E. Person 6.

I am seriously loving this 100 People Project. You guys, I have been meeting people with the most incredibly inspiring stories... I can't even believe it.

E. His name I will never forget. But to protect his story, we will call him E.

This past week Mike and I went to one of Phoenix's best Mexican restaurants, and I knew that our waiter was going to be one of my 100 people. We learned that he has been working there the past 28 years, and is from Mexico. He was sooo incredibly happy and had a contagious attitude.

At the end of our meal, I asked E if he could share with me an inspiring part of his life. He couldn't understand what I was saying, so he brought back a translator to clarify what I was asking him, and then told me the following.

“I have not gone to school one single day in my life. At the age of 7, my family was so poor that my father made me start working in Mexico. When I was 14, I wanted to find a better way of life, so I left my family and crossed the border into Arizona. I bounced around a lot, went through a lot of hardships, but worked really, really hard. Three times I was sent back to Mexico. But I knew I could not have a good life there, so I kept coming back.

At age 18 I started working at this restaurant, determined to provide a better way of life for my family. I have 3 kids, 2 of which are boys. Both of my sons have now graduated from Arizona State University. I worked hard my whole life so that I could send them to school to get a great education. It was hard, so I try to give what I can to people around me who need help. I don't have a lot, but I have enough to help. I go back to Mexico now to visit my family. I always smile as I cross the border, as I am able to hand them my U.S. Citizenship papers. I used to be sent back to that border, and it feels good to now be able to cross the border freely because I have worked hard to do what was needed.”

I don't really have words to say after that story, but E has inspired me to work. And to work as hard as I can until I achieve what I want. He reminds me a lot of some of our Threads employees, and to hear his story made my heart absolutely full.

Share your 100 people stories below... I hope these inspire you to hear stories from people around you. I can't believe the things I've been hearing.

Person 1.

**I sent this note off to our neighbor, who broke down all of our boxes this week that were stacked in our carport in the back. It would have taken us weeks to keep refilling our recycle bin with all of our moving boxes, and on Saturday morning when I went out to take out our trash it has been taken care of. I had only met her one time since we moved in two weeks ago.. I felt so blessed.


Last week, for my 100 People Project, I met a boy who works at a vintage thrift shop that I always go to. I went in to the shop with the intention of hearing an inspiring story from him.

After he rang me up, I told him, "I have a goal this year to hear 100 inspirational stories from 100 people... do you have one that's happened to you in your life that you could share with me?"

He was completely taken back.

"Woah, that's seriously the coolest resolution I've ever heard."

This boy went on to tell me his story of how he overcame his shyness, which was a huge feat for him. In high school we was in beginning drama, and had a really bad grade because he didn't like talking in front of people. His teacher told him that for extra credit he could be an extra in the play. He agreed, and the next day in class his teacher handed him his script. He was going to have to memorize lines.

He said he was nervous for weeks, and on the day of the play, he had to carry a bag of "gold" on stage. The gold was actually popcorn, and when he got on stage he started shaking so bad that he dropped the bag, and popcorn went everywhere. He didn't know what to do, and he kept his head down and whispered a really bad word to himself. When he opened his eyes, he realized that he was standing right in front of the microphone. The entire audience heard him.

He went backstage and sat down. He said that at that moment, he would do drama forever, and has been in dozens of plays since. That moment changed him for some reason, and took away the fear that he had his whole life of being in front of people.

I LOVE hearing these stories from random people! They inspire me so much... Can't wait to share more next Monday.

Go out and meet someone new today.

#100People Project.

#100People Project

I am so excited to get started on the #100People Project this year. My goal is to get inspiring stories from 100 different people. You can read the post about it here.

A lot of you are really excited to join me, have come up with your own variations, and are ready to connect with sweet strangers these next 4 months. I've gotten a lot of questions as to HOW I am going about doing this... I know it pushes you out of your comfort zone, so here are some suggestions to your most commonly asked questions!

Q: Do you ask them what their story is? Or how do you get a story out of them?

