videos, read the books then pick and start learning. I have found the faster I get to the point of doing the faster I can give my own advice, learn the routine, and more intimately understand the context of me performing it, in my hands with my mannerisms and personality. The routine naturally moulds itself to my specification.
I will leave you with this parable; One of my favorite parables about creative work comes from David Bayles and Ted Orlandâs book,
:[A] ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the âquantityâ group: fifty pound of pots rated an âAâ, forty pounds a âBâ, and so on. Those being graded on âqualityâ, however, needed to produce only one pot â albeit a perfect one â to get an âAâ. Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the âquantityâ group was busily churning out piles of work â and learning from their mistakes â the âqualityâ group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.
đ If you know someone who might benefit from this newsletter it would be cool if you shared it with them, it would really help me out!
đȘđ» Workout Plan:
Treat yourself to 60 seconds - I encourage you to stop, close your laptop, and pick up that prop youâve been wanting to master, youâll thank yourself for doing it.
đ Magic Diet:
Atomic habits - If you want a few more hacks for changing your habits and getting closer to achieving your goals, one day at a time, check out this book by James Clear
Atomiser - I carry one everywhere I go, I also keep one in my gig bag at all times! How you smell is important to people's overall experience of you, make it a pleasant one.
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