For those who read this blog, you may be surprised to see me referring to “Breaking Bad”, a TV show known for an extremely heavy, and illegal, array of topics…(of which, if I write the actual words here, this blog will be flagged and banned in certain areas of the world).
But you also know I like to draw from many examples to teach The Promise, so here goes one that’s quite a stretch, but had a profound effect on me!
It is Labor Day Weekend here in the United States, which was created to celebrate our efforts to work hard through the year, take a break and reflect on the opportunities of our employment, and have a literal hard stop.
I confess that I work on every holiday.
I enjoy my work, find great pleasure in working hard, and can, with both a tinge of guilt and equally some pride, admit that I have checked emails, texts, and taken calls on every holiday during my career.
To me, that is The Promise.
And conversely, breaking The Promise as well.
Now, with that confession aside, let’s jump to “Breaking Bad”.
15 years ago I watched the first episode, and since I don’t give myself any time to watch TV shows, or commit to a series by all means, I thought nope, I can’t do this, even though it was really interesting.
I also pride myself on being a religious person, attend church on Sundays, do my best to live and walk my faith daily…so, I can also fall under the “too self-righteous” category to watch something that might compromise my own very high standards.
With that setup:
Over the past year I have nearly broken my back by burning at both ends, almost crashing physically and mentally multiple times, doing essentially 2 full-time jobs as I have taken on so much.
This summer it came to a head, as I had to prepare for a 14 show run with sold-out audiences coming to see me do something I wasn’t ready to do: Play and sing Elton John and Billy Joel songs on the piano with only a few of them previously performed on stage, I had committed to too much.
Over 8 weeks I went into a deep hole of practice, strain, learning piano and lyrics to perform as flawlessly as possible, and my brain nearly exploded.
All the while, I had to also fulfill events previously committed to, continue in meetings and phone calls with my obligations in business, and took my family on vacation in our RV, where all heck broke loose and should have done me in.
Somehow I pulled off the vacations (that didn’t feel like vacations – parents know what I mean), did all the gigs, all the calls, AND received standing ovations at every sold out show.
As I laid down to rest on August 3 I reached for the remote, blew off the cobwebs, and went to NETFLIX where I can only rightfully watch documentaries in order to justify mindless viewing by learning something…
But then I did a new thing.
I clicked on “Breaking Bad”.
If you’re not familiar with it, this is a show about a man, husband and father, who finds out he has cancer and only so much time left to live. He is a chemistry teacher and makes a small income. He does what every provider does and estimates how much he has to make to leave this earth upon his death and realizes he will leave his family with very little.
And thus begins the great human conundrum between right and wrong, providing for the family while having nothing left to lose, facing death and wondering how you can make a difference with the time remaining…
And Walter White turns to what the world knows to be wrong, in order to do right for his family, and then he buys an RV…
All of this made me think of my own life…and what I could do with my RV.
Kidding.
But, the decisions made, the time spent, the places we give, the sacrifices we make.
As I became immersed in the world of “Breaking Bad”, the stupidity and the genius of every turn, I was able somehow to do something that hasn’t happened for me in…ever?
I forgot all of my stress, worries, concerns, and even work.
I was energized by the dilemma of each character and episode, enthralled by their moral decisions, how I’d face the same, and finally took what I needed most: an actual break.
It took all the discipline I could muster to not just watch every episode back to back for a week straight and crank through every season.
It has taken all of my willpower to not look on the internet and research every episode to see what the world thinks, as I can’t give it away with spoilers.
I’m currently on the beginning of Season 4.
I am enjoying and suffering through this journey with these characters more than I ever thought was possible through an entertainment experience.
The point is: It has given me an actual break. A break unlike any I’ve ever allowed myself to take. I’m the guy on the beach during “vacation” who is reading self-help books. I finally understand what it means to take a break.
Thanks to “Breaking Bad”.
This Labor Day, I hope you’ll find your “Breaking Bad”, if you’re like me, and obsessed with accomplishment, achievement, and never let yourself let up.
When I workout I listen to podcasts to improve myself, when I sleep I dream of how I can do my work better, when I am with my children playing I am thinking of the job that needs to be done while I’m having fun.
It is programmed into me, and at 46 I am starting to see how I can extract this from my brain.
In that sense, we are all like Walter White, while he deals strong substances that alter people’s brains and behaviors, I am still learning how to alter mine from my chosen addictions and obsessions.
I need a Labor Day.
You need a Labor Day.
I never thought I’d say it, but heck, you should watch “Breaking Bad” – probably.
It also has helped me to realize what I have heard my entire career and never understood the power within such testimonials after I come off stage and shake the hands of an exhausted audience: “I needed to laugh. I haven’t laughed like that in years. I needed to forget my life for a minute, and just have fun. Thank you for your gift.”
I never GOT it, until now.
In our own way, we are all Walter White to someone…my goodness, that’s The Promise!
~ Jason Hewlett
Husband, Father, Writer, Mentor, Hiker
- Speaker Hall of Fame * Award-Winning Entertainer * Mentor
- World’s Only Keynote Speaker utilizing entertainment, musical impressions, and comedy to teach The Promise
- Author of “The Promise To The One”