Alain Nu shares his secrets to mystery, creativity, performing, client management, and more.
00:00 Alain Nu
00:03 Introduction
00:22 Welcome
01:12 Conversation
03:29 Power of Simplicity
06:15 Difference Between Magic & Mentalism
11:13 Relationship With Mystery
17:39 Initiation Ritual
28:29 Invitation To Connect
30:43 Outro
31:46 Bending Invitation
This is a post I just saw from the Chicago Magic Lounge which is a venue I’ve performed at many times. In fact, most of my promotional material is directly from this space. Check it out:
I love seeing posts like this one.
Compare this before / after post to this video that I shot nearly 5 years before that Instagram post.
Recently I did a 72 hour fast which is part of my usual quarterly habit.
Why do I fast? What do I get out of it? Do I recommend someone else does a fast?
All those questions are answered here.
Too often this falls to the realm of pseudoscience claptrap & purveyors of flim-flam. There is, however, a rational approach to making change in your life by a process I like to call a reasonable unreasonableness.
This is Life Alchemy.
But, first, I want to introduce you to this guy. He’s one of the most influential people in all of human history.
We’ve gotten to the moon because of what he dreamt up. We’re currently looking into how the universe will die based on his thinking.
He also proudly died a virgin.
His name? Sir Isaac Newton.
Father of:
Laws of Gravity, Law of Thermodynamics, Law of Motion, Understanding Light, Fluid Dynamics, Calculus,
His work is the bedrock of some of our most valuable achievements as human beings.
He was also obsessed with Biblical Chronology.
There’s another area he devoted a significant amount of his time exploring: Alchemy.
In today’s context, Alchemy is relegated to sorcery, magic, and other fairytale adventures that have no merit. Unfortunately, this is at the detriment of maximizing potential.
Why did Newton write million+ words about Alchemy? What could have possibly driven one of the greatest scientific minds to folly?
Surely it was the counterbalance of ignorance and wrong-headedness to someone who achieved so much? Capacity for greatness goes both ways, right?
Not really.
Alchemy, as it was back then, was concerned with understanding the nature of reality. The fundamental philosophy was essentially “If you understand exactly how nature works, you’ll be able to shape it to your will.”
It’s actually pretty spot on.
Alchemist believed that all matter, and especially metals, were all manifestations of the same spirit or essence.
Gold was considered to be the highest manifestation of this spiritual achievement whereas something like lead was a ‘base’ metal; as in at the base of the hierarchy.
Base: Lacking higher qualities of mind, spirit, or value. Degrading. Inferior.
Debase:To reduce something in value or quality; degrade.
Abase:Behave in a way so as to belittle or degrade (someone)
Alchemists sought to understand how to take base materials and create value.
They believed they would be able to discern the process that was responsible for lead becoming more and more refined until achieving its highest potential; gold.
The method, process, or force responsible for this happening was referred to as ‘The Philosopher’s Stone.”
They weren’t searching for an actual, physical stone. They weren’t some kind of sorcerer version of Indiana Jones on a mission to find the Holy Grail.
The stone was short-hand for ‘the singular process responsible for taking something worthless, and making it valuable.’
When you understand the historical context, and the time they were operating in, it makes perfect sense that Alchemy was a sensible endeavor. It’s proto-science, in a manner of speaking.
But to disregard its message today is to dismiss a powerful rational lesson.
There is an Alchemy that’s alive and well today. To understand its inner workings is to create a life that appears impossible to anyone who doesn’t understand its principles.
Everyone is a slave to its effects, but few master its causes.
There’s a base metal, a philosopher’s stone, and a gold if we want to use this as a metaphor.
The base metal? Time.
Everyone has exactly the same amount. In fact it’s so plentiful that most people waste it. There’s so much time that they can afford to spend it on Netflix.
Time is your Lead.
Useless by itself. Not good for much. Almost anything is better than just having time on your hands. What good is time by itself?
But! There’s that equation you’re ignoring!
Time = Money! “Got you!” you cry.
Not so fast.
If Time = Money, then we’d all be rich. We’d all drive Ferraris, and spend our vacations on one of our several yachts.
So why is time so valuable to some, and not at all to others?
Answer: The Philosopher’s Stone
There’s one thing that can change worthless, abundant time into something valuable. What is it?
Your mind.
That’s it. That’s the philosopher’s stone. Your mind is the miraculous thing that is responsible for all value in the world. All meaning. All worth.
This is why all the internet gurus (real & fake) explain that it’s mindset that’s so important. This is why.
