“Anders, I can only be truly happy in the moment I know you are pursuing your dream. Even if that dream is to leave and perform magic on the other side of the planet…”
Those words came from my father the last time I saw him alive.
My hero – this man who always managed to conquer everything with a smile on his face – now suddenly reduced to a tiny human frame. For me to leave his modest room at the nursing home in Denmark in the middle of that winter blizzard over 10 years ago was the hardest thing I have ever done. In a conflicting emotional state, I also knew deep inside that his dream was to see mine fulfilled and there was no way I could achieve that by compromising and staying by his side. As a young man in World War II, he experienced horrors such as having to bury his best friend after he was executed. My father carried that deep inside all his life. That also caused him to value freedom more than anything else.
With an ever-growing dissatisfaction in all cells of my body, I knew something had to change. It was that nagging feeling that I’m sure you too could relate to. Throughout my twenties, I had evolved into a version of myself I really did not like, mainly because I was trying to “fit in” and be like everyone else in my social circles. It culminated in confusion about my identity as well as unhappiness and bitterness on a personal level. So, with one days notice, I sold everything I had and what I was not able to sell, I gave away. I jumped on a plane with a one-way ticket and landed in Miami 10 years ago in an attempt to re-create myself and achieve personal freedom just like my father had encouraged.
Freedom, like everything else has a price, and for me the price of moving did cost me close friendships and my business. I started out by performing magic for tips in local restaurants, eating $1 hamburgers to sustain a food budget, while filling my car with $5 at a time. In other words, it wasn’t exactly the glamorous dream life I had imagined as I left Denmark. Shortly at settling into this new reality, I woke up in the middle of the night with my cell phone vibrating under my pillow. It was my brother and his silence on the other end told me everything I needed to know… Dad had passed!
As I was trying to deal with immense feelings of guilt and regret for not having been there and for leaving while knowing he didn’t have much time left, I suddenly heard a voice in my head saying, “NOW you have everything…” As confused and startled as I was in the beginning, I soon realized the voice was right. As hard as it was losing my dad this way, it had fueled a fire in me to re-create my life all over again, which was in harmony with my deep desire for personal freedom.
The illusions were gone, the false associations to people and things I thought defined me was no longer there. By looking within and by getting to know my true self, “Real Magic” started to happen and I realized there WAS a connection between my thoughts and the reality I lived. Within the span of a year, I found myself going from living on $1 hamburgers to performing and producing shows on cruise ships and television around the world.
Ironically, in this moment I’m sitting in my hometown overlooking the water after having completed several live seminars and keynote presentations here, heading to Germany to speak at Winspiration Day this coming Sunday. Things tend to always come full-circle, don’t they?
Reflecting back on the most transitional year in my life, I now believe I know who that voice was back then… It was a hard price to pay for the freedom I so much desired, but it was worth it and today I know there is an angel up there nodding his head in total agreement.
Anders Hansen
Based in Las Vegas, Anders Hansen bridges two decades of experience as an international illusionist with personal development. He is now working with career professionals to help them overcome their own limiting illusions so they too can experience the magic there is in achieving the impossible for themselves.
Join Anders in Las Vegas June 2-3, 2018 for his Real Magic LIVE event & continue your journey of discovering your own illusions with Anders by receiving his new and FREE E-Book, “3 Illusions to Impossible” in which you will overcome 3 of your largest self-limiting illusions so you can achieve time/money freedom and other impossible goals. Go to: http://andershansen.e-book.pages.ontraport.net/
