Jay Shetty & David Blaine ON How to Conquer Fear

How far can the human mind stretch when its owner keeps asking, "What if the impossible is only a matter of perspective?"

In this On Purpose episode, Jay Shetty welcomed illusionist and endurance artist David Blaine. He discussed his new National Geographic series, Do Not Attempt, which showcases stunts so daunting they cause even veteran risk-takers to look away. Blaine opens up about his beginnings, shares behind-the-scenes insights, and also allows a glimpse into his personal life.

A Child of New York Streets

David Blaine opens up to Jay Shetty about his upbringing in New York, where he witnessed his first tricks on the city's subways. While most people were looking away from shell-game cheaters, young Blaine studied angles, wrist pivots, and the critical split second when distraction turns into profit. Equally influential were his weekend trips to Coney Island, where rope magicians pulled coins from the salty breeze, and sideshow men drove spikes into their noses.

Convinced that tricks don't always need a velvet curtain, the illusionist was determined to enter the world of magic. His first prop was a deck of cards; he describes the 52 cards as a personal rosary because shuffling them allows him to calm his racing thoughts. His enthusiasm was matched by his mother's, who always seemed thrilled by his every trick, giving him the confidence to keep going.

Choosing Real Danger Over Pretend

While most magicians on stage keep danger as a mere illusion, Blaine found it unfulfilling. Razor-sharp retractable blades, boxes that seemed to devour the assistant but had trapdoors, all of that made the illusionist feel cheated. He explained to Jay Shetty that his audiences were the most engaged when they sensed real danger, like a sewing needle penetrating skin, four days without sleep, or an ice pick slipping underneath the bicep. In Blaine's opinion, if people believe that he might actually die, they start to ponder their own limitations and possibilities.

Eager to uncover more truths, David Blaine started to devour medical journals and mystical writings at the same time. He shared with Jay Shetty that he had read about Catholic ascetics surviving on water alone, Indian Yogis capable of reducing their heart rates to eight beats per minute, and Irish hunger strikers whose mental discipline outlasted their body's glycogen supply. The more he read, the more he understood that the line between miracle and mechanism is much thinner than we are led to believe. So, his career evolved from sleight-of-hand to sleight-of-biology, replacing silk scarves and hats with nerves, organs, and oxygen levels.

The Forty‑Four‑Day Fast

Originally, Above the Below, a 44-day fast, was intended as a public demonstration of fasting, but it evolved into a complex meditation on awareness. Blaine hung in a transparent Plexiglas coffin beside London's Tower Bridge for six weeks for everyone to watch him. Onlookers had very different reactions to his stunt, from sneering to praying to throwing hamburgers, each projecting their own story onto the silent figure inside.

Blaine shared with Jay Shetty the transformation he went through while inside the box: after 72 hours, he stopped feeling hungry. His heart rate began to slow down to the point that doctors worried about irreversible bradycardia. The psychological effects were just as intense - Blaine started to be more in tune with the world around him, feeling Thames' tide shifts before the eye could notice them or identifying strangers' moods by the cadence of their footsteps across the viewing platform.

On day 40, the illusionist experienced acute arrhythmia, and so he turned to his deceased mother for support. At the same time as he was asking his mother to give him a sign, protesters unveiled a banner reading "God is love," which were his mother's last words on earth. He told Jay Shetty he interpreted this synchronicity as proof that consciousness persists beyond physical death. While his metabolism never fully recovered, Blaine considers his fasting experience a mind-opening experiment, during which he realized that intentional deprivation can heighten human experience instead of dulling it, as one may think.

Mother Love That Survives Death

David Blaine recounted to Jay Shetty the close bond he had with his mother. She used to come to every early performance until her cancer diagnosis made it impossible for her to travel. The illusionist's mother died in his arms, and her last words were, "God is love." This very phrase remained etched in his mind and became the foundation of his bold calculations. In times when he feels in danger, he asks the universe for a sign and is convinced it answers, whether through a break in the clouds or the kind words of a stranger.

David Blaine's connection with his mother not only influences his spiritual beliefs but it also shapes his performances as an artist. When he addresses a crowd, he imagines his mother's face in the third row, reminding him that every attendee is eager to feel astonished in the same way she used to. Moreover, the illusionist's upbringing also shapes his parenting style. He acts just as amazed as his mother whenever his daughter shows him the tricks she's learned. Blaine told Jay Shetty he believes that this cycle of unconditional encouragement serves as a safety and launching net at the same time.

