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Abracadabra: Brian Miller’s Journey from Magician to Keynote Speaker and Coach
Today Amy takes a peek behind the curtain to learn the trick of pivoting from “almost famous” magician to keynote speaker, coach and workshop presenter. You will enjoy hearing Brian Miller tell his very unusual career story.
Brian comes from a family involved with music, math and science. Those influences brought him, at the end of high school, to a decision to study rock guitar at a very prestigious school. He was delighted when he was accepted there, but shortly thereafter he realized the money spent for that education might never be returned through a career in music. So as a 17 year-old, he made the sobering decision to enter a local college on a full scholarship as an audio engineering major.
During his freshman year, the music industry nearly collapsed with the advent of Napster and uncontrolled file sharing. This brought Brian to reconsider his thoughts of continuing his major because a future in audio engineering was beginning to look bleak. He returned then his sophomore year with the intention of studying to be a math teacher. Although he thought this might be a good fit, it wasn’t, and by the time he finished his last undergrad year, he had earned a dual degree in math and philosophy.
What to do with this new degree? He decided to go directly for a Ph.D in philosophy. He applied and was accepted to the program he wanted. But Presto Chango! The would-be doctor of philosophy was now going to be a professional magician! What?
Brian had always been interested in magic, and as a kid, he often performed in magic shows. He had continued performing in college and was often tapped to entertain for college events. It was a sideline interest and hobby that occasionally brought in some spending money. Listen to him explain to Amy how this major reversal on his career path took place.
But how do you become a professional magician? Can someone really do that? Brian detailed his process. He had already developed a website and had business cards printed. He began working for very little as an entertainer in restaurants ad each time he performed at a table, he handed out one of his business cards. His earnings were hardly enough to live on, and he went through all his savings in no time. Luckily his college Director of Student Activities had taken an interest in him, having put him on stage for several events during his undergrad years. Through him, Brian was introduced to the owner of Neon Entertainment where he signed on. Little by little he began to be hired for more professional gigs.
A second lucky break occurred when he was in the right place at the right time and was hired by Foxwoods Resort Casino, one of the 2 largest casinos in North America. He became their exclusive magician, and he hadn’t been out of college a year yet. Over the following ten years, he became a better magician and “was about as successful as he could be without being famous.” But in 2015, his career took another turn.
He had been performing at colleges and doing corporate events for some time, and this set him up for his transition from magician to public speaker. He began by giving a few speeches and incorporating a little of his magic in them. He was somewhat surprised to see how much audiences loved his blended performances. They lined up to thank him for his insightful presentations afterwards, and this was when the real magic happened. Brian realized he was having a different kind of impact than he had when he performed solely as a magician. He found this extremely gratifying, enough so that he pursued even more speaking engagements.
At about this time, he was invited to give a TEDx talk. He was hoping the video might get at least 5000 hits so that he could justify raising his fees a bit. As it turned out, it received over 3.3 million views!
Why was his speech so successful? Brian listened to the presentations of other magicians and realized they were discussing topics that were generally of real interest only to other magicians. He found himself thinking about what he could take from his magician’s life to share with a general audience that would be of more consequence. What he arrived at was “perspective taking”. He explains to us what that is and what a valuable tool it can be for anyone if they learn how to use it properly. As a magician, he had intuitively used perspective taking all through his life and now he was ready to share his insight through his speaking engagements. Thus, was born his speech, “How to Magically Connect with Anyone”. This speech explains the power of perspective taking and how it can help anyone who cares to use it.
His talks were so well received that at this point he became fully involved with public speaking. But as his popularity grew, he began to feel inadequately prepared. How could he be an “expert” without having done any formal research or learning? He decided to remedy the situation by delving into the psychology behind what he was delivering in his presentations. He explored every avenue he could think of to gather data and proof of his assertions. After a year or two immersing himself in the topic, he felt more qualified to speak authoritatively about “human connection”. His speaking engagements gradually then became his mainstay, dedicated to promoting the benefits of perspective taking to make meaningful human connections.
What advice does he have to share from his unusual career? He says don’t worry if you don’t know what your passion is. You will find it by putting yourself out there. Meet new people, try new things. Take risks. Step out of the box. Yes, hard work, talent and persistence are vital, but a measure of luck is also involved. Open yourself up to opportunity. Who knows what’s in the cards for you?
Takeaways:
- Risk taking is often rewarding but may also involve a lot of work
- People skills can be improved and in turn can improve your life
- Staying positive helps you to find and focus on the good in seemingly bad situations
- Allow yourself to step outside the box
- Networking is a skill that puts you at great advantage, so it pays to learn to network well
- Prepare in school as best you can for the road you think you’ll take, but don’t be afraid to take a detour, as it may be the better road
Contact:
softskillsarehard.com
Podcast-Beyondnetworkingpodcast.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bmillermagic/
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By Amy RowlandToday Amy takes a peek behind the curtain to learn the trick of pivoting from “almost famous” magician to keynote speaker, coach and workshop presenter. You will enjoy hearing Brian Miller tell his very unusual career story.
