I’m often asked how someone becomes a magician. The snappy answer is: “I was tricked into it!” But in truth it takes a lot of hard work, starting at a young age.

My uncle Nat Zuckerman showed me my first card trick at age six, and I knew from that moment on that I had to become a magician. It felt preordained.

When I was 13 years old, my parents sent me to Tannen’s Magic Camp, a week-long sleepaway camp for young magicians. My fellow campers included David Blaine and Adrien Brody. Thirty years later (!) I was invited back to the same camp to teach and perform. Last Wednesday I volunteered to spend a full day with 130 enthusiastic teenage magicians.

I went there with the intention to inspire them — to show the campers where magic might take them. After all, I sat in their seats thirty years ago and have since turned my passion into a successful career. What I wasn’t expecting was how the students would inspire me with their energy, raw talent and deep enthusiasm for our shared love of magic.