Time is the abundant resource, and the quality of your thinking, imagination, and creativity is the Philosopher’s Stone that will transmute that time into value.
Time = Money is an equation that only holds up if you know how to trade your time for dollars.
Your job is the best strategy that your mind has figured out how to convert time into dollars. Your pay the measure of how effective that strategy is.
Why do some people get paid more than you? Why do some people get paid less?
Your Philosopher’s Stone.
That’s it.
Now, you might argue and say, “People get paid millions for being an idiot! That’s proof you’re wrong.”
No. That’s proof you lack imagination.
Time is your most fundamental resource.
All other value is a function of Time multiplied by your Imagination & Creativity.
Money, relationships, opportunities, etc. EVERYTHING exists solely because of how you spend your time. How you invest it.
How you transform it.
Every action your take is your Philosopher’s Stone in action. Action is the crucible that transforms time into whatever value that action has in the universe. To others.
To you.
You can never get that time back. But, you can make better choices now to get more time later.
This is why wealthy people spend money to gain time.
They’ve figured out how to transmute their time into massive value.
This is why spending time to save a couple dollars is insane to people who have discovered the secrets of personal Alchemy.
Why would you spend days on something when a couple dollars could solve it?
All value is a derivative of time.To put it simply. Personal Alchemy is the process of cultivating your mind to appreciate the incredible value Time already is. It’s ALREADY the most precious resource. It’s just that you haven’t developed the ability to value it.
So, what’s changing isn’t the value of time. It’s you. You’re changing your relationship & understanding of the nature of time.
Your Philosopher’s Stone is transmuting YOU into a more valuable steward of the universe’s most precious resource.
This is the most sane, logical, natural thing in all of existence.
To deny it, argue with it, or ignore it is to make yourself a slave to the whims of others.
Be more than that. Transform yourself.
But act quickly. Time is money afterall.
The short answer: A mentalist is a type of magician who has specialized in the art of mind reading tricks.
The long answer: A mentalist is someone who is fascinated by the way that the human mind works. They are dedicated to understanding the far-reaching implications of unlocking the fundamental mental processes that guide our every decision for ourselves, our romantic partners, in sales, negotiation, presentations, and beyond.
It looks like this from my perspective.☝
I could tell you what I’m thinking, but that would be extraordinarily unimpressive. It would only be amazing if I could tell YOU what YOU are thinking.
That would be a damn fine trick!
And so it is.
A mentalism show is essentially the performance of uncanny mental powers like reading minds, predicting the future, defying the laws of physics, and leaving an audience questioning the limits of their imaginations.
It is completely based on audience interaction and participation.
Without minds to read, there’s not much of a mind reading show, is there?!
This means that mentalism is much more about collaboration and the wonders of truly being in the moment together than any other type of entertainment.
Everywhere.
Mentalism works because it leverages the fundamental processes that we humans use to interact with reality. When you understand that system to its core, you realize it has implications in any area that involves a human being.
This is why my work has deep roots in mentalism, and eventually grew into sharing the knowledge and skills of communication, influence, and persuasion in sales, marketing, public speaking, MCing, attracting leads at trade shows, and beyond.
It’s also the source of my books focused on mind power, motivation, mindset, self confidence etc etc.
At 5 years old I saw a magician on television, and it looked like the most fun anyone could ever have. That’s the moment I knew what I was doing with the rest of my life.
Most of my time outside of school was spent in the county library reading every single book they had on magic. Each one was full of enchanting illustrations, secrets, and outdated patter.
I loved it.
I began practicing coin tricks, rope tricks, and tricks with things around the house. Quickly, however, I realized that the “mind reading” tricks seemed to get bigger reactions, so I was naturally drawn to those.
At 13 years old I got paid $200 to entertain families at a company’s summer employee picnic, and I’ve been supremely unemployable since then.
As I explained briefly already, I have worked hard over the years to extract the psychological secrets that I’ve learned on the stage that can help business owners be more successful.
That’s the quick version of what a mentalist is, and what you can learn from their secrets!
You’re planning a high stakes event with valuable attendees, and every detail matters. The speakers you choose will determine how people talk about the event afterwards. My goal? Make you look like a rockstar.
If I do or say anything on or off stage that reflects poorly on you, the organization, or the event then you don’t have to pay me.
Most of the time I speak about creativity, innovation, and the psychology of sales, negotiation, marketing, and online business.
Every presentation leans heavily on audience interaction, live action demonstrations of the ideas, and unforgettable experiences that are fun, dynamic, and tweet-worthy. 👇
“It was one of the clear highlights of the Expo and Learning part of the conference. Most mentioned how they appreciated the presentation itself and the dynamic content.”
