“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”
Welcome to May’s “Mysteries of the Mind” monthly newsletter!
We are just a few days away from Mother’s Day and so I begin with a quote that hung in my mother’s kitchen throughout my childhood on a small painted wooden sign that read “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” The sign didn’t give the name of the author, nor did it offer the speech or book it came from. However, the concept of the quote inspired her, and today it and she inspires me.
My mother was a single mom for most of my life and she had the difficult task of raising a precocious son with a love of music and magic.
At one of my early performances at the Magic Castle she was seated next to actor Neil Patrick Harris and with a smile he asked if she performed magic as well. Her answer was “I only do one trick, I make magicians appear” he laughed and she continued “but I’ve only done it once!”
As a girl she worked as a checker in her father’s grocery store, then owned a small museum replica gift shop she called “the Cat’s Meow” before changing her career to work as a CRS Broker in real estate. She worked long hours and focused all of her tenacity and energy on customer service, integrity, self-education and humor.
At night I would catch her reading the encyclopedia from cover to cover. First the A’s and then the B’s and so on. After she had read the entire set, she would start over and read them again. From that set of books alone she walked away with a better education than many people gather over years in university.
At times the housing market was slow and she would stay up late at night working on marketing, advertising and personal newsletters to capture the attention of past clients in the hope that they would use her services again or refer her to their friends. Sometimes, times were so tough and money was so tight that she would tie a knot in the end of her rope and rent rooms in our house to help pay bills and hold on.
I never went hungry. She made sure of that. I never went without shoes or clothes or a roof over my head. She would go hungry first. It was important to her that I graduate from university, she used to say, “An evil government or an evil person can take away your house or your possessions, but they can never take away your mind.” She wanted to make sure that I had a knot to hold onto. At the peak of her career she was bringing home $300,000 per year selling family properties, an incredible sum for a single mother in Utah.
In her final days she taught me her most valuable lesson. “In this life, surround yourself with people of kindness over those who are just rich or beautiful.Because wealth and money are fleeting but kindness is forever. Be a person of kindness and you will never be poor.”
My mother passed away a few days ago (March 28th of 2012) at the age of 55. But through her hard work and dedication to the two of us as a family, she gave me the opportunity for an education, helped me through the struggle of becoming a full time educator and entertainer, and has given me the gift of a knot to hang onto to catch my breath before beginning to climb back up to the top of the rope again.
I don’t know who originally said, “When you get to the end of your rope tie a knot and hang on.” A quick search on the Internet finds Franklin Roosevelt in Kansas 1977 (oddly, 22 years after his death), Ben Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, the bible, and even Winston Churchill. My roommate Mike Olsen found it possibly first in print in a 1946 article in “California Folklore Quarterly” listed as “a proverb of the American West”.
No matter who said it first, I will always see it in my mind hanging as a small painted wooden sign in my mother’s kitchen. It reminds me to never give up, accept that sometimes life gets rough and when it does, tie a knot, hang on, gather up strength and sum up the courage to once again begin climbing in the direction of your dreams!
Remember to give your mom a big hug this Mother’s Day.
-Paul
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!
God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them. ~John Aughey
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas WorthSpreading. It started in 1984 as a conference bringing together people fromthree worlds: Technology, Entertainment, & Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TEDConference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, as well as the annual TED Prize.
The 48 Hour Film Project is a wild and sleepless weekend in which you and a team make a movie—write, shoot, edit and score it—in just 48 hours.
On Friday night, you get a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre, all to include in your movie. 48 hours later, the movie must be complete. Then it will show at a local theater on the big screen within the week.
In 2011, nearly 60,000 filmmakers made 4,000 films in 96 cities on 6 continents.
For your 4 minutes of viewing pleasure, this years submission from my team: click here
You can also catch some of my past years projects here: click here
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.” -Albert Einstein
Welcome to February’s “Mysteries of the Mind” monthly newsletter!
