Magic is the only profession where it's easy to lie about your talent. If you do a trick and you can learn it very quickly, you can fool somebody into thinking you're a great magician. David Copperfield More Quotes by David Copperfield More Quotes From David Copperfield In movies, storytelling and every single art form, we're creating wonder. You're starting with a blank page and creating something that doesn't exist. David Copperfield creating pages art The inspiration for my illusions comes from many places. Most often they come from my dreams, or an everyday occurrence in life. David Copperfield everyday inspiration dream It is the unspoken ethic of all magicians to not reveal the secrets. David Copperfield ethics magic secret From the very beginning, I studied acting, directing, lighting, dance and movement. I didn't rely on just the magic to take place. It's a shame that a lot of magicians just rely on the trick itself and they have no other abilities. They get away with the wonder factor, and I don't think that's enough. It's great, but it's not enough. David Copperfield magic acting thinking Marriage is like a formality for me. David Copperfield formality You have to learn certain skills to present magic. David Copperfield magic certain skills For me, it's about risk taking, taking things in new directions. Because every single time, no matter how much you learn, you can never say, "Okay, I did the hardest thing I ever did. I'm prepared now. Now it's going to be easy." Of course it's not easy. David Copperfield risk matter easy You can feel better about yourself in a very short period of time depending on the kind of magic that you are doing. David Copperfield magic feel-better kind I love creating new things. It's kind of my job, it's what I do, and I really have fun with it. David Copperfield creating fun jobs I think the negative reinforcement really helped me in my very beginnings. David Copperfield reinforcement negative thinking I was teaching magic at NYU when I was 16. David Copperfield nyu magic teaching You'd go in the magic shop [as an 8-year-old ], and you'd walk up to the magicians doing stuff, and they'd turn their back on you. "Oh my gosh, I wish they would accept me." It really lit a fire. I really wanted to succeed. David Copperfield magic fire years My father kind of encouraged me through that. Exactly,[work] not as an actor, obviously, but as someone in show business that had some success. He told me to live the impossible. "Live the impossible!" David Copperfield actors impossible father I was published in Tarbell Course in Magic when I was 12. David Copperfield courses magic [Producers] took me to Chicago at 18 to star in a show that ran for almost a year. And that's when my parents said, "Okay, I guess you can quit Fordham." Of course, when that show closed, as you can imagine, I came to New York and starved for years, but it's never an easy road. David Copperfield stars new-york years There was an old brochure for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts with a quote from Robert Redford or someone, that said, "You're only as good as you dare to be bad." David Copperfield brochures dramatic art I'm the luckiest man in the world - performing 500 shows a year and loving what I do - illusion IS my day to day life. David Copperfield men world years Never take "NO" for an answer. David Copperfield answers When the time came to say, "Mom, I want to do this as a job," it was brutal. She was really against it. There were screaming matches. Some people are shut down by that and get defeated by it, and other people are empowered by the negativity. My father kind of encouraged me through that. David Copperfield mom jobs father It's okay for me to be gay, but God didn't make me that way. David Copperfield okay gay way