Michael Jackson and Me...

I was a 9 year old boy living in Los Angeles. My parents had just gotten divorced and my Mom was dating a new guy that was soon to be my evil stepfather.

Mom came to me and my brothers with news that we were going to Las Vegas for some wild fun.

Back then Vegas was different. It wasn't as family friendly as it is now. It was a different world.

I was excited about seeing the flash and dazzle of Vegas. We drove for about five hours and, then, in the middle of desert, the sky was completely lit up.

I imagined the Pleasure Island that was portrayed in Pinocchio. Adventure, games, and a bit of mischief was just over the horizon.

We arrived and checked into the hotel. Within minutes, my Mom and soon-to-be step dad hustled us out of the room, took us down the elevator, and introduced us to a small room in the basement of the hotel.

This was the room that all the parents left their kids while Mom & Dad gambled.

My brothers and I spent three days, off and on, in that playroom. It was fun, but it certainly wasn't what I had imagined.

After three days, we were in our hotel room and my Mom and "soon-to-be" walked in. They were giggly and laughy and broke the news to us. The "soon to be" was now a real live step dad.

They had married late that night.

I was shocked and confused and happy and sad and jealous and angry and excited all at once.

That night they broke some other news to us. News that I didn't realize at the time, would affect me just as profoundly.

To celebrate the new nuptials, we were gonna see this group called The Jackson Five. I didn't know who they were (heck, I was nine). I didn't know who Michael Jackson was. I had never been to a concert. I had never even seen the inside of a Vegas showroom before. THIS WAS EXCITING.

I was told to put on my best clothes. They led us down that same elevator. But this time, we walked through the casino. Lights, slots, money jingling, people cheering.

We walked into the showroom. Everybody was dressed to the nines. We sat in a luxurious red velvet booth that sat our whole family. We all ordered drinks. I had my first Rob Roy (like a Shirley Temple for boys). I felt like the prince of Las Vegas.

There was a full band. Drums, electric guitars, keyboards, strings, the whole magilla.

Then the music started. I don't know if it was the sugar from the Rob Roy or whether it really was as amazing as I imagined. But, there, unfolding right in front of my very eyes, was the most spectacular thing I had ever seen.

Four guys, doing things that I never imagined. Singing, dancing, fun, funny, flash and dazzle.

Then the big voice came over the loud speaker "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome, little Michael Jackson". The crowd went wild.

Out came a fourteen year old Michael. Singing songs that I KNEW! Songs I had heard on the radio. I'll Be There, ABC, Rockin' Robin. Moving in ways that I didn't know was possible. He humbled the talent of the rest of his family.

For the next two hours I was transfixed. Every problem, concern, worry and every bit of uncertainty melted away. For those two hours there was nothing else in the world that mattered.

At the end of the performance I knew. I knew that there was nothing else in the world that would be worthy of doing. I knew that I had to be an entertainer. I had to do what they were doing.

Well, life went on. The guy my Mom married turned into a nightmare. I moved out to live with my real Dad and my brothers moved away to live my grandparents.

But I never forgot that one night. The night that Michael Jackson made me feel safe and secure in knowing my own future.

I can only hope that someday a child will see my own show, be inspired and walk out secure in their own future.

-John
Rebel Entertainer

Lucky Schmucky!

"Shallow people believe in luck. Wise & strong people believe in cause and effect"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

After a 3-show day, I was at a party talking to a friend of mine that was (and sometimes still is) a drummer in a band. He’d never made his living as a musician and settled for working landscaping to pay his bills. I’ll get to that in a minute.

He remembered that a couple of years ago I was writing a course on “How to make money performing”. He asked how it was going.

Well, I told him that I finished it a while back and that there are a number folks finally making their living performing when they thought it was impossible.

I also told him that these people were realizing that anybody with a little talent and a commitment to succeed could make their living in their art. All they needed was the marketing to it.

Then he said something that just pissed me off….

He said “Yeah, but didn’t you just get lucky?”

He was referring to my Animal Magic Show. He was suggesting that I just “got lucky” when I put it together and starting making MY living as an entertainer.

I thought to myself Yeah…

It was lucky that I put together a show that kids and parents love.

It was lucky that I studied all the great marketers for hours on end (and still do) to try and figure out how to sell my show.

It was lucky that I put an ad in the yellow pages (no internet back then) that booked tons of gigs.
It was lucky that I created a direct mail campaign that helped me dominate market after market.

It was lucky that I created another show just as successful as Animal Magic for a completely different market.

It was lucky that I created 2 completely separate websites that booked way more shows!

All of these steps were obviously some stroke of luck that just happen to bring me success.

Bulls#&t!

Luck is getting discovered at the cash register of a Piggly Wiggly and hired to star in a major motion picture.

