TEXT or CALL Jason 801-674-3668

The Promise Blog

Business

They Can’t Answer a Question You Never Ask

Over the past few weeks, I’ve done something on this blog that I don’t do very often. I asked you for help. Not once. Twice! First, I asked a question I’ve been wrestling with for years: What problem do I solve? I shared on THIS BLOG post that after more than 25 years of speaking, entertaining, teaching The Promise, working with incredible organizations and audiences around the world, I still struggle to articulate one simple thing: What is the specific problem people hire me to solve? And you responded. Some publicly. Some privately. Some with answers I hadn’t considered. You took time to think about my work, my message, what you’ve experienced from me, and what you believe I bring to an audience. That meant a great deal to me! Then, a few weeks later, I discovered something even more embarrassing… I Googled myself! (yikes) Here’s that blog post, in case you missed it. This is something I highly recommend doing if you’d like to simultaneously inflate and destroy your self-esteem. Of course I discovered that after 25+ years in business, I essentially had ONE Google review. One! (Brad, you’re the best, whoever and wherever you are.) So once again,

Read More »
Announcements

Google Me

  Picture this: I’m consulting with a client. Telling them they need to update their web site with this, fix the wording on that. We made sure all was right on Amazon with the products, ensured the newsletter was ready for the big upcoming sale, and set up the funnel system to capture all of the interest that would surely be inbound quite soon. As we went through the critique of their work, efforts, and organization, which is highly successful and a 7-figure per month business, I asked about their Google Reviews. The team stared at me blankly. We searched for it. We found reviews on Amazon, Walmart, JudgeMe, and all over Facebook. Very favorable reviews, BTW! But what about Google Reviews? There were none to be found, and that hurts business in a profound way, at least locally and with SEO marketing efforts. That’s when I thought about it for myself. I googled my own name and found a whole bunch of nothin’ in terms of reviews on my business and work: 1 Google Review for this successful guy! Yep, one kind soul, a dude named Brad whom I’ve never met, went and found whatever seemed like my business

Read More »
Announcements

The ETA on CEP from NSA is ASAP

  There are so many acronyms nowadays its tough to know which ones not to use. IYKYK Thankfully, an organization I have belonged to for over 20 years, the National Speakers Association, has put together a new designation that is yet another acronym worth knowing: CEP – Certified Emcee Professional     I am pleased to be recognized in the CEP Charter Group along with some of my outstanding Emcee peers: Quinn Conyers Tom Pesce Rob Ferre Dr. Genie Snyder     To earn this designation I documented: • 100+ events over five years, with client names, dates and fees • 10 client evaluations, scored by the people who hired me • Video from real stages, not a sizzle reel • Verified income from emcee work across multiple years Emceeing and hosting events is a discipline, and shouldn’t ever really be left to someone on your team (unless they’re incredible at it, which is ridiculously rare). Executives need to have their moment to shine, and not be seen so much handling hosting duties that it becomes a “no longer special moment” to the audience every time the Executive takes the stage. The more you give them their spots, as an

Read More »
Business

Did AI Write This Post or Did I?

  Let me guess. You can easily determine between what is written by AI and what’s not. You take great pride in this ability. You catch it in your feed before the hundreds who commented using bots as their autoresponder. So the question is this: Did AI write this post or did I? I assume you’ll be able to easily know by the end, if you read that far. Or perhaps you’ve already figured it out? I’ll give you the answer so you don’t have to read this whole dang thing: This blog, and all of my posts, books, content, are written by me. Here’s a video where someone asked me privately if it was AI, while another commented publicly, “Bro, aren’t you a comedian?” You can read my response on the video.     Is that video AI or is it me? It’s crazy we have people wondering that now. All the more reason to have LIVE EVENTS with each other. Truth is – I have a very unique writing style. In fact, I hired a very accomplished editor to go through my book before submitting it to the publisher. She returned with the following: “Jason, I don’t know

Read More »
Business

What Problem Do I Solve?

  This week’s blog post is an open question to you, my reader, with an ask that you’ll think through this very simple question: What Problem Do I Solve? For 10 years we have tried to find the answer to this question for my work specifically. We have leaned into The Promise – yet, that’s more of a philosophy. We have taught Signature Moves – yet, that is a process.   We have been told the reason I am chosen for many events by planners looking to bring me in are among the following:  “We need someone who is engaging and entertaining to speak in between the content heavy speakers.” “You are going to bring a self-help message of inspiration and humor.” “We just need something entertaining.”   Those who call themselves “fans” of mine have said kind things like:  “You make me laugh.” “My family thinks you’re the best.” “You help me keep better promises to myself and my work.” These are all wonderful compliments. But, we still haven’t gotten to the PROBLEM of what having Jason Hewlett speak at your event actually helps the client & event planner solve.   My speaker peers have the problems they solve

