This week I’m diving into the world of the shredded sorcerer, Harry Houdini.

Early in his career, Houdini would trudge across America with travelling carnivals, trying out his act.

And on the way, he'd mix with other performers.

“Freaks”, as they were called back then.

Or misfits, as I’ll call them.

Misfits whose very names conjure up tantalising glimpses of their acts.

Characters like John Rauth, The Man With the Longest Head...

Thardo, Defier of Snakes...

And Count Orloff, The Human Window Pane. 

Houdini didn’t see any of these misfits as beneath him. 

Quite the opposite. He saw them as a treasure trove of information and expertise.

So Houdini befriended them. And started to learn their talents.

An acrobat taught Houdini how to swallow an ivory ball and regurgitate it on demand...

A man named Joe Keaton showed Houdini the basics of slapstick comedy…

And a carnival promo-man first taught Houdini how to escape from a set of ropes.

The reason I’m nattering on about these misfits and outsiders is simple.

Houdini’s outlook reminds me of this passage from Rolf Dobelli’s book The Art of The Good Life:

Outsiders enjoy a tactical advantage.  They don’t have to adhere to establishment protocols which could slow them down.  They don’t have to dumb down their ideas with visually snazzy but ridiculous PowerPoint slides. 

They can happily ignore convention and are under no pressure to accept invitations or take part in events simply to “show face”.  They don’t have to be politically correct for fear of expulsion, because they’re already on the outside.

What’s more, their position off the intellectual track sharpens their perception of the contradictions and shortcomings of the prevailing system, to which members of the club are blind.

To sum up:  

Sometimes you can see more clearly - and learn new tricks - by stepping away from what you know.

And the best way to do this? 

Look to the outsiders.  The groups of people on the fringes or dabbling in areas which aren’t mainstream.

As Dobelli says, these outsiders enjoy various tactical advantages.  They have aces up their sleeve which they might be willing to share.

Simply put:  you won’t learn how to regurgitate an ivory ball from a Paul Daniels Magic Set.

But this goes much further than magic tricks, travelling carnivals and snake charmers.

No less than Steve Jobs and Bill Gates saw the benefit of this idea too.

As both men built their companies in the conventional, corporate world of Silicon Valley, they continued to use their links with the underground “tech nerd” community.

They soaked up everything they could from the hackers, programmers and enthusiasts who were free from the thinking inside the Silicon Valley bubble.

These were the people who were willing to push the boundaries of what was possible.   

And part and parcel of why Bill Gates and Steve Jobs went on to become two of the richest men on the planet.

Something to chew on perhaps.

That’s all for today. 

 - Tom

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