Meet the Generosity Project Winners!

Great ideas are typically sparked by two unrelated events. For The Generosity Project, it was a combination of an anonymously donated ticket and a Chick Fil A drive thru. Who would have ever guessed that those two events would spark the birth of #STARTJoy?  Casey Lewis, who is passionate about being generous, witnessed these two random acts of kindness, and an instant question came to mind.

“What if we could be generous, and as a START Experiment community, join together to send one person to the conference with all travel expenses paid?”

Quickly, the idea moved from “what if” to “how can we make this happen?”  The goal was simple: raise $1,000 to send a START Experiment member to the START Conference with airfare, hotel, and a conference ticket. Casey and his team planned to raise the money in one week.  However, in the first 90 minutes of the crowd-sourcing campaign, the project was fully funded! It was incredible.

Jon Acuff encouraged STARTers to keep moving forward. The new goal became #Drivefor5.  Sending just one person to the conference seemed inadequate – the new goal would be five.

From the leanest of pocket books and from those overflowing, the donations poured in. Donations came from people who were already planning to attend the conference, and also from those who knew it would be impossible to attend. Donations even poured in from people outside of the START Experiment, as well as from Jon Acuff himself! EVERYONE invested in each other. The Generosity Project revealed the true heart of the START community – full of open, accepting, and GENEROUS people who want to make an impact on the world.

Today, you get to meet the #STARTjoy Generosity Project scholarship recipients. It’s a chance to see what the judges saw in them. You may also see your own dreams in theirs as you celebrate their opportunity to jump start their dream next week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May Bohon – Fort Worth, Texas

They do things big in Texas, right? May’s dream definitely fits that description. May’s dream is to work for Dave Ramsey and help more people get out of debt.

“I told Jon in front of 50 people that my big risk is to become his coworker.”

May is currently hustling hard on her dream. She has been a faithful #5club member, consistently waking up at 5am. She wrote and posted more to her blog in the first six weeks than she did in the entire previous year. She is also working through physical therapy, and signed up for a graphic design course this fall.

“I will learn new ways to hustle, especially from Dana Tanamachi, Jeremy Cowart and Jeff Goins. The Start Conference will help me pursue the creative side of our beautiful world. Meeting more Lampo people will teach me how to be a valuable candidate for their creative team. And, meeting fellow STARTers will keep our unstoppable community moving!”

May desperately wanted to attend the conference, but she was forced to make a tough decision. She had to choose between her own debt snowball, which she and her husband have been diligently working on, and the conference. She made the wise decision to put her debt snowball before the trip. But now, thanks to the Generosity Project and #STARTJoy, she will get the best of both options!

Malori Fuchs – Frisco, Texas

Malori is punching fear in the face while her husband is deployed in Afghanistan. She has an audacious goal of officially becoming a Quitter in the next nine months. She writes about living the Warrior life. Her dream is to help other military wives/fiancées/girlfriends know they are not alone. She also hopes to help non-military families understand what is like to have a family member serving in the Armed Forces. She wants to help people realize that they can be a warrior, too. She wants to help people learn to be passionate and fearless when they are fighting for what is important in their lives.

“As tough as dealing with a combat deployment is, I feel that these nine months we’re apart is an opportune time for me to work on my goals and dreams. It is a time to flesh out my dream of being a writer and to reach for things that perhaps before I didn’t think were possible.”

Between now and then, her hustle includes personal and career development and jump starting her blog and writing. She hopes the Start Conference will help her get a handle on how this would look as a military wife.

“This is what I want to do with my life: write and reach out to others. The Start Conference will also help me to define the aspects within my dream with more detail. “

Rob Beaudreault – Lakeland, Florida

“I’ve long had a passion and a talent for writing, speaking and developing task-oriented groups, but have traded them to put groceries in the pantry and shoes on little feet.”

Rob’s dream is to eradicate childhood obesity one family at a time. His hustle has included creating a three step strategy using a 90 day challenge concept with a holistic health coach and a personal trainer. He crafted a program to slowly transform an unhealthy lifestyle to a healthier one.

”I have never experienced the depth of creativity and authenticity that I have within the Start Experiment group. I fully believe the Start Conference will be looked upon as a true catalyst for audacious transformation in our nation, the world and eternity.”

Ashlee Rohnert –  Boise, ID

A self-professed introvert, Ashlee is trying to build her direct sales business after losing her job on Day four of the first round of the Start Experiment.

“I’m an observer. I tend to sit towards the middle or back and take everything in. I people watch and pay attention to detail. I’m an introvert who would like to be a little more of an extrovert.”

Her hustle includes reaching her goal of booking 8-10 shows per month. She now asks every guest who attends a show to book their own show.

“I’m working through the ‘I just lost my job’ mindset and have been working to change it to an ‘I am working my dream job’ mentality. Being at the Start conference is about community and facing fears, including the fear of flying. I believe it would give me a newfound confidence to punch fear in the face and do everything it takes to make her dream happen.”

Heather Villalta – Sacramento, CA

Heather’s big dream is to learn to fight fear.

“I have spent my life afraid. Afraid of failure and afraid of dreaming. I believed that I could never be a success and that the things I secretly hoped for could never happen. Dreaming and hoping for the audacious is a brand new thing for me, and I am just beginning.”

Her hustle is learning as much as she can about writing a book.  She wants to write a book focused on challenging people to reevaluate how our culture views teens. She believes the Start Conference will help encourage her with practical advice and networking.

“I wish to debunk some myths of teenagers, and stop the flow of abandonment they often receive when they hit puberty. The negative press they receive overshadows any positive messages of the fact that teenagers are on the brink of adulthood. If they are properly mentored and encouraged, they can and will thrive. The next generation can be a success with the proper influence of the preceding generation!”

She hopes the Start Conference will encourage her and give practical advice to help her along the journey.

 

This isn’t the last you’ll hear about this group of Generosity Project scholarship winners. The FrankenSTART team plans to share more of their stories after meeting them at the START Conference – and to be even more inspired by their experiences.