@ SportsMagic. . . ask yourself this; if so many people hate magic why are there dozens of acts in the world that gross MILLIONS of dollars a year touring their shows? Why is it, so many magicians are able to garner an above average income working part-time?
Sure, I'm describing the upper 3% of our fraternity but I know a lot of those guys and they EARNED every bit of it. Franz Harary was one of the biggest laughing stocks going for decades but look at him today, he's one of the best known Illusionists of the 21st century.
We all go through hard times and lean times but those of us that hang in there WILL, in the long run, win! Sometimes it means we need to shift our priorities a bit and find the right path for ourselves, but it always means that we must invest ourselves into things and not allow the naysayers to beat us down and cost us our dreams. . . and that applies to a 15 year old just as much as it dose a 45 year old. Show biz is a cruel mistress and she rarely makes things as easy as we think it should be and for us it means having at least two or three "Job interviews" DAILY while knowing that only one in 20 will deliver the goods and that's if we're lucky. So we cheat and stack the deck. . . we use all of our resources to promote our name, image and services. We may have times when we feel beat into the ground but we dust ourselves off and start over again.
If you keep getting faced with rejection then YOU have to look at what's causing it (HINT: it's not the magic). Once you find the first group of problems YOU have to fix them which means adjusting your attitude (always a point), changing how you present both, your magic and yourself, and even the sort of effects you do. This is one of the reasons I tell people to not learn too many card tricks in that card magic can be a turn off; prove that you aren't just some schmuck that plays with cards, do something that really is unique to people's minds so you can get their attention.
I've been known to sit down at a coffee shop and just start playing with my Tarot cards and within minutes I have people asking questions and depending on my mood I can move into a full floor show on the spot . . . and I do mean a "show" 30+ minutes, not just a couple of tricks or a routine. I can do this because of my knowledge of people as well as my craft just as Christopher or Steerpike or any of the other guys here do. But at one time we were all geeky kids with a dream. . . some of us still are.
You need to get out of your own way and stop dwelling on the seeming negative and actually get involved with your life and your dreams; why are you letting negative people rent free space in your head for free? They are costing you your dreams, so don't let them. But don't throw a tirade in the process; stop and see what you can do to shift the dynamics that's the only way you'll be able to overcome the rejection. . . well, aside from not giving up and keeping at it. But to change the manifestation you must change the energy that causes it. I'm thinking you have a big chip on your shoulder and the need to "prove" things and that is what you radiate; of course people are going to reject that, it's a threat. So tame that side of your character and become a lot more humble. If you don't do this willingly, life will certainly teach it to you . . . as you're presently discovering.
Life. . . in the real world that is, is filled with judgment and judgmental people. We are judged by how we dress, our race, actions, attitudes, religion or lack there of, sexual orientations, and more. That's life! It won't get any easier for you even if you do fit into that "Ivy League" element because they also get judged and if you haven't noticed, not in very high light these days. The thing is, you must learn how to take critique and learn from it -- to grow through it. That is something you seem reluctant to do. If I'm wrong than rather than argue more about how "right" you are, prove it. . . step up to the plate and do something that shows all of us how excellent you are as a performer. Get involved in Talent Shows and Magic Competitions and start winning awards that co-sign your claims. Until you do this however, you will never actually grow or be seen as anything other than that whining 15 year old kid on a magic forum.
