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Podcast Episode: with Andrew Bennett
Transform your life with magic. "Appear, Disappear, Restore"
No one's journey is easy. Everyone is handed adversity in life. Adversity can keep us from achieving our goals and finding our happiness. So when adversity strikes us, how do we overcome it? If you cultivate the right attitude and take actions to get what you want and deserve overcoming adversity is fast and easy.
Andrew Bennett is an author, speaker, Ross Perot’s personal assistant, and has been a magician for 45 years. He talks about how adversities have shaped his life for the better. He shares his stories and how his experiences convert itself into an opportunity to exhibit excellence. There is something special about the ability for magic to help us overcome adversities. If you want to be on your way to the life you've dreamed of, Andrew’s powerful advice will work magic in your life.
Life story of Andrew Bennett: (1:13)
At 3 years old Andrew lost his mother and sister when they were killed by a drunk driver. When his father met someone he was left behind to stay with his grandparents, while his father took his older brother with him when he left. So, at 4 years old, Andrew lost both of his parents and his siblings. However, being raised by his grandparents was the highlight of his life.It was his grandfather who introduced him to magic and he idolized his grandfather. Unfortunately, when Andrew was 17,, his grandfather committed suicide.
How he thought of success before (3:15)
Andrew used to think that success meant putting out a suit, going to the office, and being in a white collar environment. His grandfather started out as a janitor in a bank in a small town where he grew up. And by the time his grandfather retired he was the president of the bank.
Misfortunes of his life (4:22)
Andrew Bennett was a magician his entire life and was also a businessman. He owned a company when he was 12 years old where he did some magic shows . While he was doing that, he put himself through college. When he graduated he wanted to go into business. When he was 40 years old, he built his dreamhouse and the house was infested with molds. He ended up losing the home, all he invested, and he went bankrupt. In the next apartment that he moved into, the lightning struck the roof above the bedroom, a fire started and the roof collapsed. He lost everything financially and everything materially. Internally, Andrew suffered from depression and bitterness.
Surviving the tragic in his life: 8:00
Andrew credits being raised in a joyful childhood for being the foundation that was able to keep him going, even in the face of tragedy. He also felt extremely devastated by his grandfather’s suicide, and he promised himself that he would never give up no matter how hard it got.
The transformation of his life: (11:05)
After Andrew was spurred by a mid-life crisis, a near-death experiences, and a painful loss, he accepted the situation and took actions towards the life that he wants. He harnessed the power of intention and resolved the conflict by himself. He used his skills and did magic concept as a strategy to start a new life “Appear, Disappear and Restore”. The obstacles that stood his way has made him very successful today.
Coping with tragedies. (14:52)
When Andrew went to think about what happened to his life, he was reflecting for a while, and eventually he was able to overcome the emotional effects of the situation and get back with his life. He said, “Don't be afraid to show how you're really feeling with it, you may be injured at the moment and it may be shocking at first but it will pass away. Just breath and remember to stay positive. Accept yourself that you are already in the situation and focus on how happy you are to be alive and well.”
The Story of Elm tree 18:25
Andrew grew up on a cherry tree farm near Traverse City, MI. On that farm is an old elm tree unlike any other elm tree in the area. The prior owners of the farm, he recounts, raised livestock and kept their bull chained to the tree. It was a heavy iron chain, wrapped around the trunk of the tree and connected to the bull’s collar. The restless bull would walk in a circle around the tree for hours, wearing a path in the ground while the chain was wearing a groove in the tree’s trunk.
When the prior owners sold the farm, they cut the chain and took the bull, leaving a section of chain around the tree trunk. Several years later, the chain had tightened and settled into the groove because the tree has grown. Several more years later, the bark has begun to grow over the chain. Several more years later, the chain has been absorbed into the trunk. Today, a scar is all that remains, but as a child Bennett remembers links of the chain still being visible.
What makes the tree even more unique is that it is one of the few remaining elm trees in Michigan. Approximately 90% of the elm trees in Michigan were wiped out by Dutch elm disease. So how did this particular tree survive? Scientists from Michigan State University have visited Bennett’s farm several times in search of an answer. They believe that the iron absorbed into the tree’s system gave it the strength to resist the disease.
The farm holds mixed memories for Andrew whose grandfather committed suicide in the barn next to the elm tree. During a return visit, Andrew Bennett was staring at the scar on the tree when it suddenly dawned on him – from the tree’s scar came from its strength. Andrew then realized that his own emotional scars from his grandfather’s suicide could become his source of strength. He didn’t have to feel guilt and sadness. His memories of his grandfather, many of them about how his grandfather nurtured his interest in magic, could be leveraged into determination. That determination, in large part, is what drove him to become a successful speaker and magician.
The powerful concept of magic. (34:52)
Andrew began to look at his life as an art and science of transformation.
He started a leadership and organizational culture consulting and training firm. He uses magic in a powerful way to engage people to open their minds and stimulate powerful learning.
The Core of magic. (40:20)
At the core of Andrew’s Transformation Frame are three primary acts required for transformation – Appear, Disappear and Restore. If you want to transform your organization or your life, think about what things you need to make appear, what things you want to go away, and what things that need to be healed and restored. What are these things for you?
What does it mean by the word"ABRACADABRA". (43:37)
“Abracadabra” has Aramaic roots."What I speak, is what I create". What you speak to others is what you create in your life.
Andrew learned that there is some dissonance that is created in our human brains when we see something impossible becoming possible.
Transform your life like magic! Learn more at Andrew’s website.