To put it simply... yes, I ask. There are a lot of ways to do this, depending on the conversation you are having with whomever you're talking to. Here's my favorite way of asking... (After we've talked for a couple of minutes) "This is totally random, but my new year's resolution this year is to meet 100 people and hear their inspiring stories. I would love to hear a story from you that has inspired your life, would you be willing to share one with me?"

You'll be surprised how cool people think it is that you're interested in them, and have set a goal to reach out to 100 people. 

Q: How do we sign up to join you?

Every Monday, I'll be sharing a few stories from my week. In the comments, I'd love to see your links to your own blog posts about your #100people projects, or write your experience for that week in the comments. Also, post your stories on The Shine Project Facebook page. Throughout the week use #100people when you post things on Twitter and Instagram, so we can create a community to read each others experiences.

Q: Alright, I really love this idea. I'm way more of a "game plan" person though - for instance, how exactly could I meet 100 people?

Let's be honest, you're not going to meet 100 people in a day. That's why I've set a goal to do this over the course of 4 months. Just today, I met a post office worker, a cashier at a store, and a guy behind me in line. Be creative. Say hi to the people who are already surrounding you, and ask them about themselves. People LOVE telling their stories, so it's a lot easier than you think! Set a goal every time you leave the house. "Okay, I'm going to Target right now, and I'm going to talk to the cashier." It helps you remain conscious of what you want to accomplish, and makes it less overwhelming when the time comes to talk to someone.

**For my blog purposes, and to inspire a lot of people, I am videoing some of the people's answers who I meet, if they allow me to. They will be informed that it is for a video use and will be signing release forms. Do not do this on your end... 

If you're feeling really shy about this, start small. Reach out to your neighbor, start gathering inspiring and heroic stories from people you already know. The whole point of this is to connect with people, and to be inspired from untold stories.

Today, with her permission, I want to share with you a story from a reader. This is a great example of what the 100 People Project is all about.

-From Passports and Prada

"It was New Years Day, and all my friends had spent the night in this beautiful loft downtown.   We had reservations in the morning at this amazing breakfast place (Brians 24) for brunch.  We were just about to pay the bill when one of my friends said that there was a guy that she had made eye contact with about 5 times throughout the meal, but he had just left.  “I have to go find him.  I can’t explain it, I just have to go ask for his number or something.”  We were laughing.  Was she seriously going to go chase after him?  No one has that kind of confidence. She took off out of the restaurant and about 10 minutes later came back.  She couldn’t find him.  She was visibly distraught and kept saying how she couldn’t explain it.  Something was just telling her she needed to talk to him, but she didn’t and now she couldn’t think of anything else.  We encouraged her to go search again half jokingly.   This time, she didn’t come back for 15 minutes.   She had found him.  She said she was walking down the street, just praying and asking God to lead her to him.  It had been quite a while since he had left the restaurant in downtown San Diego.  He could be anywhere. She turned a few streets down.  “I bet he’s in that Starbucks.”  She walked in, and there he was.  It turned out he was in San Diego to surf- there was a big swell over new years.  He was from Canada and was only going to be here one more day. For about an hour after the incident, she was visibly shaken… not necessarily about the guy, but about God.  She said she had never approached a guy before, and that God had given her the confidence and determination she needed to do it.  It was as if a miracle had struck her, and all she could say was how real God was.  If she ever doubted His existence that was all gone now.   The reason for her meeting him might not ever be revealed to her or maybe it will.  I just think it is amazing that there was a reason, and that she followed through on that feeling without letting fear get in the way.

What would happen if you went and talked to that person who caught your eye?  When you see a homeless person and wonder their story- what if you went and asked them?  What if you suddenly had all the confidence in the world and you could approach whomever you wanted with no fear of rejection?  What would happen?  I have had that gut feeling that I needed to go talk to someone, but I always let that fear get in the way of following through.  Now I can’t help thinking, what would happen if I did?"

How amazing is that? I wanted to share someone else's story with you today so that you can see that this is doable. I will share my story from this past week tomorrow...

Please leave questions, comments, and stories in the comments below!