How does a magician create and remember passwords?

It’s kind of a weird question. The fact is, magicians do think differently. They can’t operate outside the laws of reality, so they take existing resources and limitations, and use them in a way that’s so out of context, people can’t figure out what happened. In other words…how did you do that? So, after being a corporate magician for more than 20 years, learning different ways to think, here’s how I create and remember passwords.

The problem everyone has…

Cybersecurity experts will tell you that you need to have different passwords for every website that you login to…and you can NEVER write them down. But since you pretty much have to have an account for everything…email, social media, banking, Roku, streaming services, it can be an olympic sport for people to remember different passwords for all those logins.

One time while doing a show, someone asked me a question after I performed a mind reading trick. “If you ever forget a password, can you do what you just did to figure it out?” Even though this guy might’ve been joking, it really got me thinking about a creative way to remember passwords.

Note: And I should point that with the amount of computer issues I’ve fixed just from my own family, I’ve debating switching my title from Charlotte Magician to Charlotte Tech Services.

Now, one thing you should know about me. On a scale of 1-10, my nerd level ranks in at about a 9.8 (the .2 I’m missing is the sci-fi gene). Because of this, I’m frequently called upon by friends and family to fix their computers. Inevitably, at some point during the fixing process, a password for something will have to be entered. And inevitably, that sends us into what feels like a search for the Ark of the Covenant.

This trick I came up with has literally removed the problem. Create a different password for every website, never have to write it down…easy to remember.

Password Creation Criteria

Most websites will give you a lot of requirements for password you have to create.

Your password must be at least 8 characters long and must include one letter, one number, one upper case letter, one lower case letter, a special character, a Japanese proverb, and the blood of a small goat.

In addition to those requirements, cybersecurity experts will also tell you that your passwords should not contain actual words. Ok, how is the average person supposed to remember 15+ different passwords for all kinds of websites and accounts when they can’t even use words? Well, I’m going to show you something that will change your password life.

*** You’re going to create and remember only one password. That one password will actually be create different passwords for every website and account you use. It will contain no words, and you will always remember it.

Get ready for your life to change.

Typical Website Password Criteria

– 8 characters or more
– an upper case letter
– a lower case letter
– at least 1 number
– at least 1 special character

Cybersecurity Experts’ Password Criteria

– no words
– different passwords
– don’t write them down

The Solution

1. Pick a phrase that contains at least one number

For example: The Grinch’s small heart grew 3 sizes that day.

2. Take the first letter of each word keeping all numbers and punctuation

In this case, it would be: TGshg3std.

Each capitalized first letter remains capitalized and all numbers and punctuation remain in place, down to the final period (the special character). Once you have this, MEMORIZE IT! It’s the only password you will have to memorize. We will call it your common password.

3. Replace the first 3 letters…

What are you logging into? Facebook? Wi-Fi? Bank Account? Once you’ve established that, simply replace the first 3 letters of your common password with the first three letters of the title of whatever it is you’re logging into. So let’s think about your Facebook login. We would take out the “TGs” of your common password and replace it with “FAc” and change nothing else!

Common Password: TGshg3std.
Facebook Password: FAchg3std.

Notice how capitalized letters remained capitalized when they were replaced. Nothing else changed. Facebook now has it’s own password that’s different from every other password you have! And oddly enough, it’s also the same as every other password you have. Yet, all criteria has been met!

Congratulations! Your life just changed.

Other examples:

Wells Fargo: WElhg3std.
Gmail: GMahg3std.
Netflix: NEthg3std.

The success rate on this, with everyone I’ve shown it to, has been 100%. Create and remember one common password and it magically becomes an unlimited number of different passwords.

And guess what?

Put this picture as your phone’s background. Obviously, use one that relates to your password, but you get my point. You can literally have a mnemonic device right in front of you at all times…hiding in plain sight. That’s thinking like a magician.

Other common password examples…

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
Common: TJwtDoIoJ4,1776.
Facebook: FActDoIoJ4,1776.
Netflix: NEttDoIoJ4,1776.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
Common: Itb,Gcthate.G1:1
Facebook: Fac,Gcthate.G1:1
Netflix: Net,Gcthate.G1:1

Trust me, you won’t believe how well this works. And as a side note, on websites where there is a password strength meter, I never seen this system rank less than the highest strength level.

So with that, I hope from this day forward, all of your passwords are safe!

Oh and one last thing. None of these are my password in case you were wondering. But am I crazy enough to have it hiding in plain sight? You could always try, “IaaC,Nm”….”I am a Charlotte, NC magician.” Of course, that’s wrong too, but you can’t tell how a corporate magician thinks.