1 vs 100

A teacher stands in front of the classroom.

She pops off the dry erase marker cap, dramatically spins, and slams a black dot in the exact center of the board.

With flair and enthusiasm, she asks the class, “What do you see?!” 

Hands shoot up and everyone shouts, “A BLACK DOT!” 

“WROOOOONNNNNG!” she replies.

Confused, the class is up in arms.

As she shushes the little pupils, she profoundly states, “Class, there’s an ENTIRE whiteboard in front of you that is clear, empty, spotless, and all you see is the little black dot! Where is your focus? It all depends on how you see the world.” 

Stunned, they all erase the answer to the question on their pop quiz that shows a glass of water in it, as they all thought it was HALF EMPTY…

Ladies & Gentlemen of the Jury, I think we can all admit we’ve noticed more of the little black dots and half empty glasses of water in our lives than we care to admit.

Recently, after a rousing standing ovation, a line waited for 2 hours to have me sign books and take selfies.

Felt pretty good about myself.

And then I received that one comment…

You know the one.

The one you remember.

Doesn’t matter that 100 people had just erased their children off their family wills, and signed me over as the beneficiary of their estate.

This one comment hit me between the eyes.

Want to know what it was?

Someone had been offended by a subtle joke I made about accountants.

She let me have it.

All of the accountants who had approached me for 2 hours thought we were best friends, funniest joke ever, so totally true…but this person was very offended on behalf of the accountants.

This person is in HR.

Brothers & Sisters – I point you to the little black dot.

The half empty glass of water.

Thanks for standing in line, Karen.

Want me to sign my book you just got for free, or should I jump off this balcony?

Doing events is wild. You are loved by most, and then there are the ones who don’t see  the beautiful white board.

The Promise is to give our all, and also take it all in, while not believing the praise too much, nor the offensive comments as well.

I am working on this.

1 vs 100

Until then, I’m going to still make fun of how accountants only laugh inside their bodies, and most of them will love it, except for Karen in HR.

And I’ll Promise to try to love her, too.

All half empty glass of her.

~ Jason Hewlett

Husband, Father, Writer, Mentor, Hiker

• Speaker Hall of Fame * Award-Winning Entertainer * Coach & Mentor
• World’s Only Keynote Speaker utilizing entertainment, musical impressions, and comedy to Create Legendary Leadership through the Power of Commitment
• Author of “The Promise To The One”

jasonhewlett.com