What is up Charlotte friends!

The past few years I have been performing shows at Blumenthal Performing Art's Duke Energy Theater and the shows have been very successful! The past two years have sold out on both a Friday and Saturday back-to-back in the middle of July, which has been a joy to do. I've found more and more people in the Charlotte area want to see more of my show, so I have added a March show for March 23rd at a slightly larger venue in the Stage Door Theater just up the road.

I have also added some new material that is sure to blow you and your friends/family away, as well as some other surprises! 

The goal for the coming years is to offer the Charlotte area a recurring magic show which both residents and visitors can attend on a near monthly basis. The queen city is growing at an accelerated rate and its residents are looking for more and more cultural/performing arts events to attend! I am also planning on bringing outside magicians and variety artists who I have grown to know from touring and performing who perform unique and quality shows.

If you are going to be in the Charlotte area March 23, 2018 come and check out the show and bring a friend or two - it is going to be a fun evening!

For more information on tickets and upcoming shows, please visit the Tickets Page.

-Hayden

What is minimalism?

Hey! Great question! If you get to know me for more than a few days and we hang out for more than a couple of hours, this is something I will probably start talking about.

This is a question I get asked a lot when I tell some of my friends or other people about minimalism. If i do a quick google search for the word "minimalism" it gives the definition

"a trend in sculpture and painting that arose in the 1950s and used simple, typically massive, forms."

​Of course, that is not the same type of minimalism I will be talking about (although I guess technically that is still correct).

Minimalism, from my perspective, is about living a life free from superfluous and excessive things both physically and mentally. This would include, but is not limited to:

• Clutter in the trunk of my car or random stuff scattered all over my desk
• Clothes that I will only wear once or twice in a year at most
• Several undeleted items on my laptop and phone which slow down my devices
• A poster design which has way too much unnecessary stuff on it
• Unnecessary dialogue in a script of a magic show (pretty applicable only to me!)
• Owning multiple low quality bicycles instead of one high quality bike
• ...and I could go on all day!

I think all of us can agree that de-cluttering and simplifying our lives can make our professional lives better but also improve our own mental health. Stress is one of the most significant killers in the United States, and (even though I am not a mental health expert) I would take a guess that a lot of it has to do with being overwhelmed by the consumerist and demanding lives we create for ourselves once we start listening to what commercials tell us. 

Before I get in to some of the benefits of minimalism, let me address a few things about my perspectives of what minimalism is before anyone jumps to the reaction that it is an extremist lifestyle!
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Isn't that the coolest quote ever? I didn't think of it myself to be honest, I remember hearing that quote in an episode of King of the Hill when I was a kid (My dad was obsessed with that show so I've seen every episode!). In the episode, Kahn, the neighbor of Hank Hill, is desperately trying to join an elite country club-esque type of group in his community. He throws out his old tv in place for a 10000 inch flatscreen in his living room to show off which the members of the group could care less about. Later his "mentor" tells him that yes over at their houses they all own the giant TV, but the giant TV does not own them!

It's really significant to me because I relate to it any time I get some new fancy giant cool thing. When I got my first car, it is all I could talk about or think about! I wanted to desparately show my friends I had a car and all talks revolved around it, which meant I spent less time talking about my friends or doing new experiences or even thinking of my magic.

There's nothing wrong with me owning a new car or getting a new TV... I just shouldn't let that be what my life is revolved around for that week!

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Flip on any television in the US and you will see commercials for the new (ITEM!!!!) and trade in your 2017 car today for the all new 2018 car now! Finance for 8 years for $100 a month!

Chances are, you may think that those new things are something you would actually want or need, but you wouldn't have thought that until the commercial brought up the idea! 

When you are owning fewer and fewer unnecessary things, this also means you will be buying way fewer things in your life. Obviously if you are buying less things, you will have more money saved! Easier said than done though right? Whenever I am in a new town or traveling with friends (and our girlfriends) a lot of times the suggested activity for the day is to visit the local mall or outlet mall. 

I'm all down for getting something really cool, but after visiting banana republic for the 90th time I realized I have all of the items I could ever need from there. Rather than spending another $40 on a shirt, I decided to just keep my cash in my pocket unless it was something i saw myself still using in a few years. Clothes are just one example, this could also be with electronic gadgets (guilty), furniture, or anything you already have enough of!

​If I took you to an ice cream shop that had 50 different flavors and I took your friend to an ice cream shop that had 3 flavors and you each picked a flavor, who do you think enjoyed their ice cream shop more?

Science would argue that the friend with only 3 choices was happier with their decision because they chose one out of three different flavors rather than one out of 50 flavors. This is called the paradox of choice and is well documented in the scientific community.

If you only own one or two pairs of dress shoes, you can quickly decide which pair to put on and will be happier with the decision you chose rather than choosing one of 10 different pairs of shoes you own. 
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Traveling to another place can be really stressful if you are not prepared for the trip, and it can be even more stressful when you have to carry loads of stuff to your destination only to realize you never really opened your bag anyway!

I fly a lot for my magic performances and I'm often staying places overnight, which is why I was quick to learn I can put everything I need into a small carry on bag. Rather than packing everything you could need on the trip, you will start packing everything you definitely need, and later realize most everything else is unnecessary. Any time you have to lug around loads of stuff you will be focused more on it than the trip itself!
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There was a story I read once about a Chinese general from over a thousand years ago who was juggling the decision to either attack the enemy by land the next day, or if they should go by sea (or both). Later that night, he burned all of the ships in the dock and told his soldiers that because they only had the choice to fight on land, they had better be focused and skilled at it. Sure enough, they won the battle the following week!

I did a similar thing once with my magic show. I was performing a stage show somewhere in Wilmington when I realized I did not have a prop that I almost always traveled with. I freaked out at first, but then I noticed I had several decks of cards and an entire audience at my disposal! Therefore rather than trying to rush to make a new prop, I was now focused on the card magic that I could perform and the audience interactions that would happen that evening and you know what? I did above my usual skill for that show and never used that prop again!

By being forced to borrow items from the crowd, I improved my skills as a magician. Today I only travel with one briefcase, and everything else is used from the crowd - and I promise you will not be disappointed!





I hope this post makes you think more about how to own fewer unnecessary things and focus on improving the things that you already own or create!

Happy November!

Take Care

​-Hayden