Hey guys I'm gonna be picking up 13 steps to mentalism and am wondering if you have any tips for a beginner mentalist. Also how do you get people to know the difference between magic and mentalism without bringing it up? thanks!

Great!! I would recommend reading 13 steps twice, so that you absorb more because it is nearly impossible to get everything on the first try. Then I'd go for a book full of tricks like PRISM by Max Maven. That way you can get your mind around how mentalists think when they are creating an effect. From there, it is all up to you, get whatever books you think are necessary/good for mentalists. I personally have picked up a few theory books to help my performances and would recommend you do the same.
To get people to understand what mentalism is without explaining it, do a trick! But make sure it is a highly brain-intensive trick. Keep the visuals to a minimum, and go the sort of 'mind reading' route. So something like a book test would be a great example, they pick a word in a book, they think of it, you tell them the word.
Good luck Shawn0, study hard! Mentalism needs lots of study to get good at it... but it's worth it in the end.
By the way, this is my 700th POST!!!!!!

Wow, I have no life Youve been here looonger the me, and I have 1040. I NEED TO GET A LIFE.

I agree with Bucky though, also try to watch as many mentalists as you can perform, to see what they make it look like.

Mentalism is magic...slight of hand, misdirection, pretense of supernatural powers, showmanship, patter, etc...in mentalism as well as in magic. In mentalism, the tricks revolve around using alleged mind power to: make predictions, move objects, bend things, etc. In magic, the tricks tend to be more about: productions, vanishes, and transfomations. There is no difference, and every difference. Mentalism is a branch of magic, as Chemistry is a branch of science. Stock Car racing and Formula One racing have their differences, but both are auto racing. Just do your tricks, and people will figure out the differences for themselves.

I desagree with Mensan arguments,

Mentalism alone is not the awnser and this is what much inexperienced perfomers are thinking, there is nothing wrong with it and don't take it as an attack.

Look at Jeff Mcbride per example, he does card productions like every magicians, what is exciting about something people have seen hundreths of times? He dance, he mimics, he phantomime the magic, he is sucessful because he does more than JUST MAGIC.

Same applies with mentalism, if you appear auto-piloted performing your effects in front of a mirror but now in front of an audience. I wonder what a booking agent would say if I would step on stage without any introduction '' great so whomever catch the deck looks at a card and toss it somewhere else! '', if you doesn't define yourself as a performer they will have NO idea what you are doing, all they will think is that you use magic tricks.

If you make them believe you are a credited clairvoyant and you start saying things about people right on stage with random people, it will be much more different.

Osterlind said it, Magic alone is not the awnser.

Max.