David Copperfield: Never take "NO" for an answer.

When people say you can't do it - that it's impossible - never lose hope. Just because they couldn't doesn't mean you can't.

David Copperfield

believe-in-yourself positivity mean

The real secret of magic lies in the performance.

David Copperfield

magic real lying

Stop saying 'I wish' and start saying 'I will'.

David Copperfield

wish

I am fortunate to have the resources to have many methods to do each of my illusions.

David Copperfield

illusion method resources

When I was a kid, people wanted to be an astronaut. Today, kids want to be famous, and that's totally the wrong approach. You have to have authenticity in what you're doing. You have to really care about the core message of what you're saying, and then everything else will fall into place.

David Copperfield

kids people fall

What you think is impossible in life actually is possible.

David Copperfield

impossible thinking

My job is to make people dream. Of course, there's a lot of technical stuff behind the scenes and a lot of hard work behind it, but I get to watch people see the result of that hard work and feel that wonder and feel that discovery, all the time.

David Copperfield

hard-work dream jobs

It wasn't just about doing tricks. It's about taking an audience to another place, a special place, so they can really suspend their disbelief. Its about amazing the audience as well as moving them.

David Copperfield

magic special moving

Watching people react, watching people be inspired, be taken on a journey, forgetting their problems, looking ahead in their own lives to doing impossible things. That's kind of what drives me, gives me a sense of focus.

David Copperfield

impossible-things taken journey

Before there can be wonders, there must be wonder.

David Copperfield

magic human-nature wonder

I'm just waiting for people to start asking me to make the rain disappear.

David Copperfield

waiting rain people

The most important thing is presentation.

David Copperfield

presentation magic important

I love what I'm doing, I love creating new things.

David Copperfield

creating-new-things new-things creating

For me to grow, I have to know about the foundation that came before.

David Copperfield

foundation grows knows

For me, I was watching Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Orson Welles, Victor Fleming movies, and I said, "I want to tell stories like that. I want to move people like that. But I'm good at magic, so what am I going to do?" So I started using magic for the right reasons - to get the girl.

David Copperfield

girl people moving

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

magic lying thinking

To make magic credible on screen is always very difficult. The story is the most important thing. That is what should win. If sacrifices or compromises are made, it's usually for story. Story in magic is very, very important to me. That's what I've really championed through my career.

David Copperfield

sacrifice careers winning

I got to watch Frank Capra, in his eighties, in action. You read all the stories about Frank Capra fighting with the head of Columbia, Harry Cohn, "It's my way or the highway." I got to watch that. He lambasted me, "You cannot do this. You will fail." Finally, after another hour of conversation, I convinced him to help me write the speech.

David Copperfield

fighting stories writing

Dreams are illusions, and we can't let go of them because we would be dead.

David Copperfield

would-be dream letting-go

We all possess the need to dream.

David Copperfield

dream needs