I still practice every single day for three to four hours … because I care. I want things to be perfect, because I’m being paid to entertain people, and I never want to let them down.
Entertainer and NACBE guest speaker Bill Malone warms up CSO participants with comedy, magic and a message about the importance of practice.
PROFESSIONAL ENTERTAINER BILL Malone has been a successful comedian, magician and actor for decades—ever since he was 17 years old. Based on his breezy set-ups, sure-fire punchline delivery and cool slight-of-hand card tricks, you’d never guess he still gets nervous before every show. But he does.
“Every single show I do—whether it’s a small party for eight people or a thousand people—I get nervous. And the reason I get nervous is because I really do care about delivering a great show,” Malone told business managers and guests at the 2020 Construction Sector Operations conference.
As NACBE’s guest speaker, Malone warmed up an early-morning CSO audience with a serious message packaged in humor and magic: Practice is important if you want to be the best in your craft.
“I still practice every single day for three to four hours,” he said. “I love to practice, because I know practice is really what’s going to separate me from other magicians.
“The reason I practice is because I care. I want things to be perfect, because I’m being paid to entertain people, and I never want to let them down.”
He related that concept to Boilermakers’ work and reputation.
“Practice is constant improvement. When you have a passion about something like you guys in the Boilermakers do—you’re in this industry for a reason—you’re usually very good at it,” he said. “But everything can be done better.”
Malone noted that even industry veterans—himself included—can make continuous improvements through constant practice, performance analysis and even slight adjustments.
“You have a great industry, and you guys are hard workers. I hear about the work you do and how many hours Boilermakers put in in a day, and it’s amazing,” he said. “Practice is constant improvement, and when you take time to re-examine what you’re doing, you can do everything you do even better.”