A recent study by professor of medicine Donald Redelmeier at the University of Toronto in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that Oscar winners live nearly four years longer than nominees.
And multiple winners, he says, live an average of six years longer. This echoes broader findings that suggest rich people live longer.
The study claims that the elevated social standing that goes along with getting an Oscar is what may contribute to a longer life. Researchers believe that most Oscar winners live longer because they have an increased level of control over their work and therefore, they’re less stressed. (The most common cause of death among all performers was heart disease.)
Winning directors exceed the aforementioned 4 years of actors and live on average 4.5 years longer than nominated directors.
“Once you’ve got that statuette on your mantel place, it’s an uncontested sign of peer approval that nobody can take away from you, so that any subsequent harsh reviews, it leaves you more resilient,” Redelmeier said. “It doesn’t quite get under your skin. The normal stresses and strains of everyday life do not drag you down.“
Perhaps Oscar winners feel pressure to preserve their image, which could lead to healthier behavior. Oscar winners are also likely to benefit from managers, trainers,personal chefs, and other support staff that help them live a healthy lifestyle. The researchers conclude, “The main implication is that higher status may be linked to lower mortality rates even at very impressive levels of achievement.“
However, my writer friends are the ones who should really be concerned about too much success,Oscar-winning screenwriters usually live 3.6 years less than screenwriters who were just nominated. One possible reason is the different type of lifestyle required for writing screenplays. In other words, while actors spend time working out and eating well, writers are often hunched over their computers pounding out words.
Fascinating findings. I believe, however, that there are many things that we can do with attitude, consciousness and action to create the same benefits of winning an Oscar without actually having to have one of those gold guys on the shelf. Take action today to see yourself as a winner without having to have the approval of others and you will live a longer life because of it!
-Paul
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.“ -Michael Jordan
Acknowledge your personal Genius! Life is about the journey and every day is a gift.
“It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.“ – Buddha
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011)
As a book lover and classic film buff, this is one that I just need to share.
At Sunday’s Academy Awards it seemed that looking back paid off big as two different homages to silent cinema, The Artist and Hugo, earned five Oscars a piece. Yet these were not the night’s only Oscar-honored tributes to silent film -just the longest. In the often overlooked category of Best Animated Short Film, it was the whimsically titled The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore that explored the possibilities of dialogue-free storytelling to come out on top. Watch for the fun Buster Keaton references.
Success at the Magic Castle!
The Magic Castle is now showcasing my poster in the Gallerie d’ Arte between the dining room and the Palace of Mystery in Hollywood, California.
To get to this moment, it took an amazing number of creative people. Nathan Meier directed the photo, Dave Tada took the photo and edited it, R. Black drew the image and created the concept, everyone on my Facebook page and in my creative group added insight and suggestions that lead to the final design, Norm Nielsen printed the artwork on canvas, Tracy Quattrin framed it, Paula Draper and Shahene Pezeshki provided the funds for the poster production, Jack Goldfinger booked me and Milt Larsen hung it at the Castle. Wow. It takes many creative people to make something good happen. I am so very blessed with the amazing people in my life, you included!
Paul Draper Mysteries of the Mind
Now available: “Mysteries of the Mind” Canvas Giclees Printed in Color with UV inks on museum quality matte canvas.
The price for a 22″ x 34″ is $150 The price for an 11″ x 17″ is $50
“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But, above all, try something.” –Franklin D. Roosevelt
Welcome to January’s “Mysteries of the Mind” monthly newsletter!
How to get out of a rut and get back to being creative!
At least once a week I receive an e-mail from someone following my social media sites who asks how I stay so busy and seem to be always doing something exciting.
And the answer usually surprises them.
For me the key isn’t in how someone deals with success but how someone deals with failure. How we overcome disappointment, rejection and loss.
I face these pitfalls regularly. And if I am going to be completely honest with you, there are some days that I want to give up. We all experience that.
So how do I handle and overcome these moments of doubt and get back on track towards reaching my goals?
