The Silent Encourager Promise

I just came off stage following a very mediocre response to my performance...which is not something I'm used to.

Today I tried a few pieces and customized portions the client requested that changed up my usual rhythm, but those are just excuses.

Perhaps I just wasn't good enough this time.

Perhaps it was a room full of accountants silently laughing hysterically to themselves inside their bodies.

Perhaps this was my toughest crowd of the year.

As I sit backstage awaiting the next portion of the event where I get to muster the courage to go face those same people again, the stage manager asks if someone can come backstage to say hi.

The next thing I know, my new friend and I are hanging out in the green room, as he refills my bucket, saying he was not going to attend this event until he heard I was the Speaker and Entertainer.

He drove 5 hours one way to attend.

He listened to my book, "The Promise To The One" as he drove. Now his 3rd time through it.

He suggests the Audible version is way better than the written version, which he gave away once he bought the audiobook, because he gets to hear me perform it, adding in voices and it feels like a show in and of itself. I agree. I'm thrilled he likes it.

We take a few photos.

He tells me some private things about changes he's made since first hearing me speak many years ago, and how The Promise directly impacted his life, leadership, family, and he is working on creating his own talk for the TED stage someday.

He then says, "I know how you say you only get a few comments each week on your blog, but I am one of the quiet ones, who expects that article and watches for it every Sunday. Even though I don't comment I read them all and am grateful for your words."

He leaves.

I sit in my green room.

Had I known such a person were in the audience, having made this effort to attend today, would I have given more or performed any better?

Nope.

I kept The Promise, gave 100%, didn't receive the response I was hoping for, but perhaps there is another Silent Encourager out there whose life was just impacted for good...and they just needed to be quiet about it.

From what I can tell, that was an entire room full of Silent Encouragers, and although they are some of the toughest audiences to perform for, they are the ones who really are moved by the speech.

Thank you to you, my Readers, and friends. Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever you're going through, yes I write this for my own practice to be consistent and stay sharp in writing content worth reading, but I'm really writing with the hopes that you're reading, and it's impacting you for the good.

Thank you to my new friend, who will read this and know who he is, and know that he Keeps The Promise of Leadership in a way that just influenced a whole lot of people due to our conversation this day.

Now I'm headed back out to face the silence, while I give them my all.

~ 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”
• President of Cardio Miracle.  Go to CardioMiracle.com to take your health back! Use coupon code HEW2024 for 15% OFF your order.

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