When my physician asked that question, I was stunned and slightly insulted. I imagine myself as a rational thinker. I try to use logic and reason to evaluate situations and make decisions. I analyze cause and effect to help me make sense of a situation.
What is magic?
Magic implies non-rational manipulation of the physical world, so my will prevails over conventionally perceived natural laws like gravity or aging. Magic carries the notion that the magician can impose her will upon sane adults. Some people believe that magic is evil.
Investors often believe in magic.
Some investors seem convinced that their intense wish for a “great deal” will manifest itself in causing an unrelated rich person to give the wisher a far better-than-average result simply because the wisher tapped into some invisible forces.
The wisher assumes there is no cost. Neither the wealthy stranger nor the universe could deny the magician’s desire. At least, that is the notion.
Sometimes, words and behavior don’t match up.
Coaching clients spend money, time, and energy earnestly pursuing a worthy objective. My coaching usually helps them identify what we perceive as low-risk, high-probability, ethical behaviors that are just beyond the client’s comfort zone. The point is to help them get from where they are to where they want to be.
Sometimes, clients are unwilling or unable to make a meaningful attempt to do what they and I believe is necessary and a bit challenging. They say they will do the uncomfortable work. Their behavior indicates,” I’ll do anything except the hard work required to achieve my supersize goal.”
Almost every month, I smile and tell a hopeful potential investor client that my “magic is not that deep.” I cannot create something out of nothing or help them obtain a result by miraculous means. A surprising number of clients seem disappointed that their vision has not become my command. Perhaps I’m just an old-fashioned guy with a narrow-minded perception of reality.
Magical thinking revisited.
Recently I attended a three-day conference. At the final meal, I was talking with the presenter who blessed me the most. After I told him what I admired about his presentation skills, he shifted the conversation back to me.
The speaker was a physician. I moaned a bit about people who claim to be intensely motivated. Some are willing to do almost anything… except what I think is most likely to help them. He said nearly half of his patients whose behavior caused health problems also declined to make the changes within their power.
I hope coaching clients are more realistic because they sought coaching to accomplish significant change. I assume they understand they must do the work, even when it’s uncomfortable. It is not surgery performed while they are under anesthesia. Time will tell.
Back to the doctor I mentioned at the top of this post. He had asked me why I took so many vitamins and other health supplements.
We both knew there were no double-blind studies to prove the health effectiveness of any of the pills that I was taking. We discussed how double-blind human studies were expensive and that the manufacturer couldn’t patent what they sold. There is insufficient financial incentive for the manufacturer to bear that expense. We both understood those truths. He simply smiled and left me with the question, “Do you believe in magic?”
When I saw the doctor a year later, I had stopped taking most supplements.
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Don’t tell me the answer, but do you believe in magic?
My doctor challenged my thinking. When was the last time your thinking was challenged? What happened?
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Terry Moore, CCIM, is the author of Building Legacy Wealth: How to Build Wealth and Live a Life Worth Imitating. Read his “Welcome to My Blog.”