“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” – Michael Jordan
Welcome to March’s “Mysteries of the Mind” monthly newsletter!
We beat out the Neanderthals because they lacked social skills and perhaps Stonehenge was a teambuilding exercise. (Really) Read on!
For decades, anthropologists have puzzled over Neanderthal and human brains, since they are about the same size. If each species had comparable brainpower, why did humans dominate in the end?
A recent comparison of Neanderthal and human brains has revealed it was a matter of allocation of brain power: Neanderthal brains focused more on supporting their bigger eyes and moving their larger bodies, leaving less room for areas related to social networking.
As my anthropology professors used to say, “Even though we were smaller and weaker, we were able to team up and drop rocks on them.”
Neanderthals went extinct because they were less capable of forming large social networks. In a recent study Eiluned Pearce theorized that “smaller social groups might have made Neanderthals less able to cope with the difficulties of their harsh Eurasian environments because they would have had fewer friends to help them out in times of need.“
I am so grateful to all of my friends! Please let me know if I can do anything to help you out in your harsh environment.
Stonehenge:
In other interesting ancient news, new research shows that Stonehenge may have been something like an ancient team-building exercise. According to the University College London’s Dr. Pearson, the beginning of the site’s construction coincides with a time of increased unity among the Neolithic people of Britain. These ancient people may have banded together to build the monument.
“Stonehenge itself was a massive undertaking, requiring the labor of thousands to move stones from as far away as west Wales, shaping them and erecting them,” Pearson said in a statement. “Just the work itself, requiring everything literally to pull together, would have been an act of unification.“
Next month I am working with medical teams in Ft. Myers, Florida for 2 days of intense teambuilding and management training. Perhaps we can use our highly evolved social skills and teamwork to build something that will last the test of time!
Please contact me if you have an office or organization in your area that would like an anthropologist / Vegas Mentalist to present a clean corporate show, or lead workshops on communication, motivation and change management!
“My feeling is that mythic forms reveal themselves gradually in the course of your life if you know what they are and how to pay attention to their emergence. My own initiation into the mythic depths of the unconscious has been through the mind, through the books thatsurround me in this library. I have recognized in my quest all the stages of the hero’s journey. I had my calls to adventure, my guides, demons, and illuminations.” -Joseph Campbell in Psychology Today, July 1971
How Smart Is Your Dog?
Everyone seems to think their dog feels guilty when it does something bad. Is that true?
The best study on that was by Alexandra Horowitz. [Horowitz had dog owners instruct their dogs not to eat a treat placed on the floor and then leave the room. When the owners returned, a research assistant told them whether their dog had obeyed — only sometimes the researcher lied and said the dog had eaten the treat when it hadn’t, or vice-versa]. The only thing that predicted the dog’s response was whether their person looked upset. They got that guilty look whenever the person thought they had done something wrong, regardless of whether they had. Dogs are probably responding to your behavior rather than what they’ve done. That’s an area where people attribute too much.
Two Weber State University Alumni return to Ogden, Utah for 2 shows to raise money to support the Arts in the home of their alma mater.
Music & Mystery: Starring J. Michael Bailey & Paul Draper
March 23rd 2pm & 7pm. Tickets are $12 for students, $15 for adults. Purchase your tickets now here
An Evening of Music and Mystery will feature acclaimed actor and singer/songwriter J. Michael Bailey and renowned Las Vegas magician andmind reader Paul Draper. The two performers will weave music and magic into a tapestry of entertainment and amazement, that will thrill children and adults alike. The perfect date or night out with the family. Music and Mystery should not be missed!
“The life so short, the craft so long to learn.” – Hippocrates (Ancient Greek physician, founder of the Hippocratic School of Medicine)
Welcome to February’s “Mysteries of the Mind” monthly newsletter!
Art vs. Craft
Is the child who dances in the rain, in their backyard, between mud puddles performing art? Are they a skilled craftsman? Or are they merely exuding their joy for life?
If a parent of that youth takes a lovely photograph of their child dancing, leaping in the air with a face full of joy and water splashing all around them… is that art?
I believe that it becomes art the moment that someone else sees the creation and says, “I am deeply and profoundly touched by that experience, that is art.” Art, to me, is defined by the other. The experience of the outside individual who experiences it defines it. I become an artist through the interaction of my art and the audience. It is also my contention that context has a lot to do with art: the frame, the museum, the theater, and the space within which the art is displayed.