Fatherhood and New‑Found Boundaries

David Blaine admitted to Jay Shetty that invincibility feels easier when there is nobody dependent on you. Since becoming a father, he has been more cautious about the risks he takes. While before he might have been excited just to survive a new self-imposed challenge, now his goal has become to return home whole. This shift in mentality doesn't mean he lost his ambition, but rather became more aware of his role model position. If he didn't want his daughter to imitate a certain trick, he would readjust it.

In the beginning, Blaine used to vehemently guard his secrets. However, he shared with Jay Shetty that becoming a father changed the way he approached his stunts. Now, he invites different experts to attend and supervise his rehearsal, making sure everything is safe. He still has physical pain and health issues that keep him grounded and remind him that his body is his daughter's legacy. Knowing that she is present in the audience motivates him to be even more focused than ever before. He didn't mellow him, but it made him change his focus from risk toward challenges solvable through hard work and expert advice.

Trusting Masters and Testing Limits

David Blaine describes to Jay Shetty his documentary series Do Not Attempt as an apprenticeship. He sat down with people from around the world who taught him new skills and pushed his limits. The illusionist remembers his interaction with herpetologist Neville in South Africa, surrounded by black mambas - he was sitting down in a phone booth, allowing black mambas to slide across his arms. Blaine learned that stillness invites exploration, while aggression is almost always met with aggression in the animal realm. When a black mamba's tongue touched the illusionist's ankle, he had to do the hardest thing in his life so far: do nothing and remain calm, no matter how scared he was.

Similarly, in Brazil, he met a favela showman who used to shove serrated steak knives into his nasal cavities like it was no big deal. Blaine felt compelled to try out this trick and trusted his master's anatomical map. When he had an X-ray done, it showed that the blade had missed his optic nerve by millimeters. After this experience, Blaine decided to introduce this act into his repertoire, crediting his teacher for leading him down this path. The illusionist told Jay Shetty that he likes immersing himself in ancient traditions before making them a part of his performance.

Discomfort as a Compass

The audience sees only Blaine's successful performances - yet, there is more happening behind the scenes. He shared with Jay Shetty his childhood dream of catching a rifle bullet in a mouth cup and how he went about practicing. He had multiple accidents while trying to master this act, including losing two molars in the process. Yet every bruise and scar taught Blaine more about bodily limits.

The illusionist applied his approach to turning discomfort into comfort, also to his soft skills. He was asked to give a TED Talk, which scared him more than lightning storms, as he admitted to Jay Shetty. So, he rehearsed the same way he would for an act, and he eventually became more comfortable delivering speeches.

Books over Digital Entertainment

David Blaine shared with Jay Shetty that his deepest well of inspiration comes from literature. On his nightstand, he has Herman Hesse's Siddhartha, which inspired his fasts, Primo Levi's memoirs, which exemplified mental endurance under oppression, and Cervantes' Don Quixote.‍

David Blaine views Cervantes' life story as a cautionary tale that creativity and recognition rarely coincide. The writer died broke while his publishers thrived; magicians who invented tricks before copyright laws often watched others profit off their ideas. Accepting these injustices allows artists to value the process over the payout.

Blaine remains an avid reader, choosing paper books over digital entertainment, even on long-haul flights. He believes that constant exposure to the internet has dimmed our ability to focus deeply, and deep focus is necessary for creating illusions or innovation.

Signs, Synchronicity, and Selective Vision

David Blaine's approach to life may sometimes come across as contradictory - he highly regards science and measures his body values for his stunts, yet he also speaks of guardian butterflies and receiving messages from his deceased mother. He told Jay Shetty that he believes the bodily sensors reveal one layer of truth while intuition reveals another. Watching performers from all over the world doing performances that defy logic as we understand it, Blaine attributes it to "unknown variables", rather than deeming it impossible.

The illusionist told Jay Shetty that while many may disregard pattern-seeking as a sign of weakness, he believes it has a placebo effect. To him, believing his mother protects him regulated his heart rhythm during an episode of arrhythmia. Similarly, he trusted the snake whisperer's guidance to stay calm when his first impulse was a jerk reaction to being touched by a black mamba. So, Blaine explains that even if signs are a mere coincidence, they often can have a physiological effect on the believer.

Blaine and Jay Shetty agree that you can achieve awe by facing challenges that induce discomfort, finding mentors, and using controlled exposure until you overcome your fear. Some practices they recommend include journaling to track progress and celebrating small victories.

More From Jay Shetty

Listen to the entire On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast episode “David Blaine: I Nearly Died Doing This (How to Conquer Fear and Push Your Limits)” now in the iTunes store or on Spotify. For more inspirational stories and messages like this, check out Jay’s website at jayshetty.me.