Are You Ready? [Magibon Revealed]

On February 18th, I blogged about a mysterious character on youtube  named Magibon (MRirian).  I think it's always a good idea to return to things for the sake of perspective and to see what lessons can be learned.  Recent events on this story have emphasized several key ideas that I've mentioned in the past.

If you haven't read the blog, basically Magibon was a mysterious girl who appeared on YouTube.  She's ambiguously young (seemed somewhere between 12 and 21), white, speaks Japanese on occasion, but mostly just stares at the camera with somewhat hypnotizing eyes.  One more thing, she gets MILLIONS of hits on YouTube.  Yes, millions.  This caused a great stir as people were trying to figure out who she was and what her motivations were as well as why so many people were watching her.

The point of my original post was to emphasize how mystery can work to an artists' advantage with the closing thought "Reveal your humanity - but hide your story."

If you want to really understand what I mean by that, read the whole blog here.

Not long ago, Magibon was contacted by the Japenese TV show GYAO and was recently flown to Japan to be on her show.   The video has some rough on screen translations and I'll place part one and two here.  (Don't feel you must watch the entire video to get the point of this blog, but here they are:)

Video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=XHVlGx5XY7I

Video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qcl-zgzMSVg&feature=related

So - basically Magibon is brought out in blind fold and ear covers.  (Why on Earth would you fly a young woman to a foreign country and then blind fold her and ear cover her right before bringing her out on a national broadcast show?  Wouldn't she be nervous enough as it is?)

Then it is revealed to her that her biggest idol, Yaguchi Mari, is there.  Another sensationalist shocker which is sure to add nerves.  (Yaguchi Mari, by the way, is a cute Japanese personality who is all over youtube, thus known outside of Japan.)

So - what ends up happening is that they just ask her some questions in Japanese.  There is a translator there.  Magibon doesn't speak fluent Japanese.  Not a surprise. 

What is revealed:  She is just a 21 year old girl from Pennsylvania who uploaded a video for friends and was surprised when people started watching.  She is a big fan of Japanese pop culture and that's how she started learning the language.  There was no master plan in play.

So... why am I bringing this whole thing up?

Two Important Lessons to Learn: 

Shame:  This young woman has gotten a ton of "fan" comments - but also a lot of really scathing comments about her teeth.  Well, she has funky teeth.  Personally, I don't care and I guarantee you that none of the anonymous people posting insults about her teeth on her youtube page would ever be able to date such a beautiful girl.as her.  Probably where the anger comes from and is looking for a target?  But on this show - watch how much time she spends covering up her teeth!  It's painful.  Now, in her videos - in  her element - she does not do this.   Did the hate comments get to her now that she is more aware she is being seen by so many people?  Was she always like this?  I don't think anyone would ever have really noticed it unless they were looking for something until she spent half the interview hiding her mouth.  It made me so sad to see someone suffering from so much shame for something so silly.  Sadly, I do not think anyone who insulted her would ever even realize that they were watching the result of their autonomous hatred.

What to do?  Do not try to hide whatever it is you're insecure about.  Own it.  It makes you unique.  The more comfortable you are about yourself, the more comfortable others will be with you.  You may not even be aware you do this.  You probably aren't.  99% of the time - all efforts made to try to hide something back-fire.  Why?  Because you're drawing attention to it.  Also - you are giving into shame.  This is the opposite of presence.  Presence is when you are so comfortable with yourself and so in tune, that you radiate into others.  The first step of this is dropping shame. 

In this little spot, they even mention how Magibon likes Yaguchi because she's short.  How often do women say "Oh, I wish I were taller."  She owned it and made it work for her.

Be Ready:  Magibon (as I'd postulated in my other blog) is not someone who has aspired to be a performer.  Even in this interview she was insistent that she would not be well known (by the way, don't say things like that either because it alienates the people who do know you which is your core audience... more on that some other blog).  This is all fine.  Perhaps this is going to end up being some fluke that happened and she'll tell her kids about one day that she had millions of people who would watch her on the internet just staring at the camera.  However... there is something key here. 

The mystery is now over.  Magibon was revealed... she was just someone who liked to emulate the cute pop culture references she would watch.  No master plan.  The end.  Over.  You, as an artist and someone who aspires to continue to have an audience must always remember:  By the time you close one mystery, you need to have raised a new one.  This is a perfect example of why that is so important.  What could she have done?  Hinted at some other plan.  That's all she needed to do.  Maybe that's not her goal in life, but if being a life long performer is a goal of your life... do not ever let the mystery go, you can close one, but you must open another.... more on that here:  Kidnapped and Thrown in a Car

So Be Ready... know your next step.  In fact, know your next five steps - You can change where you go mid journey, but you need to know your steps, no only to start - but when your mystery closes, you need to already have the next mystery in progress.

You might think you have it figured out - but challenge yourself.  Trust me, sometimes you are surprised by the question, "What's next?"

If you're a writer, you need to have your scrīpts ready to go, perfect before you start worrying about getting connections and meetings - because you're not ready to hand that pristine copy over.  If you're a director, you need to have your work to show.  A musician needs to have an act before they can book a gig.  These things seem obvious.  But, it gets less clear when you're a musician who has booked acts and has a CD out even and the question is "What's next?"  "Make more CD's"  Isn't the answer that is going to garner more attention. 

You need to have your next "story" ready to go.  Don't miss those opportunities.