Showcasing the performance of expert violinist Joshua Bell performing classical pieces in the subway station to see if anyone would stop for free art on the same week he had performed for $100 per ticket at Boston’s stately Symphony Hall.
Is Sophia Lucia an Artist or Craftswoman? Watch Here
Sophia Lucia
She clearly has nearly perfect technique and execution of the moves, but has she performed art with her skill? Perhaps you would enjoy her work more if played on the Ellen DeGeneres Show: Watch Here
Certainly we now pay greater attention. But even in this venue, is it art or craft?
So to define the separation of artist, variety artist, performance artist and craftsman is a very difficult one. In England and throughout the UK they separate the joiner from the carpenter. One builds things out of wood as a craftsman and one creates art with wood. In the US we use the same word for both. Perhaps something is lost in that transatlantic translation within the same language.
For now I will say that I work on my craft with the intention of creating art and my audience decides after seeing my performances if I am an artist. What are your thoughts on the difference between Art and Craft?
Here is a recent 44-second clip from my show performing some bubble magic for a Birthday Boy. Is it art? Watch Here
Please contact me if you have an office ororganization in your area that would like an anthropologist / Vegas Mentalist to present a clean corporate show, or come to lead workshops on communication, motivation and change management!
“To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind of food that it is very good but that most people can’t eat it.” – Leo Tolstoy (Famous Russian author of War & Peace, Anna Karenina and others)
“He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.” – St. Francis of Assisi
The Happiest Elephant in the World
This elephant plays on the beach in India
Watching this made me so happy I watched it 3 times in a row!
If you didn’t know I am a big fan of Elephants, Rhinos and other large mammals.
I received this as a share from my wonderful friend (and animal activist)
Watch Here
Joanie Spina Artistic Director/Casting Director! Learn more about Joanie and her work with David Copperfield and buy her DVD’s for magicians and performers here
EagleEyes Project
Click Here
Utah Friends: Friday, February the 22nd I will be the MC for a charity show at Olympus High School supporting the EagleEyes efforts to supply heavily disabled people with the tools necessary to use computers and communicate with others. This will be one of the last shows on the Olympus High Stage before it is torn down to make room for the new building. Come and support this wonderful charity. Live and Silent auctions, local artists, performers, music and more!
“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things – not the great occasions – give off the greatest glow of happiness.”– Bob Hope
Welcome to December’s “Mysteries of the Mind” monthly newsletter!
Bob Hope’s quote rings so true to me. When I think of the happy memories this season, it often surrounds someone who made cookies, sent a hand written card or shared a story with me. This year a little girl, only 11 years old, wrote a new version of the 12 days of Christmas for me and sang it in her brightest voice in my living room. What gift could be bought that could replace that? None.
As Chanukah ends, Christmas is coming and the New Year approaches, I am so very thankful to you for staying with me and reading these newsletters. I recently read the book “The Art Of Thank-You: Crafting Notes of Gratitude”.
It is amazing that in this digital age we often forget to say thank you to people. Harvard Business Review recently had an article on the importance of sending a quick thank you email in response to emails that others send. It may feel like extra clutter, but it lets the other party know that you received the message and read it. It also feels good to say thank you. We must always remember that no one is required to be nice to us. We don’t deserve kindness. And yet many people are kind and giving to us, asking nothing in return but a thank you. It is our responsibility to thank them and to pass kindnesses forward to others. Not because they deserve it, or because we want something from them – but simply because it makes the world better in that one brief moment.
Say thank you to a facilities person cleaning the floors, say thank you to a housekeeper in a hotel, say thank you to door man, a parent with a polite child, to co workers and your family members and friends you haven’t seen in a while. Don’t do it because I say so, do it because it will make a big difference in how you feel.
I challenge you today to say or write “Thank You” to 10 people. It can be on their Facebook page, in a quick email, hand written or in person. Just say 2 magic words that make every day better.
Thank you, Paul
P.S. End of the World Sale! Book my show for your Christmas party. I won’t send out any invoices until Dec 22nd. If the world ends, you won’t need to pay EVER! 😉
Please contact me if you have an office or organization in your area that would like an anthropologist / Vegas Mentalist to present a clean corporate show, or come and lead workshops on communication, motivation and change management!
(A traditional Hanukkah photo at the Magic Castle with a traditional Hollywood Mrs. Claus.)