Step Away: I step away from the problem and allow my mind to re set. Sometimes this involves a walk around the room, the house or the block. Sometimes it is a 30-minute nap or even involves going to a matinee movie at the theater down the street. But I set a time limit on myself of 3 hours or less that I will take to clear my thoughts – afterwards I must get back on the horse. When I return from my allotted time I sit back down and focus on my task again for at least as long as I stepped away. If I need to, I repeat this process. Why do I force myself to start again so quickly? Because the longer I am away from a problem, thebigger and scarier it becomes – so just like the horse analogy, I must get back at it within 3 hours and try again.
Release Anger: It is easy to become angry at a problem and even easier to become angry with myself. I look at the situation that is causing me to feel intense emotion and ask “Is this a problem that I can fix or a problem that I can’t fix?” If it is a problem that I can’t fix, then I need to allow myself to let it go, brush it off and move on because it is unfixable. If, instead, it is a problem that I can fix: I need to set about the steps that can be taken to fix it. Fixable = Actionable, Unfixable = release and move on.
Do Nothing: Take 30 minutes each day to do absolutely nothing. That’s right, I take time every day to do nothing. During this time I don’t eat or sleep. I don’t read, listen to music or watch tv. I don’t talk on the cell phone or read emails or play a game. I spend time in my own presence and exist with myself. There is nothing that I do in my life that adds to my ability to produce more than taking time to do nothing. Try it.
Be Inspired: Other artists inspire me. When my brain feels empty, I go out and allow the pure pleasure of being inspired by other artists. Movies, Street performers, painters, open mic nights, musicals and biographies of successful people who I admire. Sometimes bad artists and bad shows inspire me more then good ones,because instead of being caught up in the emotion of the piece, I critique and make a list of everything that I could do to make it better – so I set about it in myself.
Seek Mentors: Mentors help us refocus our goals. There are people out there who have beenthere and done that. If we don’t know them already, we probably know someone who does. Remember that statistically, we are always just 6 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.
Burn the Boats: It is said that some of the ancient Greek generals would have the men burn their boats when they landed to fight the Persian wars. Imagine what these men must have felt as they watched the boats burn and knew that their only way home was through victory. Sometimes the only way to victory is to cut off any other route but success.
Never Give Up: The most successful people that I know are the ones who have mastered persistence. We don’t have to be the most talented, the ones with the most intelligence, the most skilled or the bestsupported. All of these things help. But the men and women who I have seen succeed are the ones who have persisted and continue to fight even when things became difficult. Persistence prevails.
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” –Thomas A. Edison
“Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.” -J.C. Penny
PAWN Stars
If you have been watching the History Chanel this month you may have caught a glimpse of me on Pawn Stars. This month I appear in at least 2 commercials for the series and a few episodes including “Learning the Ropes” & “Crosby, Stills & Cash” I was asked to come in and “apply” to be the night manager of the Pawn shop. I’m only on for a shot bit – blink and you’ll miss it at the start and end. It was fun to film with the #1 rated show on cable television. Enjoy!
P.S. The video from my recent TEDx lecture titled “Ancient Secrets for Future Leaders” should be released before the Feb newsletter. Add my facebook page to see it first! Click Here
Wherever I travel, I try to find interesting spots to see unusual things. My main interests are anthropological, historical, artistic, religious and magical. However, I am also often taken by the worlds largest, oldest or best. In the last month I’ve held some handwritten documents by Abraham Lincoln and a bit of his hair cut from his head by Mary Todd Lincoln , visited the grave of L. Frank Baum’s niece Dorothy Gagle (who was the basis of Dorthy Gale in his Oz series), took part in a a pictograph cave archeological site with habitation going back 9,000 years and visited the only known spot where Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition carved his name along the treacherous route to the pacific.
What is the fantastic and once in once in a lifetime site or thing that I need to see when in your area? Every place has one. Please let me know!
