Douglas Frazier Brings Us Magic & Leadership Secrets to Spark Creativity in Business

 

MILWAUKEE, WI – February 23, 2025 (source: Nevada Times) – Marcus Hart, host of the Kinetic PE MIXX Show and founder of Transform U, teams up with magician extraordinaire Douglas Frazier for a groundbreaking episode, "Magic & Leadership: Unlocking Creativity in Business." This faith-driven exploration reveals how magic’s wonder can inspire leaders to overcome burnout, boost team innovation, and lead with purpose—airing live on YouTube to reignite business creativity.

Watch it here: https://youtu.be/RplYc6X1X7Y

For burned-out believers and leaders like Sarah—exhausted by stagnant routines, disconnected from purpose, and craving inspiration—Marcus Hart’s latest Kinetic PE MIXX Show episode delivers a transformative jolt. Airing live on YouTube Feb 25, 2025, at 6 AM CST, "Magic & Leadership: Unlocking Creativity in Business" features magician and innovator Douglas Frazier, blending sleight-of-hand with actionable leadership insights. Hosted by Hart, a Milwaukee-based faith and purpose advocate, this event promises to electrify how businesses spark creativity.

Frazier, a master of wonder, draws parallels between magic and leadership: preparation, adaptability, and storytelling. “I’ve seen leaders crumble under pressure, just like I’ve bombed tricks—preparation’s 97% of the game,” Frazier shared on the show. He unpacks how magicians spend less than 3% of their time performing—mirroring leaders who thrive by mastering the unseen work. From Amazon’s pivot to industry titan to JNGL’s DJ battles, adaptability shines as a must-have skill—rooted in faith for Hart’s audience.

Listen to it on Spreaker here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-magic-of-leadership-transforming-business-through-illusion-douglas-frazier--64512401

Hart ties it to scripture, citing Proverbs 16:3: “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” “Leaders need wonder,” Hart says. “Douglas shows us how magic’s lessons—crafting stories, embracing failure—reignite that fire when burnout hits.” The episode’s live format, featuring audience Q&A, amplifies engagement, while Transform U’s coaching and coffee brand weave in practical renewal tools.

This isn’t just talk—it’s a movement. With Frazier’s illusions and Hart’s faith-forward hosting, the event targets leaders, creatives, and believers seeking purpose-driven innovation. Expect traffic spikes as Hart’s 2024 JNGL episode saw 50% view growth post-release—aiming for 80% this time with SEO juice like “leadership creativity” and “magic in business.”

Read the Blog article on this here: https://news.transformumedia.com/magic-leadership-unlocking-creativity-in-business-e56587313c83

Transform U, led by Marcus Hart, empowers burned-out believers to rediscover faith and purpose through coffee, coaching, and community. Based in Milwaukee, the Kinetic PE MIXX Show delivers raw, faith-driven stories to inspire renewal. Learn more at https://transformumedia.com and join the movement for purpose-led living.

Transcripts:

Marcus Hart (00:01) going on Mix Nation. Welcome back to the Kinetic PE show, the podcast where we ignite potential and transform your workforce. I'm your host Marcus DJ Potential Heart, and I'm fired up to bring you another episode packed with insights, strategies, illustration to elevate your leadership and drive innovation within your organization. But we also add today a very special component. We are adding the world of magic into all of this. So Douglas Frazier (00:05) Thank Marcus Hart (00:31) as much as you know about us being dedicated to our individuals and businesses to reach the full potential. Today, you're going to hear from a very truly special guest, performer, speaker, and innovator out of Detroit State who brings a unique perspective to the table. We're talking about the one and the only Douglas Frazier. So welcome to the show, Douglas. Douglas Frazier (00:54) Hey, thanks for having me Marcus. Marcus Hart (00:56) Yeah, I gotta let people know that like you're not the typical business guru. We talked about, you you being able to read the room and adjust, but you know, I think that all comes with like being an incredible musician. Am I right? Douglas Frazier (01:10) Yeah, magic has certainly taught me a lot. Specifically how to read people. I mean, that's critical in life beyond magic. As a magician, you have to be at least one or two steps ahead. Naturally, you're not following along with the trick. You're actually ahead of the audience 90 % of the time. And as a result, you got to be picking up things that people aren't aware of. As a result, insight. keen insight is critical in this profession, but it's true for business as well. Marcus Hart (01:46) So when you think of magic and then you add in the performance of a team, exactly does that mean? And what can we expect to be diving into today? Douglas Frazier (02:02) Yeah, so there's the magic itself, the performance, right? The truth is, Marcus, is that less than 3 % of all the time I invest in magic is the show, the actual performance. I put so much work into preparation, into setup, into certainly practice, as you might imagine, that Marcus Hart (02:29) Mm-hmm. Douglas Frazier (02:31) into getting to my venues, into making sales calls, post shows, I put so much into reflecting on how it went, getting feedback from others. These are things that ultimately come back to that 3 % of my time. And it's critical and it is a team environment. I have a sales team that helps qualify leads and then they bring it to me and I typically close the lead. on many times, I don't close the lead and I have to learn how to, you know, I never take no for answer. I always take not yet. And I think that's important. So my team, from the mentors who have helped me learn magic throughout the years since I've been doing this as a young boy, all the way to the family and friends who support