What Paul Daniels Taught Me

The REAL magic of being creative

In the 80’s, I grew up watching The Paul Daniels Magic Show on BBC every Saturday night. As a (then) young passionate magician-wannabe, I was like a sponge, absorbing every bit of magic I could find on television—and setting the video recorder for those vital re-watch sessions in any spare time I could.

Paul Daniels 1938-2016

Fast-forward 20 years and pinch me: Paul and I are friends. I interviewed him many times for my radio show and magazines. We would have dinner now and again (with, of course, the lovely Debbie McGee!).

As a serial creative entrepreneur, I cannot help but come up with ideas. The vast majority end up in notebooks and will probably never see the light of day (not that they’re necessarily bad, more a matter of time and energy).

Every so often, I would call Paul and run my latest brainwave past him. What is of interest here, is that these ideas were not conjuring-based. Paul would always brainstorm the notion with me, often telling me of his latest creative idea at the same time. It was a real thrill to share ideas (and friendship) with someone who was the household name magician in the UK for around 25 years. Not bad!

Paul had such clever solutions to many of the daily problems we encounter. He’d turn his creative mind down all sorts of avenues and apply his magician-thinking to solving them. For example, he once told me of a way to stop people driving dangerously: put a spike on the steering wheel pointing towards the driver! Beats an airbag, I guess—ha! OK, so that wasn’t one of his better ones, but it would solve the problem.

And that is precisely what I learned from Paul when it comes to dreaming up creative solutions: don’t restrict yourself.

Sounds obvious, right? But until that time, I was always stopping myself from fully exploring a potential spark of an idea. I would say to myself, ‘nah, that’s never going to happen,’ or ‘that would never work in a million years!’

Paul didn’t berate himself like that. He allowed his creative spirit to flourish no matter where it went. I found that utterly transformational. Pure magic.

In other words, Paul gave me permission to think freely without any restrictions or self-criticism. What a freeing concept!

So now, when I dream up an idea, no matter how ludicrous or ‘out-there’, I don’t instantly dismiss it. Instead, I give the idea space to fully form in my mind’s-eye. I have fun with it, play with it, test it out in my imagination (which is a wonderful place where I spend a lot of my time. It’s magical, infinite and, get this, totally free to use! What a gift from the gods, eh?) and let it follow its own path. I don’t try to shape it, or refine it—at least, not at the early stages.

I simply let my imagination do its work. I lean into this, not forcing it in any way. Think of it like being sat in a cinema and watching a film. I simply observe what images are being shown on the screen of my mind.

Then I take it one step further.

I allow myself to feel the idea. Does it excite me? Does it make me anxious (often a good sign that I am on the right path)? Do I see myself doing or using whatever I have dreamed up and how does that make me feel? What might others feel about it? What does the thing itself feel like? This kind of imaginary kinaesthetic sense is something I have come to rely on more and more when deciding whether to pursue a particular idea.

So, I invite you to find your ‘Paul Daniels’ either in real life or in your imagination: someone who will fully embrace your ideas, no matter how crazy they might seem to you. It’s one of the best partnerships you can forge. Even better, having a creative confidante means you get twice the magical thinking. Can’t be bad.

I do miss having the opportunity to call Paul and tell him of my latest idea. Despite him no longer being with us*, I still act out an imaginary conversation with him sometimes, running ideas past him and ‘listen’ for his reply. I say to myself in my mind, ‘Paul, it’s Jay. Listen, I have an idea and I think you’ll like this. Not a lot. But you’ll like it!’**

Back with you in two weeks for your Fortune Fortnightly Friday Fix. Until then, happy dreams and I hope you embrace the creative conversations in your own head without admonishing yourself!

Jay.

*Paul passed away in 2016 at the age of 77. I was asked to write a tribute to him in MagicSeen magazine, which is reproduced in full below. (Paid supporters only.)

**‘You’ll like this… not a lot, but you’ll like it!’ was Paul’s catchphrase (many overseas readers will not know this fact which, when known, makes my final paragraph a thing of beauty!)

Here’s my tribute to Paul, published in 2016. It begins with how we first met when I mistook him for my dad! Enjoy…