Asking Permission for Greatness

Written by: Jonathan

“Who did Michael Jordan ask to be great?” That’s the question that stopped the conversation. (We were in Chicago, so I figured it would hit home.) I had just wrapped a workshop, and a woman came up to pick my brain. She was listing off reasons why she wasn’t working on her life’s mission, but […]

conspire, permission, success

Marginal vs Full Cost

Written by: Jonathan

Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): "Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?" Holmes: "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time." Gregory: "The dog did nothing in the night-time." Holmes: "That was the curious incident." That's an excerpt from Sir Conan Arthur Doyle's "Silver Blaze," a Sherlock Holmes novel, and it highlights […]

business, cost, Henry Ford, investment, marginal, Sherlock Holmes, value

Fire Triangle of Online Sales

Written by: Jonathan

I love fire more than you do. When I was 14 I almost got arrested for juggling fire. Well, not for juggling, per se, but for drawing a crowd big enough to block the sidewalk & forcing folks into the street who wanted to get by. Fire & street performing taught me a lot of […]

advertising, fire, juggling, marketing, platform, sales, social media, website

The Magic of a Simple Business

Written by: Jonathan

Here's something super cool about my life: Steve Martin and I are on the same career trajectory. Sure, he's 30 years ahead of me, but I'm close on his heels. Little known fact about him is he got his start working at a magic shop in Disneyland in California. One of my favorite weird jobs I've […]

career, demonstration, Disneyland, magic, pitch, Steve Martin, Universal Studios

Recognition & Recall

Written by: Jonathan

If I asked you to look at a list of words, wait 5 minutes, and then write down as many as you could remember this would be an exercise in recall. If I asked you to look at a list of words, wait 5 minutes, and then tell me which ones look familiar on a […]

memory, recall, recognition

Like vs Trust

Written by: Jonathan

If I'm going to have surgery done, the single most important factor in deciding who my surgeon is (besides what insurance I have), is whether or not I trust they can get the job done right. I don't care how terse they are in the consultation. I don't care that they didn't ask about my […]

business, doctors, likability, trust

Stage Name

Written by: Jonathan

What I Learned About Personal Branding When I Picked My Stage Name Maybe you don't need a stage name. Maybe you don't have thousands of fans who want to track down where you live. Maybe you don't want to create an entirely fictitious persona for fun & profit. But here's why you should still care about […]

branding, jonny, magic, magicians, mentalism, personal, professional, reputation, stage name, zavant

Under A Lot of Pressure

Written by: Jonathan

At work your boss is constantly riding you. At home, your spouse is constantly nagging you. Seems like everywhere you look, everyone is expecting too much from you. It feels like you're at the bottom of the pool and you're about to drown. You’re under a lot of pressure. Truth be told, you wish it […]

Work Life Balance

Written by: Jonathan

Work/Life Balance is a Scam. Seems like most people hate their job. Seems like most people hate their life. And it seems like they're trying to find happiness by finding a balance point between the two. In this way of thinking, however, this hypothetical person is constantly stuck between two weights that are pulling them […]

balance, dance, life, tensegrity, work

The Cost of Saying Yes

Written by: Jonathan

Why Saying No Really Matters Most of my life has been lived as an adventure. "Whatever makes for a better story" has been my go-to mantra for as long as I can remember. And I let it destroy my life. Opportunity Cost When we talk about decision making, there's a lot of ink spent on deciding […]

cost, everything, opportunity

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