me, who, who, who let me perform on them and kind of mess up if you will, prior to a paid performance, those are, those are all part of my team. And there's things I have to do for them. in return naturally and, you know, give favors to them. it is people typically think, that guy on stage, he's a magician and he has one or two assistants. No, no, no. It's a much bigger team than that. And to be a to be a well functioning team requires consistent communication, tenacity, preparedness, all the key elements of a successful business enterprise. Marcus Hart (03:44) Mm. Yeah, man, that makes a lot of sense. I would imagine, like over the years, you know, have, you know, not only just mastering illusion, misdirection, creating that sense of wonder, you begin to understand the audience, be able to like craft these narratives and deliver unforgettable experiences. Growing up, I remember learning about Houdini and then after learning about Houdini, I got into the Chris Angel craze for a while. Douglas Frazier (04:22) Sure, sure. Marcus Hart (04:26) And then I went back and looked at David Copperfield. Was there anybody that in particular that you, that's like a big name that you kind of drew from or you mentioned mentors, but looking at any of those performers and professionals. Douglas Frazier (04:46) Sure, there's always, you know, anytime you do something for as long as I have, close to 40 years, I don't like to say that, you know, anything you've done something as long as I've done, I started when I was like four years old. There's, it's not a, in life is linear, right? You don't just, you know, go up, up and up, there's pauses, there's stalls, there's setbacks. But where I have kind of elevated myself in the art of magic, there's always been a seminal moment. Marcus Hart (04:54) Mm-hmm. Right. Douglas Frazier (05:13) Whether it was inspiration, whether it was edification, whether it was someone showing me something, again, these mentors. Now you won't know these people, but you know, there was that one time that my folks took me on a skiing trip and we got too much snow, so we couldn't even like get out the door. And one of the family friends, you know, the kids of my father's colleague, you know, he knew some tricks a little bit more advanced than I had experienced with at that time. and we jammed for four hours, what seemed like till probably midnight when you're eight years old, which is through the night. And I learned some things that were critical. That was unexpected, of course, but that kind of elevated my game. As far as external motivation or inspiration, yeah, David Copperfield, you said it. mean, what he did for the art, changing it from, you know, the top hat and the bird productions to kind of like the MTV culture of the day. I know for maybe a lot of your viewers, MTV is something, a thing of the past, but in the eighties, music television was huge and Copperfield had the, you know, brilliant insight to say, I got to start making my production pieces like MTV shows. That's innovation, right? That's what makes the greats the great is they recognize what are the times and how do I deliver that? Marcus Hart (06:20) Yeah. Yeah. Right. Douglas Frazier (06:40) effectively such that it's marketable. Houdini did it. You know, I've never seen Houdini perform naturally given when he lived. But from the research I've done, he wasn't a profoundly amazing magician. But what he was better than everyone who was the best marketer. The fact that my kids today know who Houdini was, or at least the name, speaks to the power of his marketing. Marcus Hart (06:55) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Douglas Frazier (07:08) They don't know the name David Copperfield. Again, they're kids. So they may at one point, I mean, Houdini just did something incredible in that he lives eternally. David Blaine is someone today who technically is a wonderful magician. Is he the best in the world? In my opinion, no. But what he does with his stunts of strength and, you know, human endurance, Marcus Hart (07:22) Yeah. Hmm? Douglas Frazier (07:39) in the way he markets it, he is the best and that's why he is a household name. So there's been so many inspirations, moments in my life where I've, as I said, leveled up and grown and grown with the art and each piece is unique. We may discuss some of those later. Marcus Hart (07:58) Okay. Yeah, I like what something you said about, you know, you were eight years old, you start getting the educational piece, you start understanding the educational piece behind it and start learning some things and advancing that way. And I was thinking to myself like, man, that's incredible, to have a passion and not realize that you actually like drawing all these different life experiences, all these business things that you can use later on. to help you be better at your craft. Like, you know, there's nothing more rewarding than that and like getting on the job training, you know, so to speak, you know, so I think that's great. And then to your point about Houdini, yeah, man, like years later, you know, he's like the Jesus of magic. If I could say that. Yeah. Douglas Frazier (08:48) Another another amazing marketing PR team, right? If you with all due respect to the the the the name Jesus, yeah, it's an incredible narrative that's that's lived on and I think that's the I think that's the constant throughout this is that at the end of the day, I personally believe what makes us human and connects you and I even though you know, we've never physically met. Marcus Hart (08:58) Yeah. Right. No. Douglas Frazier (09:12) is our common need for storytelling, right? And Houdini told a story and Jesus told stories, right? He literally told stories to his followers. We want to connect, whether you're a country singer, whether you're a rapper, we want to connect. And as the audience, as a recipient who likes certain types of music, I want to connect and I