Harry Houdini in His Own Way;

Harry Houdini was probably the most famous entertainer of the early 20th century. Houdini was an escape artist and magician, and had a routine to gain publicity for each of his shows. He would arrive a city one day before a show, and have the local police lock him in their greatest prison. They would pat him down, make sure he didn’t have anything he could use to escape, Houdini would kiss his wife for good luck, and he would be locked in the cell. Everyone would leave the room, and within 10 minutes, Houdini would emerge from the prison and take a bow.

Now, there was a maximum security prison opening in Indiana, and Houdini was invited to attempt his escape. Houdini went through his routine, and everyone shuffled out of the room. They stood outside the prison and started to wait.

Here’s the trick, Houdini was a locksmith before he went into the entertainment business. His lucky kiss from his wife was indeed very lucky, as she would pass to him a piece of rolled steel. He used that steel to pick the lock.

This time was different. Houdini worked for ten minutes without any success. Twenty minutes passed. A half hour passed. The people outside began to disperse thinking Houdini had finally been defeated. Back in the cell, Houdini was sweating, tired and embarrassed. Would he be able to escape this time?

In sheer frustration, Houdini stood up to clear his head. He leaned against the door, and it sprung open. The door was never locked! Houdini had convinced himself that this was going to be hard, and gotten in his own way.

Are you doing this? Are you making things more difficult in your mind than they are in real life? Is that test next week going to the hardest you’ve ever taken? Is your current project just too much to take on? Maybe, just maybe, it will be much easier than you imagine. Don’t get in your own way; take action.