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The No Project – Jason
For those of you who don’t read this blog religiously (shame on you!), earlier this week I announced a new Bento initiative that will run for the whole of September.
The premise is this: I’m currently looking for stockists for Bento. Every time I approach one and they say no, I put aside $3. Each Friday, I take the total sum and give it to a homeless person.
Why? Well, to be perfectly honest, people saying no to you is pretty awful. I’ve given up my job and poured my heart into this label. I’ve worked really hard on it and when someone says no, it really hurts. To keep me on track and motivated, I thought I could turn these negatives into a positive for someone else. Homeless people hear ‘no’ a heck of a lot more than I do, and I’m sure it hurts even more.
So here we are, the first Friday in what I’m now calling the ‘No Project’.
Today, I met a guy called Jason. He was confused when I addressed him as ‘sir’. I bought him a big coffee and some breakfast and spoke with him briefly. Here’s what he had to tell me…
No one has stopped to ask his name in over a year. He worries that people think he’s lazy, but it’s easier for him to sleep during the day because it’s a bit warmer and he doesn’t get attacked or robbed as much because there are so many people around.
I took a picture of his sign, so you could see a little bit of Jason. (I think it’d be pretty degrading to take pictures of homeless people and post them online, right?).
Jason's Sign
So this week, when someone tells me no, I can think of Jason and other people like him who hear it a lot more often, and who it hurts much more.
Edited to add: I bought Jason coffee, breakfast and gave him money for a shelter. I had 10 rejections this week, so it was $30.
oh lady. you’re amazing. tears. x
Naw, not amazing… just good at thinking of creative ways to stay motivated
Wow. How incredible of you to turn a negative for yourself, into such a positive for someone else.
Well done. I really admire what you’re doing.
Thanks Sandi – it really helps to put things into perspective!
Wow. Very moved and inspired. I think everyone should create a ‘No Project’ of their own and turn negatives into something incredibly positive. Puts everything in perspective doesn’t it? Do you mind if we feature your project in our weekly e-newsletter and blog for our clients? (with credits and links of course)
Thanks for the support!
Happy for you to feature the No Project – it’s just a small thing, but I’d love to see others do it too.
Nice one Sam!! This is a great idea. Well done you.
Nice work miss Sam… A lovely approach