want to feel something. So, you know, I got struck by the magic bug. Marcus Hart (09:16) There you go. you Douglas Frazier (09:39) It's something I do enjoy started with curiosity, of course, and, how do you do that? And now it's much more than that for me. It's not about fooling people. That's really not the objective. The objective is, to make you feel something, especially in today's day and age. That's highly, you know, think about AI right now. We could, we could, we could write a 30 page novella right now with just a few keywords and, you know, a few prompts. Marcus Hart (10:00) Yeah. See you. Douglas Frazier (10:06) That's pretty magical, right? We know it's technology, we know it's processing, know, some people know what it is a little bit more based on language model learning. But what I think where I think magic is undefeated is it can be just, you know, something with a simple coin or deck of cards, or just something very, you know, very common. No ones or zeros, it's something that relies on the humanity of our relationship. Marcus Hart (10:09) Right. Douglas Frazier (10:35) I'm going to communicate with you. I'm going to captivate you. I'm going to direct you. I'm going to direct your attention. I'm going to make you want things out of this performance. I'm going to create a sense of wonder. We do this with magic. We also do it with all the products we have, you know? Have a Coke, right? Marcus Hart (10:51) Yeah, don't get no more. You're right about that. But storytelling, the power of storytelling is a very remarkable piece of this. And when it comes to leadership in the business world, you've got to be able to know how to craft those narratives, create that sense of wonder, create that expectation of Douglas Frazier (10:54) No free promotions going forward. Marcus Hart (11:21) change and innovation, you spoke about innovative solutions to tackling big challenges. So like, feel like give us a little insight into like the power of storytelling because I think for those who are passionate about leadership, a seasoned executive, a workforce development professional, something like that is really important for them to understand. and of course Douglas Frazier (11:50) you Marcus Hart (11:51) adaptability too, which comes with what you do. Douglas Frazier (11:56) Yeah, I mean the great leaders understand how to tell a story full stop right there the best leaders tell a story the best magicians Tell a story and it's accompanied with a product or service or in know a magician's case of like I said a Deck of cards or a coin or something like that rubber bands, but ultimately there has to be a really good story So Yeah, I mean, it's critical. I can't tell you enough, you know, I don't teach a whole whole bunch right now. But there was a phase in my life when I was in high school, I'd go to the local elementary school and teach kids how to do really simple tricks like the tricks that I started with, right? Naturally. And what they thought they could learn the method, you know, how to, you know, hold the coin in their hand discreetly. For the most part, they they understood that. But what they couldn't do is they couldn't be an honest liar in the case of a magician, right? Cause that's, that's what you are. You're an honest liar. You know, the, expectation is, is, know, we go, you come to my show. I'm not actually the occult. isn't the 16th century. I'm not a warlock or a witch. not, I'm not going to, you're not going to burn me at the stake if I do something that defies the laws of the universe. Let's hope. but there's a, there's a social contract between us, right? I'm a magician. Marcus Hart (13:01) Thank you. Douglas Frazier (13:21) I'm going to tell you things, some of which will be true and some of them which won't be. And the narrative I tell is going to take you down a path that I want to take you down. And I'm going to do that not just with my mouth and my story, but I'm going to do that with my senses. I'm going to put something in your hands. I'm going to have you hold something. I'm going to borrow something from you, something from you imported. Maybe it's your watch. Maybe it's a hundred dollar bill that you're lending me, right? All of a sudden you're not just like orally invested. you're mentally invested, you're emotionally invested. I use all of that to frankly entertain you. I don't use the word trick. That's not my goal. I want to create a sense of wonder. That's a really important objective for me. If you come to my show and after the show you say, man, Douglas, I loved your magic. Those tricks were great. Respectfully, I have missed the mark. Marcus Hart (14:07) Yeah. Douglas Frazier (14:21) That is not my objective to trick you. If you, and this is, you know, hopefully the goal is, and I've heard this many times, this is where I know I've hit the nail on the head, is they say, I felt something truly transformational. I, you know, I, I was, felt like a child again. I felt wonder, like, you know, I never forget, I was doing a show just a few months ago and it was for, you know, a mix of people, everyone from like, Marcus Hart (14:36) Yeah. Douglas Frazier (14:47) young children all the way to adults we happen to have like, it was like family reunion. And, you know, I remember at one point I'm performing a piece and let's just say I float something. We'll leave it at that and it's floating and it looks really good. And there's an older gentleman, probably in his early eighties. And I just look out of the corner of my eye just to see his reaction. And he, I see an eight year old boy on it in his face. And that's why I do it because I Marcus Hart (15:13) Wow. Douglas Frazier (15:17) can almost guarantee you that he has not felt that childlike wonder in years. Now look, there's other ways to feel wonder. You hold a newborn baby, you know, of course, those are powerful moments. I'm not competing with those, you know, that's real magic, right? But