Dan Chan
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Summary
Hey everyone. I wanted to quickly let you know about the release of the audio version of my book, The Entrepreneur Ethos, narrated by David A. Conatser. If you want to support the show, you can buy it wherever audiobooks are sold. Links are also in the show notes.
Now on to my guest for today, Dan Chan, The Billionaire’s Magician.
Dan became interested in magic at a young age, learning from the pros and frequenting Misdirections, a magic shop in San Francisco that offers lectures and guests. After working in the finance department in Paypal in its early days, he embarked on a full-time career as a professional magician. Dan has dubbed himself the “billionaire’s magician” because he performs for some of the highest-profile figures and companies, including Google, Netflix, LinkedIn, Salesforce, and Zillow. He also gives talks to companies and organizations on such topics as avoiding scams and pickpockets.
In this show, Dan provides a lot of insight and tips into being a creative entrepreneur. First, he believes in reverse engineering success. When he wants to achieve something, he assesses his goal to make sure it’s realistic and achievable, then figures out the steps he needs to take to get there.
When COVID hit, while he at first feared for his future, he quickly learned what it took to do shows online and now finds himself regularly booked for acts he performs from his own theater. He also believes in the value of learning from others, and copying techniques to make them your own. Succeeding in the entertainment business is as much about authenticity as it is about learning your craft.
Dan refers to himself as an “improv artist,” one who can quickly respond to the audience and environment no matter what it throws at you. He credits his many experiences just getting out there and doing his thing to be one of the most important ways to learn. Dan started teaching his son James magic tricks at an early age, and at 13 he is also already achieving some success.
Now let’s get better together.
Actions to Try or Advice to Take
- If you’re a creative, learn all you can from others. Take skills and techniques and add a new twist to them. This is one of the keys to earning followers and respect.
- Ignore the hecklers and learn to put aside your ego. Chan notes that magicians who keep performing and become successful have all dealt with hecklers; learning how to respond and keep going anyway are vital to success.
- Look for ways to provide value and for the hidden sources of value in others. When a potential client whom he saw as a good connection couldn’t offer him his going rate, he recognized how she could provide value in other ways, and that’s paid off.
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