All You Need is 5 Tricks (& 5 Clients)

Okay—bear with me on this. We’ve all heard magicians preach that all you need is five tricks. The basic ideology entails that you can build a terrific career as a performing magician with just five tricks.

The math works out. You can be a strolling, close-up, parlour or stage magician with five great tricks. The goal is to be a master of five tricks at any given time. I know many magicians who cycle through different batches of five tricks.

More importantly, the ‘five high-quality tricks’ approach forces you to be mindful about your selection. You must suddenly look at all of your magic far more objectively. Which tricks suit you best? Which tricks complement each other? Which tricks speak to your clientele?

With only five tricks, you’re also forced to be perfect. You’re not spread too thin, so you can dedicate time to rehearse, refine and perfect them. You’ll find better ways to connect them to one another. I encourage you to try it.

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So, what if I told you you only need five clients?

FIVE CLIENTS?!

Surely that’s not enough to make a living.

If I asked you to double your income next year from performing gigs, your instinct might be to go and get more gigs. It’s the obvious solution; more gigs = more money. Well, there’s a second option—get better gigs.

90% of magicians have never heard of the top 90% of magicians.

I’ve met almost all of the most successful performing magicians. They all value quality gigs far beyond quantity. Many have moved to big cities like New York for this reason, and this reason alone. Instead of trying to book as many gigs as possible, they pepper their diary will well-paid corporate gigs and private shows with millionaire clients.

The math works out. You can be a strolling, close-up, parlour or stage magician with five great clients. I know many magicians who cycle through different refined batches of clients.

More importantly, the five high-quality clients exercise forces you to be mindful of your client selection. You must suddenly look at all of your clients far more objectively. Which clients suit you best? Which clients complement each other? Where will you find the best clients?

With only five clients, you’re also forced to be perfect. You’re not spread too thin, so you can dedicate time to rehearse, refine and perform for them. You’ll find better ways to connect them to one another. I encourage you to try it.

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Pssst… you’re more than welcome to have more than five tricks and more than five clients (most people do). It’s the theoretical exercise that’s worthwhile. One note is that the magicians I know with only a handful of well-paying clients tend to have a metric ton more than five tricks to perform to them.

✌🏼Hey! This essay is featured in my new book ‘Magic Musings.’ If you want to collect a limited edition book filled with magic essays like this one — buy the book.