Making your living as an entertainer is a matter of dedication, smart marketing and a strong will to succeed (with a little talent mixed in). That’s it.

How bad do YOU want it? Ya see, my drummer friend was never that committed. He never believed it was possible. He never learned to “work smart”. He never learned the real business of the business.

And here's the funniest thing. When I told him a brief summary of how the system works, his comment was "Isn't that selling out". No my friend. Selling out is continuing to work a job that you hate when the answer is right in front of you.

You on the other hand, have already made the commitment by joining Rebel Entertainers and reading this blog.

If you’d like to see every step I took in creating a hugely successful performing business, the steps that got me “lucky”, you can find them in the Rebel Entertainers’ Success System.

Not only is it an entire manual of marketing 101, but it has every marketing piece that I’ve used to build my business. And you get the rights to simply change the documents to your information and be booking shows almost overnight.

If you already have it, congrats.

Here’s the link: John's "Lucky" Success System

-John

Rebel Entertainer and Lucky Schmuck

Children's Entertainer Horror Story - The Angry Paranoid Guy

This was so bizarre, I just had to tell you about it.

So, last week I was driving to a school show in Glendora (Ca). I got off the freeway just like I always do. I followed my mapquest turn by turn like I always do. I pulled up to the curb in front of the church/school like I always do.

I took a look at the school and noticed that it'd be easier to load in if I moved forward about 20 feet. I did.

I also noticed that I was about 10 minutes too early to load in. So I grabbed my cell phone and starting checking my messages.

Well, suddenly there's a guy knocking on my driver's side car window. He was a medium sized dude, about 35 years old, with a work shirt on that read "something" Heating & Cooling.

I rolled down the window slightly (it is L.A. after all) and asked "Can I help you?".

The guy seemed really agitated and said "Why are you following me!?"

I said "What?"

A bit more agitated, he asked again "Why are you following me!?"

I said "I wasn't following you."

He said "Then what are doing here!?"

It suddenly struck me that he probably got off the freeway where I did (in front of me), and probably made every single turn I did. I hadn't even noticed his car. I was too busy trying to figure out where the hell I was going.

I said "I'm doing a magic show for this school. It's now 8:20 and I had an extra few minutes before I had to load in, so I'm listening to my messages."

So he said "You're telling me that you followed me all the way from the freeway and you JUST COINCIDENTALLY parked right behind me. We just coincidentally were driving to the same place."

I said "Yah. Here's the contract with the name of the school and the time and the date. I'm doing a magic show at this school in about a half an hour".
He said “Well that’s awfully coincidental, don’t ya think!?”

At that point in time I looked forward and noticed that he had a kid in his car. I realized that he was implying that I had some evil ulterior motive. That I had concocted a complex plot to do some rotten thing. That I figured out who the contact at the school was, created a fake contract, got dressed up in a magicians costume, loaded all sorts of critters in the car, followed him to that particular spot, and was ready to make my move.

I said “Yah, it is awfully coincidental”

He said “Who’s your contact?”

I looked on the contract and told him who my contact was. Then I asked if he knew who she was.
He said he did.

And then he tagged one more time “It’s just a coincidence. I find that hard to believe!”

And said he was going to find out what was really going on.

I said “Fine.”

Well, of course, I made a beeline to the school office and explained the situation to my contact.

The man took his child to her class and was walking out when I was walking with my contact to the venue to set up the show.

I said “Did you find out that I’m here to do a show?”

He said “Yah. But I had to protect my child.”

No apology. No “Gee, sorry for the misunderstanding”. No “Have fun”. Nothing. In fact, he seemed ready to get into some crazy physical altercation.

Turns out he had questioned the teacher. “What’s he here for? How long has he been doing this? Have you ever seen him before?....”

This was the fifth year in a row I had performed at this school.

He just stormed off still pissed that I was even in the vicinity.

So I took my boot and kicked him right in the groin. As he laid on the ground I laughed maniacally and pointed at him ... Ok. I made up that part. I just wanted to make sure you were still paying attention.

But he really did leave still all angry. Angry at me, at the world, at him for making an ass of himself.

The Big Lesson

Now I have complete confidence in the human race. I believe that 99% of world’s population are pretty logical and pretty cool. But there are still those crazy 1% that are paranoid and illogically thinking that the world is somehow out to get them.

I don’t pretend to know what was going through this guy’s head. Maybe he was going through a divorce and being followed by a private eye. Maybe he had prior experience with his child be kidnapped. I don’t know.

But I do know this. As children’s entertainers we need to keep an eye out for anything that we do that can be PERCEIVED as dangerous or lascivious in any way.

We are here to make children happy and to make their parents feel secure in knowing that they are taken care of. That’s our job.

- John
Rebel Entertainer and Guy that’s just trying to do my job
www.RebelEntertainer.com