Brian comes from a family involved with music, math and science. Those influences brought him, at the end of high school, to a decision to study rock guitar at a very prestigious school. He was delighted when he was accepted there, but shortly thereafter he realized the money spent for that education might never be returned through a career in music. So as a 17 year-old, he made the sobering decision to enter a local college on a full scholarship as an audio engineering major.
During his freshman year, the music industry nearly collapsed with the advent of Napster and uncontrolled file sharing. This brought Brian to reconsider his thoughts of continuing his major because a future in audio engineering was beginning to look bleak. He returned then his sophomore year with the intention of studying to be a math teacher. Although he thought this might be a good fit, it wasn’t, and by the time he finished his last undergrad year, he had earned a dual degree in math and philosophy.
What to do with this new degree? He decided to go directly for a Ph.D in philosophy. He applied and was accepted to the program he wanted. But Presto Chango! The would-be doctor of philosophy was now going to be a professional magician! What?
Brian had always been interested in magic, and as a kid, he often performed in magic shows. He had continued performing in college and was often tapped to entertain for college events. It was a sideline interest and hobby that occasionally brought in some spending money. Listen to him explain to Amy how this major reversal on his career path took place.
But how do you become a professional magician? Can someone really do that? Brian detailed his process. He had already developed a website and had business cards printed. He began working for very little as an entertainer in restaurants ad each time he performed at a table, he handed out one of his business cards. His earnings were hardly enough to live on, and he went through all his savings in no time. Luckily his college Director of Student Activities had taken an interest in him, having put him on stage for several events during his undergrad years. Through him, Brian was introduced to the owner of Neon Entertainment where he signed on. Little by little he began to be hired for more professional gigs.
A second lucky break occurred when he was in the right place at the right time and was hired by Foxwoods Resort Casino, one of the 2 largest casinos in North America. He became their exclusive magician, and he hadn’t been out of college a year yet. Over the following ten years, he became a better magician and “was about as successful as he could be without being famous.” But in 2015, his career took another turn.
He had been performing at colleges and doing corporate events for some time, and this set him up for his transition from magician to public speaker. He began by giving a few speeches and incorporating a little of his magic in them. He was somewhat surprised to see how much audiences loved his blended performances. They lined up to thank him for his insightful presentations afterwards, and this was when the real magic happened. Brian realized he was having a different kind of impact than he had when he performed solely as a magician. He found this extremely gratifying, enough so that he pursued even more speaking engagements.
At about this time, he was invited to give a TEDx talk. He was hoping the video might get at least 5000 hits so that he could justify raising his fees a bit. As it turned out, it received over 3.3 million views!
Why was his speech so successful? Brian listened to the presentations of other magicians and realized they were discussing topics that were generally of real interest only to other magicians. He found himself thinking about what he could take from his magician’s life to share with a general audience that would be of more consequence. What he arrived at was “perspective taking”. He explains to us what that is and what a valuable tool it can be for anyone if they learn how to use it properly. As a magician, he had intuitively used perspective taking all through his life and now he was ready to share his insight through his speaking engagements. Thus, was born his speech, “How to Magically Connect with Anyone”. This speech explains the power of perspective taking and how it can help anyone who cares to use it.
His talks were so well received that at this point he became fully involved with public speaking. But as his popularity grew, he began to feel inadequately prepared. How could he be an “expert” without having done any formal research or learning? He decided to remedy the situation by delving into the psychology behind what he was delivering in his presentations. He explored every avenue he could think of to gather data and proof of his assertions. After a year or two immersing himself in the topic, he felt more qualified to speak authoritatively about “human connection”. His speaking engagements gradually then became his mainstay, dedicated to promoting the benefits of perspective taking to make meaningful human connections.
What advice does he have to share from his unusual career? He says don’t worry if you don’t know what your passion is. You will find it by putting yourself out there. Meet new people, try new things. Take risks. Step out of the box. Yes, hard work, talent and persistence are vital, but a measure of luck is also involved. Open yourself up to opportunity. Who knows what’s in the cards for you?
Takeaways:
- Risk taking is often rewarding but may also involve a lot of work
- People skills can be improved and in turn can improve your life
- Staying positive helps you to find and focus on the good in seemingly bad situations
- Allow yourself to step outside the box
- Networking is a skill that puts you at great advantage, so it pays to learn to network well
- Prepare in school as best you can for the road you think you’ll take, but don’t be afraid to take a detour, as it may be the better road
Contact:
softskillsarehard.com
Podcast-Beyondnetworkingpodcast.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bmillermagic/