How to Stand Out in a Crowded World

I went to the hotel. I wanted to be lied to.

I wanted to get lost.

I brought my kids.

We went to see David Kwong, a famous magician, puzzle creator and illusionist fools us for ours.

We got what we wanted.

I brought him on the podcast. Because David Kwong has all the elements of my ideal guest:

Someone who figured out how to combine two skills and become the best in the world at the intersection
Someone who understands how to think (he applies persuasion and the principles of illusion)
Someone who uses deliberate practice to get better and better

He taught me how to be more deceptive, how to think ahead, how to measure risk. And more.

Here’s the list of what we talked about.

And the episode:

• 3:45 | How to give yourself permission to create a risky career path
• 7:40 | How technology has challenged magicians to get savvier.
• 9:18 | Why practice is more imporant than studying
• 10:41 | David explains how he “misdirects” his audience
• 11:42 | The principles of “on-beat off-beat”
• 16:50 | What investors and magicians have in common
• 18:30 | How planning leads to confidence
• 20:35 | How cognitive biases and the myth of free will play a role in magic
• 28:00 | Which persuasion tools David uses in magic
• 30:18 | How to know what risk your willing to take
• 35:45 | David says how he combined two passions to create a unique career path
• 38:05 | What makes David’s show unique
• 42:32 | How to create something new
• 43:52 | The two influences that inspire David the most
• 44:07 | How to skip the line in your career path and rise the ranks faster than your competition
• 46:48 | How the principles of illusion let you control people’s experience
• 51:05 | David tells us, “the best trick I ever performed in my entire life”
• 56:40 | How magic led to the creation of filmmaking
• 1:03:32 | How to use the modern principles of magic to get ahead in business
• 1:10:45 | The to deal with choice paralysis
• 1:13:15 | How to prevent your audience from seeing through the cracks
• 1:16:50 | What inspired me to have David Kwong on the podcast
• 1:17:48 | The hardest part about trying to stand out
• 1:20:53 | How to develop your talent stack
• 1:24:35 | I ask David if he ever used magic to get revenge
• 1:25:41 | Where to see David live

Links & Resources:

• Get tickets to see David Kwong’s show “The Enigmatist” live
• Read “Spellbound: Seven Principles of Illusion to Captivate Audiences and Unlock the Secrets of Success” by David Kwong or listen to the audiobook 
• See videos, puzzles and more from David Kwong at davidkwongmagic.com
• Follow David on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
• Read David’s blog 
• See the list of films he’s consulted on