"A professional is a member of a profession or any person who earns their living from a specified professional activity."
There are basically two types of Mentalists in terms of focus, goals and approach:
Social/Casual/Amateur Mentalist
&
Professional Mentalist
and inside the category of "Professional Mentalist" there are the ones that dedicates full time to perform and others that offer part of their time.
(as a side note, Bob was never comfortable with the idea of an "Amateur Mentalist". I understand his point, but I disagree with him. You can still create the reality of Mentalism while doing casual performances)
So, if you offer your performance as a professional service, you are a Professional Performer.
Personally, I am not just a Professional Mentalist part of my time, but also a Psychologist and Creative.
How are you, according this observation?
This concept of "Professional" is misunderstood sometimes, using it as synonym of "quality", which doesnt have a direct relation.
You know a "Professional Performer" that offers a terrible show? I am sure you do.
You know a "Social Performer" that offers a fantastic moment of mystery and entertainment? For sure!
So as you can see, money is not a factor in terms of quality. Obviously it is expected that a Professional behaves in certain way and that no matter what, he can offers a good show, sadly that is not always the case.
It doesnt matter if you are one type of other type of Mentalist, it doesnt matter if you charge money or not, ALWAYS you need to treat Mentalism as something important. Not serious perse but important.
I have meet several "professionals" that dont use a script! That is just mediocre attitude. In other case, there are several amateur Mentalists that takes Mentalism as a very important practice in life, and they show that dedication.
So, if you are a "Professional Performer", dont observe our amateur brothers as less at all. Yes, they maybe dont know the business side, but they can teach us a lot!
The professionals can teach the amateurs how to deliver a good performance no matter what, and the amateur can offer us the constant passion that comes from doing something that you truly love.
We always need to keep that loving heart in Mentalism, no matter what.
Sometimes I heard that "I dont have time to study, I am busy performing"... If you have this narrative in your life, please study our "Effective Performer Lecture", and specifically the 7th principle
Dont brag if you perform for a living, but let your good work speak for you.
If you are a professional, you know that we communicate our congruency everytime we move, everytime we take a prop, and everytime we interact, and for that reason I just release the "Walkaround Act", which will teach you several ideas and principles of showbusiness, so you can charge money in your next gig accordingly to your real value as performer.
So, always love Mentalism, always do it the best you can.
Dont strive to be professional, but to be competent.
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