School Assembly-Hocus Pocus! I Can Focus!

From Awestruck Kid to The Amazing Arthur: A Journey of Focus and Magic

As I often share during my school assemblies, my path to becoming The Amazing Arthur, a magician and juggler who inspires children, began with a sense of wonder that was sparked in my own childhood. 

Here is a little trip down memory lane on how the seeds for my "Hocus Pocus I Can Focus" program were sown in the fertile ground of my own youthful experiences.

A Fourth-Grade Epiphany
It was a typical school day in fourth grade when the extraordinary happened: a magician came to our school for an assembly. The moment he started his performance, I was captivated. Every sleight of hand, every illusion was like a private conversation with my imagination, telling me that the impossible might just be possible. 

The Magic of Summer
The summer before that life-changing school assembly, I found myself at my local library in Ralston, Nebraska, where another magician was performing. The joy and excitement that filled the room were palpable, and I remember thinking, "This is magic in more ways than one."

San Francisco Streets and Juggling Dreams
Then there was the family trip to San Francisco in the '80s. The city was alive with art and heart, but what truly caught my eye were the jugglers on the street, their art a dance of gravity and grace. That was the moment I knew—my destiny was to entertain, to amaze, to inspire.

Becoming The Amazing Arthur
I was not unlike the students I speak to now—I struggled with focus. It seemed an insurmountable task, to still the buzzing energy of a young mind. But as I took up archery, rode BMX bikes, skateboarded, and finally learned to juggle and perform magic, I found my focus. With each challenging activity, I was teaching myself the very skills I now teach through my program—discipline, perseverance, and the pure joy of mastering something that once seemed hard.

Inspiring the Next Generation
Through "Hocus Pocus I Can Focus," I share these life lessons with students. I want them to know that focus isn't just about stillness; it's about finding your passion, the thing that makes the noise of the world fall away so that all you hear is the beat of your own heart and the rhythm of your dreams.

I was once a child who couldn't sit still, whose mind raced from one thought to another like a pinball machine on tilt. But through doing hard things—things that required me to be present, to engage fully—I learned the secret to focus.

And now, as The Amazing Arthur, I get to share that secret with students everywhere. I get to be the magician at the school assembly, the performer at the library, the juggler on the streets of someone's San Francisco, igniting the spark that says, "You can do this. You can be amazing."

Join Me on This Magical Journey
Whether I'm speaking in a packed auditorium or a cozy classroom, my goal is to leave kids with a sense of empowerment. To remind them that the same wonder that captured a young boy in Nebraska all those years ago is still alive in them today.

So, visit www.amazingarthur.com to learn more about my journey, my program, and how we can bring a little bit of magic to your school. Together, let's inspire kids to find their focus and realize that they, too, are capable of amazing things.

Remember, magic is not just about tricks and illusions—it's about discovering the potential within us. I'm living proof of that, and I cannot wait to share that message with your students.

Let's create some magic together!

—The Amazing Arthur