We all know the Information Age presents us with an overwhelming glut of options. Books, tapes, CD-ROMS and DVDSs, Internet chat sites … all are there for little more than the asking, be it by online connection or the exchange of a few dollars across a magic shop counter. But with this infinite bounty of riches, are you actually making progress in your work and your art?

Many are not. For many, too much information becomes a challenge. Options become frustrations, and they are discouraged by their lack of progress. How can you find your way through the forest of detail, out into the sunlit clarity of insight?

What you need is personal guidance.

Informed, supportive, expert and experienced guidance.

In times past, this was the only way to progress in magic. Without mentoring, there was no advancement. Magic was a secret society. While it might seem that the situation hindered progress in the art, hindsight suggests otherwise. When fewer had access to information, more effort was required to obtain it, and personalized assistance was inherent in the process. Greater commitment yielded greater results.

Thus, part of the skill set of the developing magician was the ability to ask for help. Today's greatest magicians understand this; notice that each and every one of them has a "think tank" of advisors and creators on which they rely for assistance. No expert is self-contained. Each of us needs guidance and support.

But as important as it is to seek such mentoring in this age of information, skills of selection are also required. You must learn to sift good information from bad. And you must also find guides who are qualified, lest you be distracted, even derailed, by poor advice. It is not enough to seek counsel - you must find wise counsel.

Now, your own commitment can yield greater results for you. You already have the interest and passion to bring your magic to a higher level. All you need is a little help.

And so, in the name of progress, we present for your consideration: Card Clinic, Close-up Clinic, and Stack Clinic.

Perhaps you cannot buy wisdom, but we will offer you every opportunity to steep yourself in the wisdom of two acknowledged contemporary masters of magic - proven masters of sleight-of-hand magic with playing cards. Prepare yourself for the magic experience of a lifetime.

We invite your questions and comments, and we hope to see you at our next clinic.