“One can never have enough socks,” said Dumbledore. “Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.” -J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
In the last month I have been fortunate enough to spend time at Disneyland, Disneyworld and Disney of Glendale (Imagineering offices). However, I recently discovered that one of my friends, Chris Ritter is panning a trip to Disney, as he hasn’t been since 1992 and his wife has never been! I am thankful to him for all of his kind words and advice over the last few years and also for sending me this fun video while we were talking about the best strategy for what to see and do at Disney. (Let me know if you are planning a trip, I can help you.)
“Disneyland apparently no longer has Mission to Mars, but maybe this clip is even cooler.” – Chris
“Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive no matter what they feel by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt or fear.” – Dan Millman
Welcome to October’s Mysteries of the Mind Newsletter
WILLPOWER.
I just read a fantastic book on this subject. “Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength.” Recently out in paperback.
One of my favorite stories from this book is the update on the famous 1968 Marshmallow test. In the early 70’s researcher and psychologist Walter Mischel of Stanford first published his ingenious experiment with Marshmallows and 4 year olds. 40 years later, after following these kids throughout their lives, the long-term results are in and they are life changing, literally.
The Test: Mischel submitted hundreds of four-year-olds to a test of willpower. The kids were set in a small room with a marshmallow or cookie and told they could either eat the treat now, or, if they could hold out for another 15 minutes until the researcher returned, they could have two.
The Results: Most children said they would wait. But some failed to resist the temptation for even 30 seconds. Many struggled a little longer than a minute before giving in. The most successful participants, however, figured out how to distract themselves from the tempting treat by turning around, covering their eyes, petting the marshmallow like it was a pet or kicking the desk. By changing their focus they delayed gratification for the full 15 minutes and received two treats.
Recent follow-up studies on these preschoolers found that those who were able to wait the 15 minutes were significantly less likely to have problems with behavior, drug addiction or obesity by the time they were in high school, compared with kids who devoured the snack in less than a minute. The gratification-delayers also scored an average of 210 points higher on their SAT scores.
Mischel recently wrote that most people tend to focus on the immediate pleasure of the experience. The marshmallow. They will think of the temptation, as Mischel likes to say, in a “hot” or emotional way that makes it hard to resist. The same can be said of an adult smoker or alcoholic. But if you do want to resist, says Mischel, what you need to do is think about the object you desire in a “cold” or cognitive way.
So, for example, to help the children resist the treat, before leaving the room Mischel told the kids to imagine the treat in front of them differently. “I told them to think about those marshmallows as if they were just cotton puffs, or clouds. Those instructions to the 4-year-olds had a dramatic effect on their ability to wait for the thing that they couldn’t wait for before.” By changing perspective it changes reality. By changing our focus we can overcome temptation.
Happy Halloween! Make sure to eat all of your candy, but leave a marshmallow for me!
Here is a modern clip of some 4 year olds trying to resist
Watch here
“Nothing can withstand the power of the human will if it is willing to stake its very existence to the extent of its purpose.” – Benjamin Disraeli
“You can have anything in this life that you want. It is just a matter of choosing what you want. Being okay with what you have to “give up” to have it. And then being satisfied with it once you achieve it.” -Paul Draper
My first theatrical (TV & Film) acting reel!
Thank you to all of the actors and filmmakers involved!
Sean Critchfield, Simon Relph, Danny Trippett, Jaron Briggs, Justin Carter, Michelle Egli Zumbrunnen, Taylor Glenn, Bethany Elsmore Curry, Autumn Applebaum, Bronson Anderson and many more.
Find more videos like this at my new theater page: Click Here
Halloween
This Halloween marks my 34th Birthday and 4 years as a full time independent entertainer and lecturer. Back in October of 2008 I took the bull by the horns, summed up the courage (and willpower) to become my own boss and master of my own destiny. In honor of that anniversary, a brand new “Day in my Life” 2012 video. Who knows what wonderful things we will all be doing next year if we begin our journey today. This is what I have been blessed to be doing this week.
“It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” -Henry David Thoreau
Welcome to August’s Mysteries of the Mind Newsletter
There just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. Some new research suggests that it’s possible to change that feeling, paradoxically, by spending some of our precious time helping other people.
Cassie Mogilner of the University of Pensilvania, Zoë Chance of the Yale School of Management and Michael Norton of Harvard Business School recently authored the paper “You’ll Feel Less Rushed If You Give Time Away.”
The results: Spending time helping others leaves people feeling as if they have more time, not less.
