Recently the Portland Society of Magicians has their amateur magic contest. This was for people who don’t really perform for pay.
What I love about things like this is getting to see all the different styles of magic that are performed. Also, it lets me see the various trends that are going around magic.
One thing I noticed in the contest was that there were two acts where the trick didn’t work, and they ended at that point. That’s something that separates pros from amateurs: how they deal with mistakes. A pro will plow on and figure out a way out of it, whereas the amateur doesn’t necessarily have that “toolbox” to get them out of the situation. How do you get the “toolbox” of outs, simple, you fail a lot! Failure is part of the learning process and a very important part of it!
The more you fail, the better you get!
-Louie