Unmystical Art

Maybe this sounds familiar.

I used to believe in magic. I was a child magician performing tricks I learned in books and bought in kits. The tricks were obviously not magic to me, but my hope was that I would get there. I thought the deeper I got into illusions, the closer I would come to the supernatural. Instead, I got even more clear about how all of us are fooled by the natural into seeing what doesn’t exist. It hasn’t made me jaded, but it has made me less into …

  • spirituality
  • luck
  • magic
  • astrology
  • hero worship
  • and more!

Although I’m very pragmatic and material, this hope for magic transferred into my career growth. I thought I would be great at entertaining and kinda do whatever I wanted and somehow, a leprechaun would grant me fame, unlimited resources, and fulfillment. I got some of that, but not via horse shoes and birthday candles.

Mystique hurts

I believe for us to be motivated to create, we need to be heroes in our own stories.

One way to ruin a story is to make some kind of magic show up that solves everything. The hero must solve the problem. The more agency the hero has, the better. The more the hero is alone, the better. The more the hero turns their flaws into strengths, the better.

The way to do the opposite of waiting for magic is to get specific about what we want to do, and find the path to that thing. We become the hero. We’re not waiting for someone or something to show up and fix stuff. We’re not the dudes in distress, we’re the damsels of design.

Written for folks who want to attract and energize groups

Scot Nery is an emcee who has helped some of the biggest companies in the world achieve entertainment success. He's on an infinite misson to figure out what draws people in and engages them with powerful moments.

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