#679: Simon Coronel, World Champion of Magic — Quitting the Day Job, The Delights of the Magic Castle, Finding Glitches in Reality, Learning How to Use Your Own Brain, and Worshiping at the Altar of Wonder

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Simon Coronel (simoncoronel.com) is legally
classified as an “Alien of Extraordinary Ability” by the United
States Government for his skills as a magician and
illusionist. Simon discovered magic in 1999 as a first-year
student at Melbourne University. He then spent five years working
full time in management consulting while juggling his “secret”
performance career. 


He’s currently a jigsaw puzzle designer for The Magic
Puzzle Company, which has the #1-backed puzzle on
Kickstarter of all time, and is a regular performer at the Magic
Castle in Hollywood.


Simon has appeared twice on the hit TV show Penn & Teller:
Fool Us. He has won over a dozen international awards for magic,
including being crowned the World Champion of Magic in 2022 at
FISM, the Olympics of magic. 


Please enjoy!


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[06:12] Radical earliness.


[08:23] The Magic Castle.


[17:27] Catching the magic bug at age 18.


[19:56] Acknowledging neurodivergence.


[28:16] Glitches in Reality.


[30:53] The road to winning the 2022 FISM World Championship of
Magic.


[53:04] Workshopping out the kinks before the competition.


[57:59] The muse and the Shoot seal of approval.


[1:01:31] Gauging audience perception and finding balance
pre-game.


[1:05:49] The big day.


[1:18:45] Categories of stage magic.


[1:20:15] Ugly crying through victory.


[1:30:10] The immediate aftermath.


[1:34:03] A homecoming drink at the Magic Castle.


[1:36:37] Why a later start in magic was lucky.


[1:39:13] How working at Accenture played into Simon’s
weaknesses.


[1:45:30] Making the decision to do magic full-time.


[1:52:34] Hotbeds of magical innovation.


[1:55:57] Mentalism misgivings.


[2:01:13] Why learning magic can be so daunting for a beginner.


[2:07:29] How Simon teaches magic.


[2:10:45] Magic in the media.


[2:14:35] Is atheism a prerequisite for the modern magician?


[2:16:14] Jigsaw puzzles.


[2:23:26] Parting thoughts.


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