“I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.” -Shirley Temple
“I still believe in magic.” -Paul Draper
Welcome to December’s “Mysteries of the Mind” monthly newsletter!
Happy Holiday’s, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy New Year, Happy Yule tide greetings and I hope that you have a season of Joy celebrating with your loved ones this time of year.
Here is a fun list of how to say “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year” in dozens of languages: click here
I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah currently the “whoopee cushion” of America (due to how many jokes are made at it’s expense.)
Half of my family are LDS/Mormon and the other half are Jewish. Due to this wonderful combination I often had the blessing of 9 days of presents! However, this year the dates overlap so I will be back to just 8 crazy nights.
Utah was a lovely place to grow up, especially because of the beautiful mountains, natural wonders and the majestic four seasons. We would have a Christmas tree in the living room and a menorah in the window. How beautiful it is to live in a country and time of so much religious freedom. I was often asked by teachers in my schools to represent Judaism and teach the history of the holiday to my fellow classmates in a time before History Channel programs on demand 24/7.
For further thoughts on religious acceptance, education and freedom, here is a fantastic list of some other fun Holidays and calibrations that our friends families and neighbors may celebrate include: click here
Life isn’t about the money we make, the things we accumulate or even the awards displayed on our shelf. Life is about the people who come into our sphere and teach us how to reflect on time, self, meaning and kindness towards others.
Have a wonderful season of giving and reflection. I hope to see you and spend time with you soon,
“To laugh often and much. To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children. To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others. To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition. To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
Based on a poem by Bessie Anderson Stanley, but changed through time and often attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson & Robert Louis Stevenson
TEDxCalicoCanyon Theme: The Human Revolution Las Vegas, NV January 7th, 2012
This TEDx Event will focus on and deliver on the invisible connection that brings people together. By bringing Story, Theater, Art, Magic, and Psychology together in one place we have the opportunity to go deeper into what creates the connection in human relationships. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. All those functions are key to shaping our future. The Human Connection strives to breathe another part of life into TED by taking all the elements and bringing them closer to the human heart, where REAL change happens. read more
I met the Krampus at the Santa Rampage on Fremont Street this week
I told him that I have been a good boy this year… I hope that he believed me! (He is the beast that follows St. Nicholas around and beats and eats bad children.) Better stay away from Austria, Bavaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Friuli and Hungary for the rest of the season!
“I am a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn’t have the heart to let him down…” – Abraham Lincoln
Welcome to October’s “Mysteries of the Mind” monthly newsletter!
Vlogs, podcasts, TED + fantasy shoes & hair!
Life isn’t about the money we make, the things we accumulate or even the awards displayed on our shelf. Life is about the people who come into our sphere and teach us how to reflect on time, self, meaning and kindness towards others.
Thank you for being my friend.
It’s been a very good month so far. Beyond headlining at Magic in the Rockies in Colorado and at the Suncoast Casino in Las Vegas – I have been booked for 3 future conventions, in talks with 2 Vegas casinos and have made a lot of fun media appearances.
Below is a sampling of some of my favorites from the last 30 days.
Interviewed for TEDx (Start about 5 minutes in) – listen here
Appeared on national TV as a challenge for Hairbattle Spectacular – watch here
Co-Hosted an hour of McBrideMagic.tv for magicians – watch here
A wonderful new magic venue in central California – click here
Interviewed on Conversations LIVE out of Atlanta – listen here
My 11 steps to success that I try to follow every day.
Goal setting
Hard work
Dedication
Education
Focus
Courage
Sacrifice
Reassessment
Team building
Relationships
Luck
Please contact me if you have a hospital or business in your area that would like an anthropologist / Vegas Mentalist to come and chat about communication, motivation or change management!
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell
I must come forward and honestly admit that I have never related to the overwhelming love that some have for shoes. As a child, it was strange to me that my mother had a small closet devoted to them. As an adult, most of the women that I have dated have been curators of personal shoe galleries. I have even known a few men who have been bit by the shoe-collecting bug. However, for the first time, I have found a ladies shoe designer whose creations I find artistic and fun. And I fully approve of any woman willing to wear these out in public. Enjoy!
