Recognize
signs that your profession has become an illusion.
After 15 years, I knew I was not suited for a government position. I saw
too many politicians putting unjustified spins on what was going on, placing
blame on others and taking the easy way out by ignoring problems. One
day, I said, "I don't need this."
Decide when
it is time for the great disappearing act. For a couple of
years, I had been working from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., then coming back to
work from 7:30 to 11. I had ulcers, gallstones, pancreatitis, four trips
to the hospital and one surgery delayed because I wasn't in good enough
physical shape. I knew it was time to leave. I stayed just long enough
to be eligible for deferred retirement.
Select which
career to conjure up next. When pressure at work was too great,
I'd go home and get out books and equipment related to what had become
my avocation since age 7. That was one of my greatest pleasures, the one
thing that kept me from being tied in a knot. So I left the practice of
law to engage in a more forthright form of deception; I opened the first
full-line magic shop in Cincinnati.
Wait, then
ask if your decision was the magic one. I knew I did the right
thing within a few weeks. I felt better immediately. I didn't have as
much income, but it was adequate, and I had more peace of mind.
Brewe left his position as second assistant solicitor with Cincinnati's legal department in 1974. Today, he performs magic on stage, constructs custom illusions, serves as president of the Cincinnati Academy of Magic and Allied Sciences, and advises the Counts of Conjuring, the world's oldest organization for teenage magicians.
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