as far as what I can control in my, in the constructs of what I do, which is performance magic and magic keynotes for businesses, I can create powerful moments in that. That's the objective. Marcus Hart (15:47) Yeah, I love that. That's a great point. And, know, it reminds me of that old saying that like no plan survives first contact with the enemy. You know, and in business, you can have the most meticulous crafted strategy, but then something unexpected happens and then you have to be able to pivot. You know, it's like when I was creating a mixtape for a wedding once. And then they put the track on and the power went out right before the bride. rules first dance. Talk about a successful moment, but you then I quickly grab a guitar and serenaded them with a sweet little number and say today and you can see people's faces light up. So adaptability is key and creating that sense of wonders too. like how do leaders cultivate that adaptability within their teams? Douglas Frazier (16:25) Okay. wow. Yeah. So being able to adjust on the fly is critical. In the tech world, they call it agile, right? Being agile. Non-technically, we're talking about being flexible. We're talking about not relying on one product, one service. The more traditional expression is you don't put all your eggs in one basket, right? Think of Amazon, for example. Obviously, a highly transformative Marcus Hart (16:51) Yeah. Douglas Frazier (17:10) culture, right? They Yeah, they have the retail, retail, I suppose you could say yes, they have some retail as well. Now, they started selling books, right? Bezos knew that there's more to it than selling books. That was the first thing that started. So, you know, so they started expanding their product. Now they cut now they carry everything. You know, I got a piece of my car the other day that I can't even get from the actual dealership that makes my car. That's how you know, well, they've but But that wasn't enough for them. they've done is they've, by virtue of building that, they build out servers and enough such that now they could store people's the cloud, Amazon Web Services, right? And that's obviously transformed not just Amazon, but it's transformed other businesses as well in terms of what can be done. now they have a, so let's say if there is something of a recessionary effect on their retail, well, they're going to be able to keep things afloat with their cloud services. know, that's critical, right? But when you start off in your small business, and I do consult with small businesses, you got to do the first thing really well. And you got to have enough runway to deal with unexpected things, whether they're, you know, customers not exactly understanding what you're selling, whether it's the market not bearing what you thought. The first time I told somebody that, I can go into a business, I can read your 10Ks, I can read your annual reports, and I could sit through half a day of your workshop. And then that night, put together a performance that will reinforce the mission and values for your annual strategy. That might make sense to you right now. But the first time I said that, they just stared at me like I was frankly crazy. It takes a trust in yourself, ultimately in your vision. mean, something that doesn't get spoken about enough in magic, or more specifically in business, is the self belief. If you do not have self belief in anything you do, you will not succeed because life is going to throw, as you said, so much adversity at you, whether it's the power going down and having to go acoustic. Marcus Hart (19:14) Yeah. Douglas Frazier (19:37) yet you need to have the other skills to know how to adjust. But you need to just believe that even if you didn't know how to play the guitar, that maybe you could just get something going with their hands, or maybe you could get someone else, find someone else to play the guitar. mean, there's talent all around us. You've got to be able to think creatively. I walk into every performance with a set plan. I have a show tonight in lower Manhattan. I'm going in there. I have a vision of what it's going to be. know how many people are there. know Marcus Hart (19:49) Yeah. Douglas Frazier (20:06) the gender, it happens to be a all of one gender crowd. I know what they're eating. I've literally looked at their menu. I'm exceptionally well prepared to perform for that. Something will happen that I did not, and I've done thousands of shows, but something will happen that I didn't anticipate. And fortunately, it doesn't worry me because by virtue of my experience and my ability to jazz and adapt, be agile, It will be fine. But no matter how good or how many shows you do, will always have things unexpected. mean, it's literally the change is constant, right? That expression change is constant. Change will be constant. And whether it's intentional change or inadvertent change, it's coming your way and you got to learn to live with it. Marcus Hart (20:39) Right. Mm-hmm. And Douglas, man, you really speak in the language of like so many people that need to hear this right now. know, like, know, brilliance is really showing out right now. you know, you speak into about finding new ways to solve problems in a sense. And it's about challenging the status quo, thinking outside of the box. You know, I remember like trying to brainstorm, you know, for for outline for this whole episode. And like I was brainstorming for days and days and days. And then, you know, while I was making a smoothie, came to me, man. And sometimes the best ideas come when you least expect it. So, like, how can leaders create an environment where creativity thrives? Because nowadays, it just seems like, you know, we got to get to the dollar. We got to get to the dollar. But, you know, how do we get to the dollar if there's no creativity in the environment? Douglas Frazier (21:56) Yeah. Man, wish I was, you know, I wish I had all the answers on