CONCLUSIONES

Knoxville, Tennessee would not seem to be the most fertile turf for folks in our line of work.

Aside from being one of the half-dozen cities in the U.S. which can have a legitimate claim to being the “buckle of the Bible Belt,” it is also home to the Oak Ridge National Laboratories, a mega-cluster of left brained, linear thinking, scientific method, bean counting, professional skeptics.

Not exactly the ideal stomping grounds for a Mentalist.

Don’t tell that to John Riggs.

This 37 year old professional has managed to stake his claim to a limitless mother lode in this seemingly unfriendly territory.

One time engineer, part time Mentalist, and full time enterpreneur, he has little time for self-congratulation. That’s because he’s busy working psi-parties, company functions, psychic fairs, and banquet shows.

An expanding percentage of John’s income is generated from Mentalism. While the cash flow he receives from his conjuring dates (performed under a pseudonym) is still too lucrative to ignore, his #1 goal is to exchange all of his magic audiences for those groups which have been shown to pay even more handsomely for Mentalism.

Last December I flew to Nashville, TN and then motored to Cookville, halfway between Nashville and Knoxville, to meet and talk with John. He has some very interesting things to say.

Rather than publish a standard Question & Answer interview, I decided instead to share a few of John’s thoughts in their pure form and in no particular order:

You may find, as I did, that as you grow as a Mentalist, you will grow as a human being. Your performances will reflect a new confidence and consideration for your audience.

Disclaimer: “Nothing I do is supernatural or associated with the occult. Once we get past the goat sacrifice...”

I could spend two hours with a skeptic, trying to convince or convert him, or I could spend two hours marketing on the telephone. One is frustrating and the other is fulfilling.

Read Zig Ziglar, Napoleon Hill, Anthony Hopkins, et al, and learn to use the language of motivation.

It’s difficult to detox yourself from the magician’s mindset but it’s mandatory if you wish to achieve any degree of success as a Mentalist or Psychic Entertainer.

If you can handle the pace and sound fresh on that 30th reading, psychic fairs can produce a sizable income.

Entertainers are generic. Personality is unique.

Truths change; facts don’t.

Dress well. Your wardrobe is your costume and helps develop your character. Clothes do make the man.

Success at cold reading is as much a matter of style as of technique. And it’s never a product of mere memorization.

Premise: I take some of the more obscure and esoteric branches of psychology and present them in a dramatic format.

My tombstone will read, “As ye harm no other, do as ye will.”

There is no market for a fake mentalist.

The true secret to success is persistance. The proof of that is in the number of bad performers who are working.

My marketing is focused on people who will use my services in multiples; meeting planners, medium sized companies, caterers, etc. Even agents.

There’s something very rewarding about getting paid for doing what you truly enjoy.

I shouldn’t have to say this, but a Mentalist should smell good; breath and body. You’d be surprised how many

performers neglect that essential detail.

Overprice your performance. You’ll lose a few lowball dates but you will gain more respect, and higher fees, in the long run.

When pitching to businesses (trade shows, sales

meetings, company parties, etc.), you can barter a portion of your fee. It’s a win-win situation for both parties.

Printers, dentists, photographers, department stores, and home improvement outlets are all prime candidates.

Practice before a real audience is essential, but while you’re perfecting your trade, go out of your home market to be bad. Don’t make your mistakes on potential paying customers.

A drawing duplication line I use (lifted from Paul Diamond): “After you’ve made your drawing, fold the paper, and sit on it. This will be an exercise in hindsight.”

When selling a corporate date you must be a solution, not someone who presents more problems. Prima donnas are a pain.

If you are afraid of offending anyone, you will almost certainly entertain no one.

Have pre-written articles on hand for inclusion in a client’s in-house newsletter. Supply halftoned photos, screened at 65 lines per inch, which will photocopy well.

Sometimes, during Q & A, I will get one of those skeptical

questions such as, “How many children do I have?” That’s the one I answer, “In or out of wedlock?”

It’s pointless to engage in arguments with people

regarding the validity of psychic phenomena. I don’t have a dog in that fight.

I carry enough material to have the flexibility to customize a performance ‘on the fly,’ picking the appropriate material according to the reactions of the audience.

Cherish the interplay you get from members of the audience. It’s not heckling; it means they are involved.

Send ‘Thank You’ cards to every client immediately after the show. It will pay enormous dividends, not only by keeping your name in their minds but also by displaying an uncommon attention to the details of etiquette.

When instructing a participant, tell him three times. Any mistake he makes is, in reality, your error and your problem.

I am a man of many cards, keeping a wallet full of different business cards, each of which describes me in a different manner.

This allows me to represent myself in a fashion consistant with my client’s expectations.

Being a Mentalist has made me a more effective magician;

I understand people better now.

I provide a service for those who feel they can benefit from it and entertainment for those who can appreciate it. If you belong to neither of these categories, no hard feelings.

Mentalism is like Shakespeare: It plays much better than it reads.

If you like the way John thinks, you will enjoy his new book, Heavy Mental, approximately 120 pages, $23.50 postpaid. I’ve seen the early proof copy and there’s great material and good philosophy inside. He also has available, at the same price, The Man With the

$1.98 Hands, which features his creativity as a sleight-of-hand artist. Contact John at (615) 521-6705.

Edited by: Lee Earle 602 / 247-4665 fax & data

E-Mail:

any denomination or nationality. We are interested in the unique serial number imprinted on the bill. More precisely, the last four digits. Please make a note of them on this small pad.”

As the participant writes, the performer uses a

jumbo marking pen to write something on a large sketch pad. The sheet bearing his notation is torn from the pad and placed aside.

A second person is pointed out and asked to stand. “I’m sure you have memorized your telephone number. Here’s a note pad & pen.

Please write down the last four digits.”

Turning to another person, the Mentalist asks, “Do you own a MasterCard credit card? Would you remove it from your wallet for a moment?” The participant is handed a pen and pad and told,

“We’ll use those last four numbers, too. Please write them down.”

The Mentalist once again takes his sketch pad & pen in hand and instructs all three participants, “The 4 digits each of you have written are, indeed, random numbers. We’ll use them to construct a set of 3-digit numbers.” Each person is asked to say aloud one of the numbers on his list and then cross it off. For example, one participant says, “7” another says, “2” and the third says, “6.”

“Combining the three, we get the number 726,” says the performer, who writes that figure down on his pad.

“Now a second, different, digit from each of you, to build another 3-digit number.”

Three more 3-digit numbers are generated, all columned on the

Mentalist’s pad. “Now,” he says, “let’s total these random numbers.” The

4-digit sum is written at the bottom of the page.

“Just to recap our actions, three persons from the audience have used random digits to construct 4 numbers. It is obvious that if any of them gave the digits in a different order, we’d have an entirely different four numbers. Add them, and they combine to form a

Please turn to REALLY REAL, page 60