About the so called "Rules"

I often hear magicians and mentalists say things like, "This is how it's done," or "There are rules." You’ve probably encountered statements like, "You don’t mix mentalism and magic," or "You don’t use playing cards in mentalism," or "This must be done that way," etc.

First, let me remind you of a fantastic meme I saw years ago…

Now, I’d like to dive deeper into this topic by reflecting on some of my other passions, hobbies, and jobs, both in the past and present.

I used to be a professional musician. Growing up in a family of musicians, I played several instruments—in order: piano/keyboard, drums, guitar, and bass. I used to joke, "I’m not great at any of them, but I’m okay at all of them." Mostly self-taught (though I took lessons for piano/keyboard and drums), I didn’t study long enough to say, "I have a degree in this instrument."

Here’s the thing about music: there are rules, sure, but those rules get broken all the time. I wanted to be a composer back then, so I learned music theory. I understood the rules—like using the circle of fifths for composition. But guess what ? Many successful composers don’t care much about that rule.

Later, I became a graphic designer—again, self-taught. (Long story short: I was hired as the entertainment director for a nightclub on the verge of bankruptcy, and we couldn’t afford to hire a graphic designer for posters or visual ads. Well, we could have, but then I wouldn’t have had a salary. So, I learned the basics of Photoshop, etc.) I didn’t follow the traditional rules that a trained graphic designer would have learned in school, but when I left the nightclub (after turning it around, in case you’re curious), I was recruited by the biggest graphic design agency in my city. They noticed my original approach to advertising and hired me!

Recently, I’ve been getting into video editing and writing (still learning—though aren’t we always learning in any artistic field?). What’s interesting is that, while magicians and mentalists often say, "This is the way it’s done. These are the rules," almost every video editing or writing tutorial I watch starts with something like, "Everyone does it differently. Let me show you what works for me."

And I LOVE that. It puts things into perspective and shows humility—something many magicians and mentalists seem to lack.

I always struggle when reading a magic or mentalism book where the author spends more time explaining why their approach is the right one, why their routine is perfectly structured, and why their way is THE way, rather than simply presenting the routine and method.

Let me add a new rule, you HAVE to introduce your work with the following:

"This works for me. I’ll share it with you. Try it out, experiment, f*ck around as one might say, and see if it works for you. We’re all different, after all. If this doesn’t work for you, at least it might inspire you." — me