The research: In a battery of studies, researchers assigned some subjects to help another person-by writing a note to a sick child, for example, or editing a student’s essay-and instructed another group of subjects to do something else. In one study the other group wasted time by counting the letter e‘s in Latin text, in a second study they did something for themselves, and in a third they simply left the academic lab early. In each experiment the people who lent a hand to others felt as if they had more time than the people who did not.
Researchers said that they thought it might be the social connection, the meaning, or the enjoyment associated with helping others that made the study subjects feel more relaxed about their time. But the explanation that emerged in the results is that people who give time feel more capable, confident, and useful. They feel they’ve accomplished something and, therefore, that they can accomplish more in the future. And this self-efficacy makes them feel that time is more expansive.
By giving away time to others, the study found that individuals feel more effective, and that enhances their productivity.
(Certainly if you’re giving so much time away that you’re not able to complete other tasks, then it’s not going to work.)
But the research indicates that giving even a small amount of time to someone else should make you feel you can do more in the time you have. The study showed that it didn’t matter if individuals gave 10 minutes, 30 minutes or a full day, the same positive benefits in productivity and feeling of having more time were realized in just 10 minutes.
“A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.” -Jack London
So many lessons in leadership to be learned! Communication, Motivation and Change.
“Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.” – John Adams
Commercials
Last month I gave you the preview of my first regional commercial. Union Wireless Cellular uses a little magic to talk about Mystery Fees. UW is the premier telecommunications provider in the Rocky Mountain region and #1 in Yellowstone National Park.
Now you can see both the first and second commercial here.
Your Favorite Sites
What are your favorite sites on the internet to visit other than: Facebook, Amazon, Ebay, Pintrest, twitter. What are some fun sites that I may have never heard of that have great content or great design?
This is a question that I asked some of my friends on facebook this month. Here are their fantastic answers. Enjoy!
“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.” – John Adams
Welcome to July’s “Mysteries of the Mind” monthly newsletter!
“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.” -John Adams
Certainly on July 2nd representatives decided that the colonies would separate from England and be united (verb) States (still independent) of America (the continent) and stand together against the English monarch.
But, they still had many years to go before the creation of a people known as “THE United States of America” (singular).
July 4th 1776 a copy of the Declaration of Independence written by Jefferson, edited by Adams and Franklin and polished by the rest was read outside of the Pennsylvania State House (Independence hall) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I keep a reproduction on parchment from Independence Square that hangs on my bedroom wall; I look at it every day that I’m in Vegas. It inspires me. Within the leadership, vision, courage and passion of those men we can still learn many lessons that are applicable today. In my corporate lectures, I often use their stories to educate modern managers about change management, corporate culture leadership and individual accountability.
On July 19th 1776 Congress ordered all members sign the Declaration of Independence.
By August 2nd 1776 all but 5 had signed.
Thomas McKean was the final signer; he didn’t add his John Handcock (see what I did there) to the final document until 1781, over 5 years later.
After the declaration was signed, there were still 7 years of battle and smallpox outbreaks to overcome before the end of the Revolutionary War. This was followed by 4-5 years of civil unrest (and several Presidents of these United States – who came before Washington) until the current Constitution was passed in 1787.
However, not everyone agreed. North Carolina didn’t agree to the current constitution until almost a year later and Rhode Island took almost a year and a half after everyone else to join in 1790.
So once the constitution was signed, were these states unified as one nation speaking as one unified voice? No, in 1864 the phrase “United States” was still treated as plural “the United States are”. It didn’t become common to treat it as singular, “the United States is ” until after the end of the Civil War in 1865 almost 90 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
So many lessons in leadership to be learned! Communication, Motivation and Change.
If you work for a company that has sales meetings, corporate retreats, annual trainings etc. – Let whoever organizesthem know about my website www.anthropologyoffice.com . (Probably the VP of HR or the Dir. of Marketing).
It would be fun to bring these interactive sessions & shows to your group. (If you want it to be anonymous, private message me with their contact and either I or one of my managers will “cold call” and follow up)
Looking forward to spending time with you in your city.
“Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.” – John Adams
My first regional commercial!
My first regional commercial! Union Wireless Cellular uses a little magic to talk about Mystery Fees. UW is the premier telecommunications provider in the Rocky Mountain region and #1 in Yellowstone National Park.
This is the first in a series. More to come next month.
Vegas Mentalist / Magician responds to the New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg Soda Ban.
Come to Vegas and enjoy the freedom to drink all of the soda you want!
