For some reason, it seems impossibly hard for many people to be good, honest people and to run their business efficiently, whatever that business may be. Of course, I’m not famous and I don’t know Jon Stewart (who just retired from his late night host position of The Daily Show) personally. However after watching him perform on his show over the last decade and hearing Stephen Colbert’s good-bye and thank you speech on his final airing, I believe that Jon Stewart is certainly a great model for a good human being. Whether you believed in what he said or not, you can’t ignore the fact that he always was respectful to anyone he interviewed, he was honest and true to everything he believed in, and he sought to help others in his line of work to find success.
Stephen began his speech in quoting Jon himself, “Never thank me, because you owe me nothing.” It’s the epitome of a selfless person; someone who truly wants to better the whole. We’re all in this together, working together for the better of all of us. But still as a whole, we need mentors and leaders. As Stephen goes on to say, “We owe you because we learn from you. We learned from you by example, how to do a show with intention, how to work with clarity, how to treat people with respect. You are infuriatingly good at your job! And all of us who were lucky enough to work with you for 16 years are better at our jobs because we got to watch you do yours. And we are better people for having known you.” This is exactly what we should all be striving for in our own jobs, whatever they may be! We should be seeking to set an example of how to run ourselves and our business with respect and intention. We should help others to rise to their own success. If we conduct ourselves in this manner we will better the whole in our own way. Thank you Jon Stewart for being a superb example of professionalism and selflessness throughout your career. And he’s also awesome for starting up an animal sanctuary! 🙂
Here is the link to Stephen Colbert’s speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mh7WICqrxI