Recapturing Joy

Greetings friends. Hope you are staying cool during this
oppressive heat that has hit many parts of the world. Today I
wanted to share a personal story with you to show you that
anything is possible.

We all have dreams and wishes, things that we place on our bucket
list of things to experience or achieve before we die. Many of
our dreams gets dashed as we pass from childhood into adulthood.
Sometimes our interests change as a result of going to college,
that first job, or by the people who come into our lives.

Sometimes changes that occur around us inadvertently change the
direction of our lives, and as a result, we push our dreams deep
down inside, often never to be thought about again. As we
transition to adulthood and independence from our families, we
realize the need to become more practical in our way of living.
Work takes the place of play. Money becomes the focus.

And then we meet someone who captures our heart, and life changes
more than we could ever imagine. We settle down, buy the house,
start a family, and gradually our focus changes yet again, and
all of our energy becomes focused on others. The dreams have long
ago faded.

I come from three generations of magicians. My Uncle Harry owned
a small novelty and magic shop in NYC back in the 1940s-1950s. My
Dad worked in the magic shop for a brief time as a teenager. And
when I was about 5 years old, my Uncle started pulling quarters
from ears and making them disappear at his fingertips. My Dad
started teaching me card tricks in our basement on rainy days. I
was instantly hooked.

By the fourth grade I was performing magic in the school variety
show. My first time in front of several hundred people. All
energy was focused on me. And I was making them laugh and
enjoying every minute of it. I knew I wanted to be a magician.

I started reading every magic book in the local libraries. I met
other magicians and learned where the professional magic shops
were in NYC. I started visiting them and buying and learning. I
had a voracious appetite to learn as much magic as I could. I
dreamed of big shows in front of big audiences.

I worked private parties and occasionally local clubs but never
hit the big times. Then I started college and found something
else I really liked to do -- write. I liked it so much, it
gradually displaced magic. I even became a college English
teacher and taught writing for three years. I started winning
awards for my writing and even published some of my work.

Then I entered the corporate world and rapidly climbed the
corporate ladder to make as much money as possible. If
anyone ever asked me to show them a trick, I politely refused and
told them I gave up that hobby.

I packed up my magic props and books and didn't even look at them
anymore. I moved, got married, had kids, experienced a great deal
of success in the corporate world, made a lot of money, and
performing magic was a distant thought. For over 20 years.

And then I entered a period of self-discovery. I was now in my
mid-40's and had accomplished almost everything I had ever
wanted, and yet it all felt empty. I began to discover a
God-shaped hole inside of my soul.

Over the past 7 years I have tried to fill that hole with a great
many things, but last year I was given the opportunity to
experience the joy of performing again when a friend from church
asked me to perform at a picnic.

I was very nervous about getting in front of an audience again,
but soon found it was a lot like riding a bicycle. I stood up in
front of the people and started performing. Soon they were
laughing and applauding, and I once again felt a rush that I had
not felt in years.

Over the past 12 months, I have performed for several private
parties, and have become the opening act for a local comedy
improv group as well as a closing act for a variety show at the
historic Spotlight Theater here in Tulsa.

And then last week, I was contacted by a local casino.

On August 13, from 8-9 pm, I will be doing my one man show at the
Creek Nation Casino in Okemah, OK. It's not a huge venue, but it
is my largest to date, and I hope that it opens the door to
other opportunities in the surrounding casinos. There are dozens of
them here in Oklahoma.

And so, my goal in sharing this personal story with you is to
remind you about your own dreams, and to challenge you to embrace
them, and to reawaken those desires you may have buried a long
time ago.

There is joy in those dreams.

Now go recapture that joy.

All my best,

Steven