“I will pay more for the ability to deal with people than for any other ability under the sun. -John D. Rockefeller
Welcome to September’s “Mysteries of the Mind” monthly newsletter!
Communication, Motivation, Change!
There is a lot of change taking place in medicine in America today: Technological, scientific, cultural and political.
Some of the top 100 hospitals have been asking me to help them with the change stress that their employees are feeling.
The intro they use for me is often something along the lines of “Who better then a cultural anthropologist to talk about corporate culture and who better then a Las Vegas mentalist to be entertaining while doing it!”
Below is an excerpt from one of my talks on why we are averse to learning new tools and new ways of doing things. Enjoy.
Cookie Jar The Cookie Jar story is an example of how a child positively deals with a problem and deals with change, and then how that innate strategy suddenly disappears.
Imagine as a child there is a cookie jar on top of the refrigerator. The child walks in, sees the cookie jar and desires the cookies in the jar. First, the child jumps up and down to try and reach the cookie jar.
No, that didn’t work.
So now the child climbs up on the counter to try and reach the cookie jar.
No, can’t reach it.
Okay, next the child opens the doors of the refrigerator and tries to climb up through the refrigerator and … and …
No, that didn’t work.
Okay, (says the child to themselves) I’m going to get a broom and then I am going to knock down the cookie jar with the broo-
No, no, I can’t get to it with the broom without breaking it.
Frustrated, the child has to re think the strategy. Maybe a team is needed! Big Brother will help! I’m going to go get my brother and… oh wait, he’s not here.
Idea! I’ll go get the neighbor kid and stand on his shoulders … Success! Captured the cookies. Of course, (thinks the child) I have to share the cookies, because he helped me, but at least I have cookies. Good enough.
Here’s the problem: Now that the child has found a solution that worked, when they are faced with this situation again, most will simply walk into the kitchen and say, “cookie jar on top of the fridge? I know the answer; I’m going to go get the neighbor kid!”
But what do they do if the neighbor kid isn’t home? “Oh, well, I guess I won’t get any cookies.” And they instantly give up. Many decide at that point to not look for any more solutions! It’s just done. They don’t try, explore or play with alternative solutions anymore. It’s almost as if they don’t see options.
So, step one involves looking at the world through fresh eyes, every time. Seeing situations, people and strategies with a new and childlike perspective.
(Now here is the fun exercise – play along if you like)
Cover up your watch. Don’t look at it. Now think, what color is the face? Does it have numbers? Does it have all of them? What is the shape of the second hand?
Now look at it, did you get it 100% right. Very few do. Yet those of us with watches look at our watch face dozens of times every day and never really see it.
You’ll see it from now on. Every time.
Please let me know if you have a hospital or business in your area that would like an anthropologist / Vegas Mentalist to come and chat about communication, motivation or change management! Click Here
“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windowstoday.” -Dale Carnegie
The Checker Shadow Illusion is an oldy, and remains a goody. The illusion shows how bad we are at gauging luminance, our eyes and brains are easily tricked by relative brightness and we are especially fooled by 3-D scenes.
I have only ever seen Professor Ted Adelson’ illusion in its original form – a drawing. But this amazing video put together by artist Brusspup illustrates the mind-bending trick better than any piece of paper. Check it out: Checker Shadow Illusion
Paul to appear this summer on National T.V. show on Oxygen and I hear that they are running re runs of my episodes of House Hunters on HGTV.
But until then, a fun new magical documentary staring some of my friends:
“Guaranteed to leave viewers levitating.” -Variety
“Gem of a movie… Thumbs up!” -Roger Ebert
“A coming of age journey set in the quirky subculture of magic, Make Believe follows six of the world’s best young magicians as they pursue the title of Teen World Champion and lead us on their personal journeys of transformation through magic.”
