As a Boy Scout, one of the sayings before camping is to “leave the campsite better than you found it.”
That was easy in the woods, because there’s always a way to clean things up and make it better, especially if camping after a family of small children, or a group of rowdy younger scouts.
Yet how can we do the same in, say, a hotel room where everything is seemingly spotless?
My Promise is to strive to find a way to do so in every situation, which doesn’t always happen, but recently the smallest opportunity presented itself.
I entered the hotel room, emptied the luggage to make myself at home, and sat at the desk to begin my work.
It was then I noticed a microwave in the room.
Staring back at me, I realized the time was an hour behind, not making the Daylight Savings Time switch a few weeks ago, even though the bedside clock had been changed.
In reality, this doesn’t matter.
It’s a hotel room, and a hotel room microwave of all things, so…who really cares?
I figured the person who would clean this room every single day would never notice, and most likely a majority of patrons would hardly care.
But it mattered to me and my Promise from the Boy Scout days.
I walked over, pressed “Clock”, changed the time, and pressed “Clock” again.
It took less than 25 seconds from the moment I noticed it.
And then I realized this could be an interesting blog post to share with you.
So, like any good storyteller, I grabbed my phone, reset the time to what it was before, took a photo, and then reset it to the correct time and took another photo.
The same kind of thing they do on Meet The Kardashian’s – you know, reality TV that’s not really reality, but makes for a better story.
Truth is, the whole process took me less than 2 minutes.
What really felt good was knowing I had done something good for that room, and no one would ever know (except you now know, just so I can share this thought).
Resetting the Hotel Microwave Clock is about as insignificant as something can be.
And yet it matters to me.
It’s how I leave the place better than I found it.
And then I ripped the covers off the bed, chucked a towel across the room, and shaved in the sink, all for good measure!
Question is:
How do you leave every place, any conversation, a simple situation just a little bit better than you found it?
Your answer is Your Promise.
~ 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”
4 Responses
I was one of those babysitters that would clean after the kids were put to bed (on time, after following every instruction from the parents). I never just sat and watched tv ( this was back in the ‘70’s mind you), I made sure the home was spotless (or at least as picked up as possible). I always figured that the parents were going out for a “break” and didn’t need to come back to what they had left, so I tried to make it more pleasurable for them to come back home, knowing they could retire without having to clean up dinner dishes, or pick up left out toys. It was my way of saying, “ thank you for trusting me with your most prized possessions.” 😊
Karen, I LOVE this example. The ultimate promise that someone can choose to do, this is wonderful.
Simple and inspiring Jason, thanks for sharing!
I think we can all up our game on the little things that no one sees or ever knows about. But we know!
Thank you my man. Miss you brother.