There will always be a part of me that is very shy, very unsociable. I wish I was born with confidence. Although I appear confident in my performances, it is only a facade I put on, deep inside me I am still that shy guy, but that is slowly changing.

Performing magic is what I love doing, and in order to be able to stand in front of an audience and put on a good show, I have created a character or an alter ego for myself that is very confident and out spoken. I pretend I am David Copperfield, who is one of the best magicians in the world in my eyes, who truly connects with the audience and make them believe. He puts his heart and soul into even the smallest effect and make people wonder, he is definitely not shy and he puts on a great show. One minute I would be shy and nervous, the very next minute I would step into the shoes of David Copperfield where I can stand in front of 50 to 200 audiences without my hands shaking, my heart beating really fast or stumbling over words. I may not be able to walk through the Great Wall of China or make the Statue of Liberty disappear, but when I step into his shoes, I can do anything.

In a way, magic has forced me to become more confident, even though I am still a shy guy sometimes, my alter ego and I are slowly becoming one. These days I am a lot more out spoken, not as quiet and shy as I use to be, more out of my shell. What magic has done for me I think can benefit a lot of shy kids out there, by building their confidence as it did for me. The whole alter ego thing may not work for everyone, but it did for me. I think the whole trick to overcoming the shyness that lies in some of us, is constantly putting ourselves out of our comfort zone, our body and mind will slowly but surely adapt to the new environment, forcing ourselves to evolve and change.

Having to perform or give a speech in front of a large audience can be nerve-wrecking, but if it is something that we are passionate about, we can overcome that nervousness. There is no easy way to do this, but constantly putting ourselves out of that comfort zone, forcing ourselves to adapt, and most importantly, believing in ourselves that we can do anything, and then do it.

So if your kids love magic, encourage them to learn it and practice it, don’t force them, but encourage them to perform it to you or their relatives. Let them show off their magic tricks to their friends. Buy them books and DVD tutorials and help them develop a skill that will benefit them as it did for me, as it is not always the magic itself that is magical, but what lies beneath, the person emerging from shyness.