The 15 ‘Muggle’ Jobs That Need to Think Like A Magician™ — And Why
Learning to Think Like A Magician™ means learning to adapt your presentation to the different needs and perceptions of each of your audience members—just like great teachers adapt to the needs and perceptions of each of their students.
What does it mean to Think Like A Magician™? It means perceiving the world in new ways, challenging assumptions, regaining wonder, making unexpected connections, understanding expression and intent, and shaping perceptions purposefully. Thinking like a magician opens up new possibilities and ignites your sense of wonder.
As a motivational speaker and magician, I've seen how when you Think Like A Magician™, it can help people in all types of careers. Here are 15 everyday “muggle” jobs that could benefit from this magical mindset, and why:
1. Business Owners
Think Like A Magician™ as a business owner involves shifting your focus from the specific methods and tactics of running a business to the broader impacts you want to have. Rather than getting lost in the weeds of processes, a magical mindset means communicating your vision in ways that creatively inspire teams. Share the passion and purpose that motivates you with contagious enthusiasm. Help employees see how their work is part of something meaningful. Uncover new and unexpected ways to foster engagement. When you think like a magician, you realize the exact steps are not important - the ultimate effect you have on people is what matters. Adopting this perspective allows you to lead with imagination and flexibility, evolving your business by continuously renewing people's energy, commitment, and sense of wonder.
2. Managers
For managers, thinking like a magician means challenging your own assumptions and standard ways of operating. Rather than staying rigidly fixed in certain thought patterns, approach your responsibilities with openness to new potentials. Seek out different perspectives from team members, ask probing questions, and reconsider ingrained processes. Imagine how you could develop better systems by incorporating creative solutions. This equips you to handle the needs of multiple stakeholders, from executives to entry-level employees. Adopting a magician's nimble adaptability allows you to act as a bridge, communicating and aligning priorities from the top down while also being responsive and empathetic to needs from the bottom up. With the willingness to move past established mindsets, you can manage in ways that unlock hidden opportunities and keep improving how your team functions.
3. Government Employees
For government workers, thinking like a magician means embracing flexibility and adaptability. Rather than rigidly sticking to protocol and hierarchy, consider how you can best serve community needs by thinking outside of the box. Question assumptions, perceive issues from different angles, and make unexpected connections across departments and roles. Approach each citizen interaction with fresh eyes and an open mind. Tailor your communication style, pace, and language to make each person feel valued and understood. Remain solution-oriented by getting to the heart of what people need. Navigating complex bureaucratic systems requires the creativity and mental agility of a magician twisting themselves into a pretzel. When you adapt your perspective and processes, you can enhance public services, communication, and responsiveness. Citizens will appreciate your efforts to understand their views and deliver magical experiences.
4. Engineers
For engineers, thinking like a magician means promoting big-picture thinking and effective teamwork in order to drive innovation. It's easy to get siloed into narrow technical specialties, but adopting a magician's mindset pushes you to collaborate across disciplines and roles. Brainstorm creative solutions by using colleagues as a sounding board, just as magicians share ideas with fellow magicians. Develop a curiosity about other aspects of the business or product lifecycle to gain a holistic understanding. Maintain enthusiasm for your work by seeing how it fits into broader shared goals. Flex your mental muscles outside of rigid thinking patterns. And complement your precision by learning arts-based skills like storytelling, analogy, and metaphor to clearly communicate complex concepts. With the teamwork, openness, and wonder of a magician, engineers can innovate breakthroughs while spreading knowledge across an organization.
5. Nonprofit Workers
For nonprofit professionals, thinking like a magician means stepping back from your daily tasks to consider how you are conveying your mission and connecting with supporters overall. Rather than assuming your cause speaks for itself, adopt a magician's showmanship and charm. Craft compelling narratives that capture people's attention and speak to their values. Convey your vision with passion, emotion, and show-stopping surprises. Make supporters feel personally invested in your work by appealing to their desire to make a difference. Structure initiatives, events, and communications for maximum effect, choreographing each element purposefully. Listen closely to understand each donor's interests so you can tailor your outreach. With the performance skills of an enthralling magician, nonprofit workers can inspire loyal supporters who will spread your message, contribute generously and participate actively in your cause over the long term.
