A Billion Crayons
Aug 21, 2026
Have you ever hesitated to start something meaningful… because you couldn’t quite see the whole picture?
You told yourself you needed more clarity. More training. Just a little more of “the right conditions” before you’d finally begin.
I’ve been there. I’ve watched months and years slip by while I waited for a plan to feel “ready”.
Then this week I came across a story that stopped me in my tracks. And it started with a man named Emerson Moser.
In 1953, Emerson Moser walked into the Binney & Smith factory in Easton, Pennsylvania for the pre-employment physical that would decide whether he could take the job he’d applied for.
The doctor examined his eyes, and gave him some bad news.
Moser was color-blind. Which was a bit of a problem.
Because the job he’d applied for was… making crayons. And not just any crayons, these were Crayola!
You’d think the terrible news would be the end of it. The manager could have said, “Sorry, kid, we need someone who can tell red from green.” Moser could have walked out and Crayola history would have moved on without him.
But that’s not what happened. Instead… Moser took the job.
On October 12, 1953, he clocked in for the first time to make products in colors he couldn’t fully see. For a whopping $1.30 an hour.
And here’s how he did it: when he wasn’t sure about a color mix… he asked his coworkers.
That was it. That was his strategy!
He didn’t try to fix his eyes. He didn’t try to fake it. He didn’t wait for medical science to catch up.
He just… asked for help when he needed it, and kept making crayons.
Fast forward 37 years.
By the time Emerson Moser retired on December 13, 1990, he had personally made over a billion crayons.
His company called him “the best in the world” at his trade.
His coworkers held him up as the master of his craft.
His photograph was even added to the Crayola Hall of Fame.
And in an interview shortly before his retirement, he said something that caught my attention:
“I’ve never made a crayon I was ashamed to put my name on.”
A billion crayons, by a man who couldn’t fully see the very colors he was creating.
What does this have to do with influence and success?
Well, how often do we hold ourselves back because we don’t think we have what it takes?
We tell ourselves we’ll launch the product… once we’re a little more clear.
We’ll write the book… once we know the ending.
We’ll make the call… once we’ve rehearsed the perfect script.
But here’s what Emerson Moser’s story taught me:
Clarity isn’t a prerequisite for action. Instead, what if action creates clarity?
You don’t have to see the full picture to make your first crayon.
You just have to make one, ask for help when you need to, and keep showing up.
So this week, when you catch yourself waiting for the conditions to feel right…
Remember the color-blind crayon maker and his billion crayons.
And then ask yourself the real question:
What if the clarity you need is simply waiting on the other side of the first step?
Color outside of the lines for once…
Christian
CHRISTIAN HANSEN has gone behind the scenes in some of the biggest organizations in the world to find out the reasons why some people get chosen and why others don’t. As the #1 bestselling and LinkedIn Top Ten ranked author of “The Influence Mindset: The Art & Science of Getting People to Choose You” Christian helps teams and organizations who want to stand out and be the obvious choice. With degrees from Brigham Young University and The London School of Economics, he’s helped thousands of individuals position and sell themselves. A fan of international communication, history, and choral music, he currently lives in Utah with his family. Reach him at: TheChristianHansen.com
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