How to be Magical
Machines are kind of taking over the world.
Like, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but most of the things that were done by people just a few years ago are now being done by robots. You don’t need to ask for directions anymore. You can process millions of lines of data in a few seconds. Soon, we’ll have ovens that detect our food and cook it perfectly.
I mean, we don’t need to call in Schwarzenegger yet, but it’s getting close.
News flash: this isn’t going away. Anything that can be done automatically, will be.
That being said, human still have the ability to do something computers can’t:
Make Magic
For the purposes of this post, by “magic”, I mean “something new and unexpected.”
This is far and away the most valuable asset of the Creative. Unpredictability is innately human. It cannot be replaced by a robot, no matter how good randomizers get.
The best news – anyone can make magic. It’s not a game, it’s a necessity. Here are tips that have helped me:
Stop fighting the machine.
The greatest magicians don’t hide from cameras and mirrors. They use them. Don’t try and hold back the river when you could ride the wave instead. Use technology until it gets replaced. Then use the new thing. Repeat forever.
Level up every day.
If you draw, get better at strokes. If you write, expand your vocabulary. If you make videos, smooth out your animation. Whatever your thing is, level up.
Leveling up your existing ability is a good (and probably the easiest) way to grow your magic. Most people won’t be able to tell the difference between 95% professional and 99% professional, but mastery at your craft is something people take for granted.
And by “people” I mean “everyone but you.” Don’t you dare assume you deserve to be good. Creativity chooses you as much as you choose it.
Creativity chooses you as much as you choose it. - CLICK TO TWEET
Learn one new thing about the world every day.
Most people adapt to what’s in front of them and never look for anything more. The Creative, an easily bored creature, will quickly reach beyond what they can see and explore new ideas.
Magicians make tricks from all areas of life. Why do something with a card deck when you could do it with a bowling ball? Or an aquarium?
Dissect the masters
In the hands of a good author, you feel comfortable and safe. You feel like they would never do you wrong. You don’t want to study what they did or how they did it because you don’t want to break the spell. Everyone loves magic because, really, we love being fooled.
To take your magic to the next level, you have to dismantle your idols. Study all of their work. Why did they do things a certain way? How did they do it that way? How can you do it better?
Rip off the masters
I’ve been learning animation this past year. Almost every good thing I’ve done has come from shamelessly copying what someone else did. Replicating the greats adds another card to your trick deck.
Learn new beliefs
Not just religious ones. Every single person on the planet has a different way of looking at the world. You can learn this by reading what they write. Books have been crucial both to my development as a person and a creative. It takes the author years to come to the conclusion they’re allowing you to access in a matter of hours (maybe days).
I’ll take that tradeoff.
Knowing different beliefs are critical because at his core, the magician knows everyone’s beliefs. Then he bends them to his will.
The one advantage the Creative has is her ability to come up with new magic all the time. Magic will never be replaced.
And neither will you if you know how to use it.
