The “Bag of Tricks”
May 21, 2009
What you have in your own “bag of tricks” can help other people deal more effectively with problem situations.
We have numerous opportunities each day to have a positive impact on the lives of the people we meet. How we act upon these opportunities can completely change a difficult situation into an agreeable one.
Anyone who travels by air knows that from time to time there are bound to be delays, equipment failures, and a whole assortment of other problems that can keep your flight from departing on time. For people traveling with children, the aggravation can be compounded when the children begin to get restless and impatient.
Sometimes, when this happens, I offer to help out with my “bag of tricks.” This bag is a leather case I carry in place of a wallet to hold my credit cards, airline tickets, and cash. But it also has a compartment that holds materials for about two hours of close-up magic.
My daughter jokingly refers to this as my “purse.” In fact, the standard joke in my house is, “Daddy, do you have your PURSE?” and I answer, “It’s not a PURSE…it’s a MAN’S CASE!”
It’s amazing what happens to loud, restless children when you pull a red ball out of their ear, make it vanish, and then reappear in their own hand! Their whole demeanor changes from wired and jumpy to stunned silence. Their vocabulary gets reduced to five words: “How did you do that???”
This is normally followed by, “Can you do another trick? Please?” (The “please” is usually offered by a grateful parent.) At this time I open up my bag of tricks and perform a few effects for whoever is watching. Sometimes it’s just the family I started out with. Sometimes a few other families gather around. Sometimes it seems as if half the people on our flight have come over to watch.
But no matter how many people are observing, the ones who witness the magic end up with big smiles on their faces and usually will have forgotten about their flight being delayed. This is what magic can do.
In your own work environment, and in your personal life, you probably have similar opportunities to impact others favorably. Your customers, co-workers, suppliers, and families all face challenging and stressful situations every day.
What do you have in your own “bag of tricks” that can help other people deal with these situations more effectively? Sometimes it’s just taking a minute to listen. Sometimes it may be offering to help out a bit. It’s different for each individual; each person’s bag of tricks contains its own magic.
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