We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kevin Viner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kevin, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I’m one of the lucky few who has been able to create a full time living with my passion. I started as a magician when I was five years old, and now make a living as a mentalist, which you can think of as a “magician of the mind.” I perform almost exclusively for corporate meetings, both virtual and in-person, and guess what audience members are thinking.

As a young child, I would perform close-up magic at local Farmer’s Markets, restaurants, and anywhere that management would allow me to be! This was before YouTube, so really putting myself out there was the only way to gain traction.

In my early teenage years, I began to learn web design and start building marketing materials. That, along with word of mouth that was steadily building, allowed me to avoid getting a part-time job since I was starting to have a steady clientele.

After putting myself through college on a diet of ramen and card tricks, I set out to do this full time. I was already earning more than I would with an entry-level position in a company, so I thought “let’s do it” and went full steam ahead.

Knowing what I know now, I would have spent more time early on learning other facets of entertainment, such as writing stand-up comedy and studying theater. I think that those are elements that I had to work really hard to develop in my 20s, and they would have been much more natural had I started younger.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

From shows like “Penn and Teller: Fool Us,” people erroneously get the idea that fooling people is somehow what magic is all about. In my opinion, that’s only part of the story.

The reality is that my job is to change the way that people feel. My performance is simply a vehicle to help them feel differently. When Steve Jobs had his vision for Apple, it wasn’t to create game-changing phones or computer devices. It was to create a company that would “Think Differently.” Everything that Apple created was born from that vision.

When I show up an an event, it isn’t to “wow the guests” or to “fool them” or even to “read their mind.” I’m there for one reason, and that is to create an experience that will move the guests emotionally and leave them in a better place than they were when they arrived.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I actually resent the idea of “non-creatives.”

In a brilliant book called “Thinkertoys,” author Michael Michalko presents a study suggesting that the biggest different between creative types and more linear thinkers is that the creative people believe they are creative. There isn’t much more to it.

We are the authors of our own story, and if we choose to take that art class, pick up that instrument, or reimagine a product in our workplace, we begin the journey toward defining ourselves as creative. Some people are naturally better at it than others, but as the saying goes, “Hustle beats talent when talent doesn’t hustle.” We can all tap in to more creativity.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Too many . . . here’s a rough list of a few.

Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln – James Homes
Moonwalking with Einstein – Joshua Foer
Persuasion – Robert Cialdini
Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
How Emotions are Made – Lisa Feldman Barrett
All the Malcolm Gladwell Books

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kevinviner.net
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/thekevinviner
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/thekevinviner
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thekevinviner
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thekevinviner
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/thekevinviner