I'm saying before me, there was no me, in DC. You can make any style work. Kimmo, would love you to come to live show

If it was the way you described I would have placed Eric's name in the title. I would have mentioned his name only in the thread. I was speaking in general. I did not mention any names, but myself when it comes to feeling jealous. I did name some individuals people could be jealous over.

The other thread I started was about does anybody see a difference in how the children are in UK and USA. I thought of posting that thread to see if anyone is going to agree with ML. I am glad with the comments everyone posted. Are you heated over the two recent threads I started?

I see nothing negative towards you. I never seen any signs of jealously or negligence from you either. Just because you are not interested in a DVD does not mean you are hating it. I did not like Chris Capehart' s routine with the Linking Rings. Others told me the same thing. It does not mean we are jealous of him or hate what he is doing. I think he pleases his crowds more than magicians with his rountine. It is hard to find his Linking Ring DVD for sell now. But his other DVDs I am in loved with.

When I mentioned "negligence" in my first post I was speaking in general. I did pause to think of a different word. I could think of the specific word I was referring to, so I just got lazy and pictured something in general. I am not a professional writer like Mindpro and Gary.

I'm curious about this alleged jealousy - of course, it's extremely common in all aspects of performance arts. It seems to me, there's a lot less backstabbing and jealousy in our little corner, than in musical theatre, for instance. Anyone who's ever attended West End auditions can vouch for that!

It does seem that frequently, when folks make criticisms, it's assumed that they are jealous. "Stuff and nonsense", I say!

As I've always said, I'm more than happy for folks to criticise my video clips and shows. The harsher the better, as far as I'm concerned, although it gets a bit silly if it's emotive, and non-constructive.

As Mark Lewis would point out, "it's better to be talked about, than not."

It would be great if everyone could be brutally candid when commenting on others' shows, but too many home truths are rarely accepted graciously. I think it's a cultural thing, British skin is thick as rhino hide, we don't go for sugar-coating everything.

;)

I didn't know Al was British.

In an attempt to bring the thread back on topic, and away from the brewing war, I've found that when I've felt jealousy it usually stemmed from a lack of self examination on my part.
As an example I started out as a clown back in the nineties. I got into entertaining by accident when, working in a place called Zak's Fun House, I filled in at the last possible minute for a clown who bailed on a show. I literally put on a complete white face in less then five minutes. You DO NOT want to know what that looked like.
My first show went amazingly well even though I had no experience. It was just a great crowd who just liked what ever I did. A perfect storm.
The point is I left there thinking I was the man, on par with anyone who booked shows from the place. That was as far from the truth as the earth is from the sun.
Anyway I put myself into the pool of entertainers, started getting shows, and quickly realized how little I knew. A few bad shows will humble you FAST.
Even though I learned quickly, got better, and got more shows I found that I was jealous of those getting more than me.
Jealousy is, in my opinion, one of the most toxic emotions a human being can feel. It damages only yourself. The other person probably knows nothing about how you feel.
It caused me to be completely blind to my own shortcomings.
It was only when I started comparing myself, in a good way, with those I was jealous of that I turned the corner. I realized that they were simply better.
They had more experience, had more polished shows, and deserved their success. That's when I started to stop being full of myself and realized that I wasn't a clown, or a magician, or a balloon twister. I was an entertainer. I was expected to be entertaining. It wasn't what I thought of myself it was what my audience thought.
My point (yes I actually have one) is that the person with the jealousy has a problem. A big one. They feel neglected and under appreciated but they're doing it to themselves.
That's why a highly skilled sleight of hand performer, who struggles after years to make 40k, is jealous of the far less skilled newcomer, who quickly flies past him in both popularity and monetary success. His jealousy blinds to the fact that, oh I don't know, maybe he's just not entertaining. He thinks that people should be in awe of his skill, failing to realize that they don't care. They just want to have a good time. It's actually ironic since his skill should be invisible.
Had it have been possible for me to see TGZ back in the nineties,especially if I learned about how much he makes, I would have been jealous.
Now, knowing what my REAL job is, I'd understand.
Frankly when I first saw him on YouTube my initial reaction was "what the hell". I thought "THIS is the GREAT Zucchini?" Props everywhere, and, not only no costume but shorts and a t-shirt. Come on!
But as I watched it took about ten seconds for me to realize that he is one of those who "just gets it". The kids were having a ball, and more impressive, he was controlling the pandemonium. Anyone who can keep fifty 3 year olds moving the way he wants them to must know what they're doing. Otherwise they smell blood and attack!
He understands what his job is and delivers brilliantly.
The same way Tommy James gets it, and JR gets it. Same market, different shows, different approaches, same results. Laughing, happy, behaving children and very satisfied parents.
If you're feeling jealous you really don't have to go further than the nearest mirror to find the real problem.

I credit you with all my heart for being honest about your history. You are indeed a true man who is full of strength. I am proud of people like you. Thanks my friend.

NYCTwiste, very nice post. Excellent.

Yes, you can always find, not only the problem, but the answer too, in the mirror. ALWAYS.


Tom

Thanks guys.

The really sad thing was that, after I recovered from my "illness", those same performers turned out to be the nicest guys.
They freely shared their knowledge, even going so far as to accompany me on some of my gigs.
As a result I learned in minutes what would have taken much longer, if I ever learned it at all.

I'm not at all jealous of other performers (and "negligence"? That one really threw me!) If anything, I feel like "If they can do it, so can I" and I am encouraged to try harder, emulate them, or at the very least try to figure out what I'm missing that made that lame-*ss performer successful.

Twister, amazing and real post. I appreciate your sentiments tremendously. Thanks for sharing

Great post Mike, but be warned: this trying to promote peace and understanding within humanity can be a dangerous business! I can think of 3 people famous for trying it--one in the 60's , one in the 40's, and one in the first century. 2 of them were shot, and the third...well...lets just say the other two got off easy!

LOL. Thanks for the warning. I'm keeping my head down low.

Great post Dynamike and I guess this is the calm before the storm. Just to add, where Iive, there are not many children's entertainers. However, when I started performing for financial rewards, one came out of the woodwork. He was a magician but did mainly adult stuff. I happened to perform at a child's birthday party and his child was also there. For my part, the party went well and I was booked for the following year. However, pretty much straight after this, the phone stopped ringing and when it did ring, it was to cancel a pre-booked party. Further investigations led me to the reason. My fellow magician had started a kind of smear campaign. His justification was that I was not a full time children's entertainer unlike him so my work was not at his high standards.

The truth of the matter is that he was jealous. Jealous that his son was entertained by another entertainer and jealous that his son also wanted me to perform at his next birthday party. It took me a while to get back out there and I now do 2 or 3 a month which is where I want to be as I do indeed do other things. I am sure I will bump into this person again as sadly the world has it's fair share of jealous people whether it is in the form of an internet warrior or just your regular Joe Bloggs.

All the people I'm jealous of are awesome entertainers so instead of slagging them off I make friends with them...

Marjochan,
That's a horrible story.

Thank you JamesinLA. That's life I guess. Now that my magician friend has started doing kids parties, there is a little less work for me, but I am happy to say that the ones I do get, give me further bookings. Not so bad for somebody who is just 'part time' The best bit is that his show is completely different to mine. His is mainly magic. Mine is music, dance and magic, more of a short journey for the children for a couple of hours. It works well for me. I'm not sure it would work as well for him.

Twister, amazing and real post. I appreciate your sentiments tremendously. Thanks for sharing