In magic, today as always, the effect is what counts. The method or methods used are always purely secondary.
Interpretation
The outcome of an action is more important than the techniques employed to achieve it.
Dai Vernon's quote emphasizes the significance of results over methods in the realm of magic, suggesting that it is the impact of a performance that truly matters, rather than the intricacies of how it was executed. This perspective can be extended beyond magic to various aspects of life, where the effectiveness of our actions should take precedence over the processes involved.
In practice
A magician reflecting on a successful show might use this quote to highlight the importance of audience reaction over sleight of hand.
If you don't like my book, write your own. If you don't think you can write a novel, that ought to tell you something. If you think you can, do. No excuses. If you still don't like my novel, find a book you do like. Life is too short to be miserable. If you do like my novels, I commend your good taste.
I know not anything more pleasant, or more instructive, than to compare experience with expectation, or to register from time to time the difference between idea and reality. It is by this kind of observation that we grow daily less liable to be disappointed.
Our greatest foes, and whom we must chiefly combat, are within.
People with a high level of personal mastery are able to consistently realize the results that matter most deeply to them-in effect, they approach their life as an artist would approach a work of art. The do that by becoming committed to their own lifelong learning.
If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately.
Not everyone loves me, but I have to be okay no matter what they think about me.
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