Read More »
Engagement

Our Promise to The Teachers in Our Lives

  School is back in session. In every event I speak or perform at, whether it’s leadership training, keynoting, or doing a show, I NEVER take the stage without honoring the teacher who made such an impact in my life: Mrs. Rosalind Hall, the music teacher. If you’ve heard me speak, then you know her voice and the story. If you haven’t, the long and short of it is that she discovered my singing voice and became my mentor. I never have a career in this business of music without her influence. The Promise to our teachers while in school is to be respectful, learn what we can, give great effort, and do our best. What about the Promise after we graduate and move onto the future? I believe The Promise is to Honor The Teachers in Our Lives. Tell their stories, sing their praises, as they are the ones who shape so many of us. Who is yours? If not one, well then, perhaps there were many!   The Piano Guys I’ve written a BLOG about this before (3 years ago), and you can read in detail HERE if you prefer. I was doing an event with The Piano

Read More »
Entertainment

Rocket Man Meets Piano Man: Corporate Entertainment That Gets the Room Singing with Elton & Billy

“And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time, ’til touchdown brings me ’round again to find I’m not the man they think I am at home. Oh, no, no, no. I’m a Rocket Man! Burnin’ out his fuse up here alone.”    EMAIL SUBJECT LINE: Could Billy and Elton Come to Our Leadership Conference? Today I received an email from a client and friend who has had me speak, perform, emcee, and help with their events in the past. They are one of my favorite groups of all-time. How pleased I was to get the email subject line written above. That may be one of my favorite email subject lines I’ve ever read. I can’t wait for this opportunity, and the many other events that are in our future. What I really love is that this NEW Show is a NEW Offering for those who have enjoyed my work in the past.   Storytime: I remember the first time I sang Elton’s John’s massive song, “Rocket Man”. The way the audience lit up when the chorus hit was inspiring. People of all ages singing their hearts out, raising their lighters (yes, this was a while ago and before

Read More »
Business

The Power of Making Funny Faces

Did you know you can make a living off of funny faces? Imagine getting paid to do that one thing which made your friends laugh in kindergarten, got you kicked out of class, and scared the girls away! Yes, there’s power in making funny faces, and it has been the door opener for most of my success in business, on stage, eventually convincing my wife to marry me and making my children laugh. What are the secrets to making a funny face?   1st: Willingness to Look Stupid Being willing to look stupid takes supreme confidence, sharing the weirdness that is you can be scary. Putting it out there to be mocked, laughed at, judged, can keep most from ever going for it. Yet, the payoff when it lands with those who resonate – life-changing and courage building. I think my willingness to look stupid may be my superpower.   2nd: The Differentiator Be the one who shares the silly face and you will be remembered. Whether for ick or good, it sticks. It becomes your Signature Move that you are known for, and can even be something others reference about you when they can’t remember your name (“Do you

Read More »
Business

The Broken Team

  Doug sent a frantic text, Jenny replied in Slack, marketing in turn launched a premature email campaign, and customer service was immediately inundated with angry clients. Leadership meets, confusion all around, too many cooks in the kitchen, while ten people are working on the same task without being assigned to work together on any given project. The wheels are falling off the bus, or rather, they did a long time ago. In business culture, it is easy to observe where things aren’t working. Just set up a call with any employee and let them tell you the truth, once you’ve established what they say won’t be held against them. Just look at the confusion coming into customer service due to the latest mistake sent out. Just take a gander at Slack and see how well that’s being utilized. The Slack one is so frustrating I made a silly and comical song about it just to see if it would get a laugh from people in general who have complained to me about their teams not using it, showcasing how important it is.     In leadership, however we can, we must utilize our Signature Moves to inspire, lift, call

Read More »
Family

The Back to School Promise

Summer is coming to an end for parents of kids in school still! Crazy how slow it goes while you’re in it, and how fast it was looking back on it. This summer for us was epic. Exhausting. Wonderful. Expensive! Yikes!     How was your summer? Most likely it was similar to mine:  You still worked, but you also found time to be with family, with it being the longest time of year the kids are around with such abundance;    Your sleep schedule fell off pretty quickly, late nights became the norm, early mornings compromised since kids didn’t need to catch a bus;    Workouts were less than normal, as you were outside, running around anyway, and hitting the gym became a negotiation between “me time” and “family time”;    Eating foods you enjoy at BBQ’s, 4th of July celebrations that last a month long, and gatherings with family and friends made sticking to the diet/lifestyle you worked on since January impossible;   You thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace, time off work, vacations and moments together, and most likely faced some challenges along the way that disrupted plans.    Summer is like that. It is awesome, and

Read More »

Want to receive inspiration and laughs weekly from Jason?

Recent Post

October 2026
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
Archives
Categories