6. Teachers
For teachers, thinking like a magician means tailoring your approach to reach each individual student effectively. Recognize that every class is a diverse audience with varied needs. One size does not fit all when it comes to absorbing lessons and staying motivated. Adopting a magician's perspective means observing students closely to identify how they learn best. Continuously adapt your teaching style, pace, activities, and communication to resonate with each person. Create WOW moments that reinforce big ideas through memorable analogies, demos, and storytelling. Ask probing questions to uncover where students are struggling. Adjust your techniques during sessions by reading the room, rather than rigidly sticking to a scripted lesson plan. With constant flexibility, you can keep audiences of all ages raptly engaged. Pulling techniques out of your sleeve tailored to each student results in better outcomes all around.
7. Nurses & Therapists
For nurses and therapists, thinking like a magician means probing below the surface to understand the full context behind your patients’ conditions and your department’s protocols. Rather than taking things at face value, listen and observe attentively to determine the underlying causes and reasons behind the scenes. Pay attention to subtle verbal and nonverbal cues when communicating with patients—this helps you discern their mental and emotional state beyond just physical symptoms. likewise, tune into body language and subtleties when collaborating with administrators and doctors to grasp where potential roadblocks or opportunities lie. Considering differing motives and perspectives like an insightful magician allows you to have empathy, tailor caring approaches, and communicate in ways that resonate. You can nail down effective treatment plans while also improving morale, processes, and resource utilization holistically. With the perceptiveness of a mentalist, you can advance both patient outcomes and workplace dynamics.
8. Doctors
For doctors, thinking like a magician means purposefully shaping patient perceptions and tailoring your communication approach to build trust and rapport with each person. Recognize that every patient comes to you with unique needs, anxieties, and attitudes that will impact their experience and outcomes. Customize your style to put each person at ease, like a magician calibrates tricks to amaze each audience. Convey technical concepts clearly through relatable analogies and visuals. Answer questions transparently and check for understanding at each step. Show integrity by admitting uncertainty rather than overstating your capabilities. Project warmth and approachability through body language, eye contact, and active listening. Adapt your pace and language to reduce confusion. By carefully considering how you come across, you can enhance patient confidence, compliance, and satisfaction. With a magician’s insight into perception, doctors can build the personal connections essential for delivering compassionate, effective care.
9. Accountants
For accountants, thinking like a magician means closely observing situational details, analyzing ambiguous information, and questioning assumptions to reach insightful new perspectives. Rather than taking financial data at face value, scrutinize numbers, trends, and processes from multiple angles like a magician studies an audience. Identify hidden opportunities and risks by making connections between disparate pieces. Brainstorm scenarios, ask probing questions, and think expansively. This allows you to see possibilities that others miss, like a magician adeptly predicts people’s card choices during tricks. With this ability to gain perceptual clarity despite uncertainty, you can raise and resolve potential issues proactively. Colleagues and clients will come to depend on your skilled discernment in navigating complexity. By adopting a magician’s perspective, accountants can look beyond the surface to provide creative solutions and critical foresight.
10. Construction Workers
For construction workers, thinking like a magician means promoting teamwork, communication, and planning to seamlessly execute blueprints. Projects require coordinating many specialized trades into unified systems, much like a complex magic trick hinges on every element coming together perfectly. Adopt a big-picture mentality focused on the ultimate vision versus your specific task. Brainstorm and collaborate across teams to find efficiencies and avoid issues. Deliberate upfront how each piece interrelates for cascading impacts. During work, continually check and discuss progress and challenges. Have backup options ready like a magician prepared for surprises. With cohesive teamwork and vision like an illusionist’s ensemble, construction crews can expertly juggle details while never losing sight of the overall master plan. This nimble collaboration allows for creativity in execution while achieving expert-level precision.
