Magic, according to Dynamo

My parents were visiting recently from the UK (I moved to Australia 7 years ago) and we were catching up on what we were into watching on the TV. They started raving about Dynamo, a British Magician, who I had never heard of.  My mum grabbed the remote control and started cruising the channels, and, lo and behold, Dynamo's show was on TV at that very moment.  Since then I have been mildly obsessed with him (much to my husband's amusement).  He has made it onto this blog because I just read the book about his life, Nothing is Impossible.

First of all, if you haven't seen his TV shows, seek them out - they are highly entertaining and completely baffling.  I started out a cynic but was quickly sucked in.  When I first saw him performing magic on TV I felt a strange sensation of delight and disbelief that often made me burst out laughing.  I was talking about him in the office the other day and one of my (completely normal, sane) colleagues said "He just brings joy!" Exactly.   

What is magic anyway? Dynamo quotes Joseph Dunninger (he says he was a pioneer of magic):

"For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who do not, none will suffice." 

This reminds me of the end of the Life of Pi and its religious undertones. Dynamo reflects on this quote and says:

"I think magic is a feeling, it's an emotion. It's something that is brought out in someone when they're witnessing something they can't explain. They think, I can't explain that, it must be magic."

Secondly, please don't dismiss this book as a shallow "celebrity autobiography". It's not.  This book is an inspiring story about standing up to bullies, coping with a chronic illness (Crohn's disease) and long spells of hospitalisation, the life transforming influence of his grandfather (who introduced him to magic) and being totally focused on magic and excelling at it. It's about taking opportunities, joining forces with other people, having great ideas and being dedicated to pursuing them. He's a great role model.  Despite all his success and celebrity friends he comes across as being completely modest and down to earth.

It's funny, I was thinking while I was reading it that (by accident rather than by design I'm sure), Dynamo looks like he's ticked all the boxes Roman Krznaric talks about in "How to Find Fulfilling Work" - he's covered all the elements essential to meaning: he's cultivating his passions and talents (magic), he is doing work that makes a difference (entertaining people), he's earned money and gained status (fame and respect for his skills) - and pursued them in that order, which in my mind makes him seem like an all round great bloke.  He also ticks off flow (pursuing magic for its own sake, not the rewards it brings) and freedom to do as he pleases. Dynamo's found fulfilling work!