Theo, BP Executive
I was excited to read this book when I ordered it but I never expected it to have the immediate, positive, impact on my life that it did! The author clearly poured his heart into this book with the genuine intention of helping others. It is an easy read and anyone that reads it can benefit from it. I’ve struggled through many adversities and have handled them on my own for the majority of my life. Most recently I have struggled getting through them and this book was enlightening, encouraging and provided me with the comfort and hope that I needed to get myself out of my slump. The author’s perspective and scenarios are easy to relate to and eye opening! Very grateful for this book and I will be recommending it to everyone!
S.F. Amazon 5 star Review
This book takes a really simple, personable tone to explaining some really personal, complicated stuff, I really enjoyed the insight and perspective and find myself quoting some of the observations mentioned in the book. I gave this book to an Argentinian friend of mine and he loved it and found the insights applicable to Argentine culture as well! I wouldn’t miss this book!
5 Star Amazon Review
If they’re not wrong, they’re sure missing out on a majority of what drives success, accomplishment, persuasion, high value relationships, and any other positive achievement: the mind.
My hypothesis? Magicians & mentalists have had 10,000 years’ head start on the current crop of motivation snake-oil salesmen. Here’s why.
For a magic trick to work, the magician must first understand what you’re seeing, and what you will think about it. The fancy term for this is “theory of mind.” The magician can see through your mind, and then use this perspective to design an experience that will lead you to a logical impossibility.
He shows you an empty hat, reaches inside, and pulls out a rabbit.
The rabbit was inside the whole time, but he knows exactly what angle to hold the hat so you don’t see what is hidden inside. Your perspective defines the boundary of the magician’s action.
Seeing through the mind of someone else is the heart of all influence, human relationships, and success.
If you cannot understand the mind of someone else, there is no hope for understanding.
This is why my work is unlike anything else in the world.
No one else has built a theory of persuasion from first principles like this.
The lessons within the books apply anywhere a human being is involved. Even if it’s just yourself.
So in order of importance and impact, I present my work.
Take the best ideas in marketing, negotiating, communication, and motivational psychology and combine it with the experiences of one of the world’s best mind readers (me), and this book is what you get.
Hailed as the “Think & Grow Rich” for the 21st Century, the ideas & principles included within these pages are the exact approaches Jonathan has used to create a custom-fit life that has allowed him to travel the world (and be paid very well for it).
If you’re interested in breaking out of the standard social narrative, this is the book for you. You’ll learn a lot about yourself, others, and how we all tick. (There’s even a magic trick built into the book that you’ll get to perform with your friends!)
Note: There’s no plan for a digital version. The magic trick requires the physical copy of the book, so the whole experience of the book simply can’t happen with 1’s and 0’s only.
Whether you want to learn a new language, professional skill, or hobby, the techniques inside these pages will help you change your thinking and your life.
We go deep inside your mind to unlock the secrets of how you recognize, retain, and recall information to help you minimize your learning curve.
No matter if you’re in high school, college, or a full-blown professional expert you’re going to find something useful.
You’ll learn how to improve your memory, eliminate procrastination, think more effectively, and more. . .
(Available in digital & paperback formats.)
How many times have you been introduced to someone and their name immediately evaporates? Ever torn up your living room looking for your keys? Forget your sweetie’s birthday? Want to spend less time studying? Been at the grocery store, your phone dies, and now you have no clue what’s on your list? Learning to play a new instrument or other skill?
Want to: Improve your relationships? Your business? Your studying habits? Make people feel important? Get better at public speaking? Reduce your dependence on your smartphone?
If you said yes to any of these, then this book is for you. . .
(Available in digital & paperback formats.)
Don’t enjoy the abstract concepts and nebulous ideas of mentalism? You might like the hard hitting reality of martial arts.
This is a book built like a mathematical proof. Starts with fundamental geometry and slowly works its way up to the physics of the human body, and ends by examining the power of building your strategies on the bedrock of cause and effect.
“I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” Charles R. Swindoll
Whether it’s figuring out whether to take the job offer or not, who to date, where to go to school, or what to have for dinner, every day is full of choices.
The quality of our lives are the results of the choices that we make. We actively design our life with every decision we make.
No pressure, right?
We often have very little information on what the outcome of our choice will be, and we can have a difficult time weighing the pros & cons of a particular choice we’re faced with. That’s why it can be easy to get “paralysis by analysis.”
That’s why I want to share 3 psychological elements that influence the choices that you make, and once you understand them it will help you make better choices more quickly.
