Perhaps somewhat naively, I expected my conversation with Jason Hewlett to be as irreverent as his witty performances. But speaking to him directly, you can hear that mix of calm that comes from knowing one’s purpose and executing on it daily, and the joyful touch of an entertainer.
Priorities
A Park City native, living in DayBreak with his wife and four children, Jason focuses intently on his family whenever he is not speaking around the world. He had recently returned from Malaysia when I had the pleasure of interviewing him. When asked about balancing work and family, Jason replied that it was a non-issue.
“As quickly as our devices can connect us with anyone around the world, they can just as quickly disconnect us from our family. I watch that and simply choose to be present.”
He makes the promise to himself to prioritize his family. And promises are no joke to Jason.
“Goals are particulars. Promises are proclamations.”
This is part of the philosophy and roadmap for his own life, as well as the message given to those who come to see him do this thing: “The Promise: Become A Legendary Leader and Discover Your Signature Moves.” Similar to most truly impactful people, he didn’t arrive at this message overnight.
Motivate and Entertain
Growing up following his father to meetings and conferences in the insurance industry, and watching speakers like Tony Robbins, Jason wanted to motivate and entertain. He saw the education market as the future but knew that the corporate market had the money to be successful. He also felt that having a positive effect on those in business would have a positive effect on the community. So Jason began his career in the early 2000’s as a corporate entertainer.
He started out wanting to be “Utah’s answer to corporate entertainment. Not your local Elder’s Quorum guy, but at a corporate entertainment price range.”
Capitalizing on his uncanny ability to imitate the signature moves, style, and quirks of entertainers we know and love like Elton John and Stevie Wonder, he was a unique offering of musical comedy. Imagine Jim Carrey meets Billy Joel, meets Zig Ziglar. Convincing a few early adopters to give him a shot at their events, with the promise that he would get a standing ovation or give their money back, his bookings grew organically by word of mouth.
He was even offered a headlining contract in Las Vegas back when the town still focused on family-friendly bookings. As the decade wore on and Las Vegas morphed into the “What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” mentality, Jason declined to continue entertaining there or change his message to be more edgy. Then, tragedy struck with the Sandy Hook shooting massacre. Jason’s heart broke with the loss and devastation that occurred at the hands of a 20 year old boy. He decided to use his talents to inspire young people, and then later everyone who would listen, to find their gifts. If we can appreciate our individual contributions, then we can feel our value. If we feel our value, we can appreciate the value of others, and live in a more deeply connected community where tragedies strike less often. Driven to incorporate more meaningful content into his presentations and shift from musical comedy into keynotes, “Discover Your Signature Moves” was born.
Laughter for Light
Aiming his efforts on becoming a powerful keynote speaker, Jason spent time examining what the transition could look like. He asked himself how he could trade “laughter for light.” It’s a familiar place to be – knowing you are capable of more but lacking clarity on how to take your life to the next level. I believe Jason can authentically inspire those who come to see him speak because he has done the work himself. Taking the time to refine his content, “subtracting what doesn’t matter and amplifying what teaches,” resulted in a process he takes his audience through to find their “Effective and unique Signature Moves.”
Jason has a process he shares through a joyful celebration. He gives an accessible yet deeply moving presentation. Watching him is like drinking in inspiration, while being handed ways to actually act on it. The path encourages self discovery and taking inventory to identify your unique gifts. Then you clarify the top gifts that fuel your purpose. Next is looking to others you trust for reflections. We often can’t see what makes us special, but those we are close to can help. Jason likens this part of the process to Abraham Lincoln’s campaign. He was just a down to earth man who wanted to make a change. It took those around him highlighting his core value of honesty, coined “Honest Abe”, for his campaign to really take off. We can then take the reflections of those around us, and look for the overlap with our personal inventory, and see what to really magnify. Jason outlines a clear pathway to becoming a legendary leader in your unique power.
And why is this process important? Why should any of us take the time to become our most powerful self? And why does Jason dedicate his life to inspiring his audience to become legendary leaders? Because “If we don’t find our purpose, then we’ve cheated our purpose in this world. And if we find it and don’t magnify it, we are cheating the world of that which only we can give. Too many of us have stuffed away our greatness to make a living, without living. If I can help people discover what makes them incredible, opening their heart to discover their voice and share it, then I’ve made the difference.”
Visit jasonhewlett.com to learn more.
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