11. Software Developers
For software developers, thinking like a magician means constantly innovating while remaining focused on the ultimate goal you want users to experience. Rather than getting bogged down in technical requirements, anchor your work in the intended emotional impact and opportunity. Approach projects with wonder, playfully experimenting to uncover possibilities. But also prioritize pragmatically to deliver an elegant, polished result. Fuse meticulous coding skills with empathy, imagination, and big-picture thinking. Develop intuitive features and interfaces that people instantly enjoy, like a deceptive yet delightful magic trick. Solicit user feedback early and often to ensure your product enchants audiences rather than confusing them. With the mindset of designing for experience first and methods second, developers can craft software that feels almost magical in its ability to understand and fulfill human needs and desires.
12. Police Officers
For police officers, thinking like a magician means understanding diverse community perspectives, building trust across groups and positively shaping public perceptions. Recognize that like an audience for a magic show, every community comprises people with different backgrounds, attitudes, and needs. Make it a priority in your daily interactions to overcome stereotypes and recognize each person’s uniqueness. Express genuine interest in learning others’ stories without judgment. Patiently answer questions and discuss issues openly when safe to do so. Implement procedures and policies that are inclusive and respect people’s rights. Share helpful information and resources proactively to assist with common challenges. With a magician’s spirit of using illusions as connectors versus dividers, police can strengthen community relationships. This fosters greater public cooperation, support, and participation in ensuring safe neighborhoods for all.
13. Chefs
For chefs, thinking like a magician means creatively communicating your culinary vision to inspire your kitchen team’s passion and performance. Convey the spirit behind your dishes versus just the technical recipe. Share the textures, aromas, flavors, and visual aesthetics you want to achieve so everyone shares your vision. Describe menu concepts vividly through imaginative language and analogies. Foster collaborative brainstorming for unusual ingredients and presentation ideas. Provide gentle feedback and suggestions during meal prep to guide execution. With enthusiastic yet strategic direction, you can lead crews skillfully like a conductor. Finally, dramatically reveal each dish for maximum impact as patrons taste your menu. With the performance abilities of a magician, chefs can reach new creative heights and consistently deliver incredible dining experiences that enchant patrons.
14. Fitness Instructors
For fitness instructors, thinking like a magician means uncovering each client’s goals, challenges, and motivations so you can tailor coaching to their needs. Recognize that every person you train has a unique body, mindset, and lifestyle. Adapt programs and communication styles to guide each client toward their personal vision of health and wellness. Brainstorm creative workout tweaks and variations to prevent boredom while producing results. Convey teaching points using vivid analogies that clearly explain proper techniques. Continuously encourage and celebrate progress, like a magician rewarding volunteers’ participation. Push clients gently beyond preconceived limitations with the art of surprise. Your belief in people’s potential acts like the power of suggestion, becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. With keen perception and inventiveness, fitness pros can achieve transformative effects that seem almost magical.
15. Entrepreneurs
For entrepreneurs, thinking like a magician means communicating your vision creatively to inspire, align, and motivate your startup team. Convey your purpose and product benefits through storytelling, passion, and imagination. Paint a vivid picture of your desired future that moves others to action. Ask evocative questions to unearth innovative ideas you may not have considered. Check regularly for concerns or confusion, and course correct quickly. Frame challenges as opportunities for creative problem-solving. Share hard lessons learned from your own mistakes to build trust and teamwork. Celebrate each milestone collectively like a magical reveal. Your boldness, sincerity, and ability to articulate a compelling mission will attract talent, investors, and partners. With the showmanship of an illusionist, entrepreneurs enrapture audiences and turn impossible dreams into reality through dedication, teamwork, and an unshakable belief in wonder.
Think Like A Magician™ For Career Success
What if you could unlock hidden potential by learning to Think Like A Magician™? Adopting a magician’s mindset can help you and your team members gain new skills and excel in your careers. Approach your work with an open mind, communicate effectively, and make unexpected connections. With the right perspective and a touch of magic, success awaits!
To learn more about how learning to Think Like A Magician™ can transform your business or career, contact my team today to inquire about keynotes, workshops, or presentations.