creativity, except that, as you said, it does happen often when you least expect it. I would I would posit to that that your preparation and all the mistakes you make prior to that create those opportunities. I love you know, was Michael Jordan, you know, he's Marcus Hart (22:23) Yeah. Douglas Frazier (22:23) What did he say? You know, it's only because I've missed so many shots that I hit the ones that mattered. I'm paraphrasing that, but you know, Wayne Gretzky, I missed more shots than I've made, but that's why, you know, so, so like you've got to fail like incessantly. And I don't mean intentionally fail. I mean, you have to be vulnerable. You know, I have done, as I said, I have a team where, know, trusted advisors, you know, the minor circle, they know a magician, they know, you know, when I show them a trick, you know, there's a few people that know, okay, Marcus Hart (22:28) Second. Douglas Frazier (22:53) this is not prime time ready yet. You're going to pick up on it. And then I trust them to give me feedback. And oftentimes I know exactly what did not work or did not stick. You know, I was working with someone the other day and I showed him and you know, I said, Hey, this is, this is how it was. This is how it works. And he says, well, that looks terrible. Wow. That's, that's really direct feedback, right? That looks terrible. I needed to hear it. I needed to hear it. I'm a really direct person. But there's a I think being direct and being critical is highly important to being a creative person. So again, it gets back to believing in yourself, but also knowing that you're not going to just you know, be there's no oversight. I'm sorry, there's no overnight success story. Are there people that are, you know, genetically or mentally gifted that are closer to the creative spectrum? Of course, of course. But even the best players, I mean, didn't Michael Jordan get, you know, cut from his basketball team? You know, why didn't he quit, right? And now we're talking about, you know, the legend. I can guarantee you there are people, singers, that were told they weren't good or that, you know, they should do this. And guess what they did? They reinvented themselves. Marcus Hart (23:55) Yeah. . Douglas Frazier (24:16) People always think, I like the original album of U2, of Beyonce, of whoever, right? But those are people at the end of the day and they're evolving, right? you know, people say, oh, like early 70s Aerosmith and early 90s Aerosmith was not my cup of tea. It's like, okay, that's fine. You're entitled to that opinion. There's a lot of people who like early 90s Aerosmith and... Marcus Hart (24:16) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Douglas Frazier (24:43) But more importantly, the reason why they had an album, you know, is because they needed to create it. So again, it comes back to believing in yourself and almost making it not for anyone else. Initially, initially, I say initially, because ultimately, if you want it to be marketable, you do have to listen to your customers. You can't just say, hey, this is for you. you know, but if it's not coming from within, Marcus Hart (24:51) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Douglas Frazier (25:14) and you're doing it because you just think, can make money and it can be a commercial success. I don't believe that, that I don't believe there's a connection there. It has to come from within and, and, and you need to put it out there. You need to be courageous, vulnerable, seek feedback, listen to feedback, trust yourself again, rinse and repeat. I think that's true for product development, service innovation. I think that's true for all the other arts. Marcus Hart (25:23) Mm-hmm. little Douglas Frazier (25:43) And I think it's true for relationships in general. and I've had relationships that have been incredibly successful and I've had failed relationships. All of these things relate to not just our personalized, but our business lives as well. You jump on a team of a hundred people. That's incredibly difficult to work with people. everyone has their own side objectives. Everyone has their own other motivations and if they're not aligned and Marcus Hart (25:47) Mm-hmm. Right. Douglas Frazier (26:13) people aren't being communicative with each other, can be a real problem. Marcus Hart (26:19) Well, I love that man. You you really go to some gyms there and I love hearing like, know, the Michael Jordan references and I'm a fan of YouTube and YouTube and and Aerosmith too, by the way. So I like to like their music too. So, yeah, but you really speak in, you know, the gospel here, We're going to take a quick break, though, and, you know, check in and allow somebody sponsors to pay the bills. So don't go anywhere. Douglas Frazier (26:36) Ehh Marcus Hart (26:49) We're gonna dive into more with Mr. Douglas Frazier here, and we're gonna wow you with a special segment of some magic. Be right back on the next show. Marcus Hart (27:04) Hello, Eugene. Isn't it amazing how nature teaches us about resilience and growth? Like the beauty emerging from the soul. Your story is waiting to flourish. As Ecclesiastic 3 in 1 tells us, there is a time for everything. At Transform Unity Network, we are here to journey alongside you through those seasons storytelling, faith, and empathy. Let us so seize a spiritual growth in nurturing community together, Friends, wherever you're from and whatever your story is, remember that the growth doesn't come in neat packages. It's messy, it's vibrant, and most importantly, it's also beautiful, I'm Marcus Hart, and at Transforming You Media Network, We are here to support, uplift, and empower you to live boldly with purpose. Let's make this journey together and see you on the other side. Marcus Hart (28:13) Okay, welcome back, Connecticut mix crowd. Ladies and gents, we are here with the wonderful and fabulous Douglas Fraser, who's been giving us a lot of insights