Mysteries of the Mind - October 2017

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.”
-Kurt Vonnegut

Welcome to October’s “Mysteries of the Mind” monthly newsletter!

“Be so good they can’t ignore you.“
– Steve Martin

Some of the best advice I’ve ever been given by an acting coach:

“Be careful when you choose the character you are going to play. Make sure to choose someone you like, because you are going to be him a lot.”
– Timothy Cummings

This newsletter is going to be about making choices concerning who and what you want to be.

We will talk about Halloween costumes gone wrong, the key to booking gigs and the tools you’ll need when you get there, and a little bit about my becoming the presenter I am today!

My Journey

It all began nine years ago on my 30th birthday, Halloween. My character on stage is essentially a heightened version of me. He dresses better, is a little more high-energy, and has more jokes per minute, but is basically a larger-than-life version of who I am on an average, happy day. I started with the design of the set I wanted to perform on – a mix of my classroom at UNLV and my living room. Then, I decided on the clothes I wanted to wear: a three-piece suit! And then I sat (and sat) in that space and in that suit and imagined what I would say if I were given the chance to sit and speak with all of you. Since I began my full-time professional career as a speaker and mentalist following the stock market crash of 2008, my shows, keynotes, and performances have adapted and become more refined. It will be exciting to see what new surprises and opportunities appear in the next year. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to perform somewhere near you! Let me know if you have any suggestions or leads!

Your Journey

Magicians, speakers, and executives often ask me about how to become successful, and from time to time, they hire me for week-long intensive workshops to help them on their journeys. Enjoy a quick insight into some of the key thoughts I often share here on this topic.

If you are looking to move up in an organization or be hired by a buyer, remember that:

Decision makers need to know you exist
It isn’t their job to find you: it is your job to find them and reach out.
They need to know how you fulfill their needs
You need to determine their needs and build presentations that will help them succeed.
They need to know that they can afford you
Know your market and build a pricing structure with options that they can afford.

And once I am hired and have the opportunity to be in front of a group to present or lead, it is vital that I have the greatest possible chances for success.

It is my job to make sure that when the time comes to speak, I have prepared the client and the venue to make sure that I am:
The tallest thing in the room (stage or platform)
The loudest thing in the room (microphone and speakers)
The brightest thing in the room (lighting)
Close to the audience (in proximity or on screens)
Introduced by a respected person from the group I will be addressing.

Halloween Night:

As some of you know, I am passionate about and Inclusion Center for Community and Justice (ICCJ) and serve as a member of the center’s board of directors. We recently held our annual Humanitarian Social to raise money for education and leadership opportunities to support our diverse community. This led me to consider some of the troubling costumes that I often see – and even some that I wore in my youth before I learned and grew enough to think better of it. NPR’s Code Switch offers a great, helpful response to the concerns of the mother of a young girl who wants to dress up as a Voodoo doll for Halloween. It also links to some powerful articles about other questionable costumes and inappropriately themed parties:

On Halloween, Insensitivity Goes Beyond Kimonos And Black Face
Read Here

Please feel free to email me any time, and let’s set up a Skype call if you want to talk person-to-person about what we can do in our own lives to create more opportunities for ourselves and others to grow.

When it is time for your group to gather and celebrate, remember that I am available for corporate banquets, trade shows, morning energizer meetings, and events. I’m never too busy for your referrals.

Your friend,
-Paul Draper
paul@mentalmysteries.com
801-541-2976

Latest Demo Videos:
Mentalism: Watch Here
Keynote: Watch Now
Strolling: View Here

Websites:
wwww.PaulWDraper.com
www.MentalMysteries.com
www.AnthropologyOffice.com
www.helpinghospitalsheal.com

“Whenever I’m caught between two evils, I take the one I never tried.”
-Mae West

Student Orientation

The University of Utah hired me for 14 shows this year as part of their student orientation.

This video was shot at my final performance of the season.

University Demo: Watch Here
Shot by: Joshua LeVitre
Edited by: Chris Oberle

Salt Lake Comic Con had me interview more celebrities last month! Soon, I will be adding the wonderful Jewel Staite from Firefly to my demo (you can find the full interview online) but until then, enjoy some highlights from a few of my favorite celebrity interviews: