If you were wealthy, would you still do your job?
Legendary illusionist David Copperfield was in the news again this week.
Not for making the Statue of Liberty disappear (he's been there, done that), or for reverse-pickpocketing himself in order to avoid a mugging (he's done that too), but for something else entirely.
David Copperfield is now worth 1 billion dollars.
In fact, he has sold over 33 million concert tickets grossing over 4 billion dollars, making him the most successful solo entertainer in history.
This is exciting news for magicians everywhere. Beyonce who?? Teasing! Here's why the news caught my attention:
Copperfield still performs over 400 live shows per year.
Read that again.
He is worth a billion dollars and still performs 400 shows every single year (by some accounts, over 500).
Why?!?!
Motivation and Love
At 62 years old Copperfield has been performing for over 40 years. He has 21 Emmy Awards and holds 11 Guinness World Records; he owns his own island! Take a break and only do 100 shows this year, right?
He would never.
And it's not because he loves magic. You don't need to do 400 magic shows a year to love magic.
No, that's not it.
He does it because he loves bringing wonder and joy to people. The real magic is connecting. The tricks are just his medium.
Retire from what?
I read an interview with Sir Paul McCartney in which he described a conversation he had recently had with Willie Nelson. Paul mentioned that people keep asking him about retiring, and he wasn't sure what to think about it:
Willie's older than I am, even. And he says, "Retire from what?" And I think that just says it.
Music is Sir Paul's life, but he doesn't need to keep writing songs, releasing albums, and touring (which is grueling, even when you have celebrity accommodations) in order to continue enjoying music. Music is just his medium. Connecting with the audience is why he's still doing it.
You're probably not a magician or a musician. Your medium is different. You might be an accountant, an executive assistant, a camera operator, a librarian, a CEO, or a plumber. If I handed you a billion dollars today, would you keep doing your job tomorrow?
I would.
If not, you may need to reevaluate why you're doing it right now.
And if you would, why? What about your job would make you want to keep doing it? Capture the essence of what you love about your job and lean into it. Do more of that.