and, and helping us kind of, you know, transient and the boundary, the boundaries in between magic and the business world. And, you know, we covered a lot of ground here today, Douglas, and I think one of the things that, you know, we want to draw connection to is like, maybe giving us an example of like how the cultural crossover and the stories that you craft, it becomes very transformational when you're working with these different businesses and you're doing a thing. Douglas Frazier (28:48) you Sure thing. So I think one of the most in-demand topics that leaders are looking to bring outside perspective in is three areas. It's leadership, it's motivation, and it's wellness. Those are the top three in-demand topics. Now each of those has sub-genres, if you will. But, you know, motivation is critical, right? I mean, leaders want their employees to feel inspired. This isn't just, you know, clocking in and, you know, making rocking chairs to use an old arcane story. They want people to reinvent the rocking chair, right? And magicians are naturally in a place where their job is to be innovative. It is to, you know, illusion and innovation. Not only are they similar in syllables, but they're very close in terms of being related to each other. So oftentimes someone wants to know how do we transform this? I like to show them new ways to think of things. So now we would normally do this if we were together in the room where we would use your card, but I would ask you to fold this card. Yeah, literally fold this card. Nine times out of 10, you will do this, right? You would. Well, first thing you'd say you want me to fold the card. That's what I that's the difference. Hold the card. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. See, I know. I know what you're thinking. It's almost like I've done this before. And then, you know, they they fold it and then I say, listen, that that is right. You know, technically fold it. Now you could have folded it this way as well. Right. Like you could have folded it what we call lengthwise. Right. Two ways to do something differently. And some people only see it one way. I like this isn't rocket science. This is nothing. Marcus Hart (30:32) Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Douglas Frazier (30:57) deeply profound, course, but technically it's two different ways to fold a playing card, right? And now if I said to you, and I'd hand these two, if we were together, I'd say put one card inside the other. You you could put this, what we'll call the hamburger piece, into the hot dog, right? Into the hot dog bun, right? Or you could put the hot dog into the hamburger bun. That's two ways to... Marcus Hart (31:17) Right. Douglas Frazier (31:27) put a card inside each other. A lot of people only see it this way. They can't see it that way. And what a magician does in any good innovator is they see things more than one way. And that allows you, again, this gets back to items we talked about in this first half hour segment is about challenging yourself to reevaluate how you look at things and getting feedback, right? So now another way we can do something is we can put a, we can do something where, let sit here. We can put a card in like this and we can turn it inside out. like that. So now we've turned the card inside out, right? That's one way to turn the card inside out. Now there's another way to do it as well. And again, if we were together, I'd have you hold this. The other way to turn a card inside out is the way most people can't actually envision, but it actually looks like this. Marcus Hart (32:08) Yeah. Wow Douglas Frazier (32:24) Okay, and it actually turns over on both sides for its entire length. Again, we'll show you what that looks like because you weren't quite ready for it. But if you look, the card is now going to reverse itself, turning inside out. Most people would not think about this, but a magician has to to be relevant. Otherwise, you know, the first couple of phases I showed you wouldn't. And we can trap this in the middle so that now half the card is facing one way. Marcus Hart (32:31) Wow Yeah. Douglas Frazier (32:55) half the card. is facing the other. Right? that while. So again, this is a performance piece I do and I add a bit more context to the, I brand it to whatever product or solution that, you know, that company is doing, whether it's tech or retail or, you know, worked with a sneaker company recently and this was, you know, this was important because design, you might imagine. Now look, I caught it right down the middle and let's see if you can see this. I'll make sure we're in frame here. Marcus Hart (33:03) Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Douglas Frazier (33:27) even pull it out and again you could examine these pieces there's no slight of hand there's fancy or funny those cars are now perfectly half and half inside and out so that's just one example of thinking creatively innovatively but you know not to bury i don't want to bury the lead either i'm doing magic right but i'm but i'm telling a story and i think that's what's important so if if you like i said the sneaker company they're they're trying to you know Marcus Hart (33:47) Cheers. Right. Douglas Frazier (33:55) There's only so many ways you can design a sneaker and there are a lot of ways, right? Well, there's even more ways. Let's, let's think about that. Is there a new way to invent the sneaker? Is there a new way to invent a certain app? these are things that I do. yeah, that's, that's one example. Another one is, there's a company that's really, you know, we talk about transformation all the time and they're, excuse me. And there, you know, I don't know if you've heard of, I know we've all heard of recycling, but upcycling is a whole nother thing. Upcycling means repurposing or getting more out of it. So it's a new concept. People are still learning what it means. I'm still learning what it means. But this