We didn’t have a whole lot of money when I was growing up either. I would always ask for magic books or magic tricks for my birthday or for Christmas and the rest of the year I either had to mow lawns or find part time jobs to help supplement the cost of doing magic.

Burton recalls a childhood of limited means and frames his later success as rooted in early discipline and self-reliance. The quote contrasts gifts—magic books or tricks requested for birthdays and Christmas—with the everyday reality that pursuing a craft costs money and requires initiative. By describing mowing lawns and taking part-time jobs, he emphasizes that talent in performance magic is not only imaginative but also materially supported by practice, props, and study. The anecdote functions as a modest origin story: passion is constant, but progress comes from sustained effort and a willingness to work for the tools of one’s art.