“One should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths.” Lord Takandobu
As much as we’d like to believe that we’re noble creatures driven by logic & reason, we’re actually weak apes who are terrified of having things taken away from us.
When we think about the future, we’re much more concerned with what we could lose instead of being excited about what we could gain. Our motivations are more about what we can keep than what we can get.
This is why it’s easy to get stuck in negative mental loops about how everything is going wrong in our lives instead of appreciating all the amazing things that are actually going right.
When you consider a decision, ask yourself if you’re deciding to keep what you’ve always had, or if you’re opening yourself up to getting what you’ve always wanted.
Don’t (only) think about what could go wrong. Think about what could (also) go right.
Everything is relative.
“When you sit with a nice girl for two hours you think it’s only a minute, but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute you think it’s two hours.” Einstein
It’s the same 2 hours in both cases, but your perception of its value is different. The same goes for making choices.
Think about the proportional value of what you’re going to win or lose when making a choice. If you stand to lose $5 and you’re a millionaire, it’s a (relatively) low risk decision. If you only have $20 to your name, though, suddenly $5 is a significant amount of money.
The intrinsic value is the same (near worthless paper), but the relative value is much different.
If the stakes of a choice seem high right now, take the course of action that will increase your relative value the most.
Anchoring is a cognitive bias that deals with our tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information we have when making a decision.
Think about buying a car. What’s the first thing the sales person does? Takes you to look at the most expensive car on the lot.
He knows you’re looking for something sensible for your family of 5. He knows they’ll never all fit into that shiny sports car he’s showing you. He also knows that when you see the price tag of that sports car, your mind uses that as the set point for how much cars cost.
It’s now the anchor point.
Now, when you look at the minivan, its price appears much more reasonable, relative to the sports car (see element 2).
That technique is a powerful 1, 2 punch to your psychology, and it works.
This is why a sales person will help you buy your suit first, and then the little stuff later: your mind uses the price of the suit as the anchor point for making price-based decisions later (relative to that anchor point).
So when you’re evaluating a decision, and how it will play out, understand that your emotional connection is directly linked to the first piece of information you consider. Use this to your advantage by anchoring yourself to a positive outcome, and go from there.
Decision making is a messy system with a lot of fuzzy math involved. Our conscious brain plays a much smaller role than we’d like to admit, so take the time to really understand how your non-conscious mind influences your choices.
Take control of your choices, and you’ve taken control of your life.
Extrinsic rewards are physical objects or tangible benefits bestowed by an outside agency (like winning a trophy or a gold medal). Intrinsic rewards are the feelings & emotions accompanying an activity for its own merit (like the feeling of accomplishment at the top of Mt. Everest).
There are thousands of ways employers have tried to boost morale & worker satisfaction in an effort to maximize bottom line earnings. But, what actually works?
Extra vacation days? Annual bonuses? Fun work environments? Team building exercises?
There’s an interesting study from 1973 that demonstrated that extrinsic rewards often backfire. They tend to undermine the intrinsic motivation to perform at a high level which results in poorer job performance overall.
In a nursery class of 3-5 year old children who liked to draw, researchers divided them into 3 groups:
After the initial session, researchers waited a couple weeks and then implemented the second phase of the experiment.
All the children were in a room with paper & crayons, but no mention was made of a reward for drawing. Children in Groups 2 & 3 spent the most time drawing whereas children in Group 1 spent the least time drawing.
If you use a quid pro quo system of motivation for employees (like a cash bonus), you’ll actually decrease motivation to do a good job at that task unless you continue the rewards. At first, the money triggers a release in dopamine in exactly the same way as someone anticipates the effects of tobacco, cocaine, or any other kind of addictive drug.
The weird thing is, however, people tend to overestimate how much they’re going to enjoy the payoff when it actually gets there, and they acclimate to the dopamine hit. That’s why entrepreneurs & performers who choose to turn a hobby into a full time career tend to go through a period of feeling very low motivation to do something they previously loved to do for the sheer joy of it.
“If I’m not getting paid for it, why would I do it?”
There’s the easy way, and the hard way.
The hard way is to find people who love to do the thing you need done, and then set them loose. Let their intrinsic motivation of satisfaction drive their efforts for you.
Finding this perfect overlap of interest & job can be time consuming and difficult. That’s why it’s the hard way.
The easy way is to make rewards unexpected and random. Understand, however, when something happens once people will expect it again. The trick is to do it at random intervals as opposed to a “random” annual bonus at Christmas. (Same goes for verbal praise, and any other form of positive feedback. Random distribution is more effective.)