is an example where a company, you know, I show them, you know, a drink that I'm drinking and it's nearly done now. In fact, you can see here that Marcus Hart (34:32) Good. Douglas Frazier (34:53) It's just about finished there. yeah, so if you look here, here's the, that's a little bit of spill there, but you see here we have the tab. We're gonna try to fix that tab. So this is the, for relative, this is that those six ounce cans that they sell, or seven and a half technically, not the 12 ounce cans. What's great about these is you can get, more per unit from the customer, but you also use less, use less of material, of course, it's not a 12 ounce can. What they haven't sold yet is the possibility that, you know, people still might want 12 ounces of drink, in this case, Diet Coke, right? So I like to show people how you might be able to upcycle this product. So for example, just finished one, you know, Marcus Hart (35:29) Yes. Hmm. Douglas Frazier (35:48) one sip of this, but now we're going to try to refill the can. So let me show you what I mean by that. You can see that there. Watch this. I'm going to try to fix that tab and we're actually going to try to reseal it. Marcus Hart (35:57) Mm-hmm. Wow. Amazing. Yeah. my goodness. Douglas Frazier (36:08) You see that? You see how it brings it close there? It's refilled. This is the same can. It's never been out of frame. we can, well, first of all, we sealed it. But what we can also do that's really cool is we can actually refill it too. Watch this. You can actually hear it if you listen carefully. Marcus Hart (36:24) No. No way. Oh man. No, I don't believe it. Douglas Frazier (36:43) Now watch this. Watch this. and the can has refilled. Now there's a great story, right? Cheers. Marcus Hart (37:00) This is dope. This is so dope and fire. Yeah. Douglas Frazier (37:04) Well, yeah, it was entertaining. I talked about their themes, you know, recycling upcycling. Of course, this is still a trick at the end of the day. But you know, it's it's entertaining. And, you know, who would ever think right, that you could refill the half cans and get the same volume. So it's actually better value for everyone. We're saving, you know, saving materials, saving shipping costs, naturally, and we got a free refill. Marcus Hart (37:10) Yes. Douglas Frazier (37:33) wink wink right? So you know, it's that's the type of that's the type of ideas that I bring. And I can I can literally brand it. yeah, shoot me if a little more carbonation than I expected there. That's real. That's real. That's real soda. Marcus Hart (37:34) You're kidding. Yeah, you got extra extra in the cup. Yeah. Douglas Frazier (37:55) Exactly. you know, can brand my... So this sneaker company that hired me, they, you know, they wanted to produce the new Jordans, actually. I Jordan seems to be a theme of this interview, but the new Jordans that came out there, there's retro... Yeah, shout out to Jordan. If you're watching, Michael, we're giving a little more attention than, you know, he needs more attention, right? But yeah, so they wanted me to produce the Jordans from a shoebox. Marcus Hart (38:09) Shout out to Jordan. Yeah. Douglas Frazier (38:24) right? I mean, that makes sense, right? Produce them, you know, product placement. You know, there's a trick with shoelaces I do, which obviously ties to sneakers and that sort of thing. So I've got enough experience in my life that you're never getting the same show from me. Because every customer is different. Every customer has a unique need. So like, you know, sometimes you go look at the pastas. Malcolm Gladwell talked about this a bit, you know, Marcus Hart (38:40) Mm-hmm. Douglas Frazier (38:53) There's so many pastas, sauces, is, and pastas, of course, you know, why, right? Why? Well, people have preferences, you know, we're a very diverse species. You know, there's, there's obviously some that are more popular than others. Some sneakers sell better than others and pasta sauces sell better. But there's always some people who will buy something that, you know, might not be right for you and I but right for them. And I think that's Marcus Hart (39:19) Night. Douglas Frazier (39:21) That speaks to just understanding customers and what their needs are. I do the same thing in my performances. And I encourage any good company will continually evaluate what their customers need and make sure they can deliver and meet those new expectations. Marcus Hart (39:44) love it, man. It's truly amazing how you can take something so seemingly impossible and make it a reality. know, it highlights what we've been talking about all along, know, the power of illusion and the importance of storytelling. And, man, I really thank you for sharing this with us, sharing that with us. I feel like I'm cheating by giving this for free right now. Douglas Frazier (40:00) Mm-hmm. Marcus Hart (40:14) She's so bad, know, fascinated, very fascinating. Thank you. Yes. Douglas Frazier (40:14) Well. Well, we're building awareness, right? No, I appreciate what you're doing, which is showing new ways to be transformative in the least expected places, right? Whether it's music production or movie production or poetry, whatever you decide to cover, I mean, there are lessons to be learned from any art or science that has people dedicated to advancing it. Marcus Hart (40:28) Right. Douglas Frazier (40:46) And, know, I'm just one of thousands and thousands of magicians. but what I bring, I'm not the best in the world. mean, there are, are top magicians that are, you know, I'm definitely up there, right? I'm just all modest is all modesty aside. But what, what I do is as the brand Magi, if you go to brand Magi.com is you'll see someone who's got a background in business, who also really has enjoyed magic his whole life. I think that's. Marcus Hart (40:52) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Douglas Frazier (41:17) super valuable because look, there's a place for the Vegas magician with the cool hair and the, and the birds and the fire and all that, like in it's it's Vegas. Let's be honest. It's Vegas. that, that's not me as you can tell. Right. mean, I'm, I'm just a, I'm just a guy who works in corporate America, but also knows how to bring some art to, you know, make, make meetings a little, a little more, Marcus Hart (41:26) Yeah. Douglas Frazier (41:44) insightful. So that's that's what I do best. And I'd like to think I'm when it comes to the, you know, confluence of magic and business, you know, I'm someone who can do that exceptionally effectively. Marcus Hart (42:00) And I wouldn't minimize yourself either. And I don't think you are, but I hear the humbleness in your voice and in just your whole demeanor. that's very incredible, man. And a lot of people, they want to put themselves, comparative selves, and they don't have to. I think that speaks to just your craft here and what you provided. You know, and as we nearing into the time and you know, and speaking of lessons, you know, what are some of the key takeaways you hope our audience will remember? Besides the good magic trick magic magic the magical art. know there was a good art there man. Douglas Frazier (42:44) You know, I prefer Yeah, sure Look, we need to tell good stories in any capacity whether it's you know writing a story You know, whether it's orally telling a story, telling a good joke, it's a skill. You know, it's important to laugh. It's important to, you know, to, you know, when we hear good music to feel the heart, you know, rushing and get the endorphins up here in the head and just feel it and, know, or if it's dancing, in my case, magic, my goals, again, I've said this before, is not to trick you, at least that's the bare minimum. Marcus Hart (43:22) Yeah. Douglas Frazier (43:25) The objective is to create you to create a sense of wonder. I think, you know, being human is being able to connect with people and understanding what we can, but also realizing that there are things we will never fully understand. We can try. I'm not suggesting we like bury our heads in the sand and not try to advance our knowledge, but like the end of the day, there's just so much that, you know, being human is, is not always understanding things and that's okay. A magician is a very safe reminder that like, you know, there are things with despite all the academics and all the education and thinking you're clever, you know, we can still be deceived. We can still miss important things and that's not only is that okay, it's really healthy and it's essential to, you know, Marcus Hart (44:14) Yeah. Douglas Frazier (44:25) any good life lived in any business that wants to be impactful in this world. And I, you know, to the extent that I could be a reminder of that, you know, it's my honor. Marcus Hart (44:38) Love it, man. And with all respects to you and the demonstration today was incredible. And you're right. The trick is just the small entry point. It's not even like the fullness of what people are tapping into, helping them to tap into their own creativity at the same time, connected with people on a human level. And what I get out of it is is just being able to come forward, being more authentic and being able to lead with heart and finding the magic within ourselves and using it to inspire others. And that's what you gave me today, man. And for our listeners who just want to learn more about your work, you mentioned the website a few minutes ago, but maybe give us a reminder of where they can find you at. Douglas Frazier (45:33) Thanks. Yeah, I actually have a relatively small social presence because I do target businesses. So I do a lot of direct mailing, know, like, you know, kind of a weekly newsletter or month depends on time of year, of course, but, know, I do send out a digital newsletter. And if anyone wants to subscribe to that, they would just email support at brandmagic.com and just request that they be put on the list and they would get updates. Otherwise, where I manage my content, where I manage my messaging is through my website, which is brandmagi.com. that's B-R-A-N-D-M-A-G-I.com. And my business is called Magic Solutions. yeah, again, I perform classic shows like I will be this evening in the city. But I also go around to the corporations as well. So I have two products again back to the whole diversification of products and services. So if you want to learn more about that, you can just go to my website and then you can reach out to me directly through there. Marcus Hart (46:44) Excellent, my man. You know, so we'll be sure to include that link in the cell notes and also we're going to encourage our listeners and those on our email list to check out more from you and connect with you. anybody who comes with me with the great questions, I was going to be sure to forward them over to you. You know, this has been very inspiring today, Douglas. I thank you so much for joining us on the Connected P. Nick show. It's been an absolute pleasure. Douglas Frazier (47:12) Hey, thank you so much for having me. Thanks for doing the show. think, you you giving people a voice or platform rather to share their voices is critical for, you know, opening people's eyes and the ways we can like innovate and as you say, transform. So thank you for what you do. Marcus Hart (47:30) Indeed, man. Thank you so much. know, incredible episode. Those who are, you know, checking us out right now, be sure to share this with someone you know, someone you don't know and leave a comment if you got questions or, you know, if there was pieces of this that, you know, that really stood out to you the most or resonates with the most. We'd to hear from you, Indeed. those who would like more information, again, we will have that link in the episode description and in our email newsletter until next time. I'm Marcus along with Douglas. Many blessings, peace and lots of love.