From April 10 to May 9, 2008 I lived on $30 (USD) of food. In the process I:

• Lost 8 pounds
• Ate weeds 
• Scrubbed siding, gave people rides, and fed chickens in exchange for food
• Got extensive local and even some national media coverage 
• Took advantage of a matching donation opportunity from Jack Johnson’s All At Once organization
• Blogged about the whole thing on a site that went from nonexistent to over 5,000 page views and 99 comments on 18 posts in one month

• Raised over $1600,*  and lots of awareness, that will help city and suburban kids learn about farming, nutrition, and the environment

This experiment, which I named Rice, Beans & Mixed Greens, was in part a fundraiser and in part my way of implementing Seth Godin’s concept of being remarkable. In brief, Seth acknowledges that word of mouth is the best marketing and publicity in the world. The catch is that to attract word of mouth, you have to do something worth re-marking upon. Hence, the need to be re-markable.

I wanted to see how effective I could be in leveraging a crazy idea along with the existing resources and network of an organization to attract attention and achieve results. The organization I worked with, Blandford Nature Center & Mixed Greens, has a creative staff that is willing to take some risks. They were willing to let me blog and communicate in a very open way and did a lot to support my efforts including attracting media. I made a personal commitment to be very honest during the process and share my experiences in a very public way.

The experience was difficult at times and incredibly rewarding at others. I’ve had a few weeks to reflect on it now. Here are the main lessons I learned, and ways that you can apply them in your own efforts :

Simple Actions = Big Results. The idea behind Rice, Beans & Mixed Greens was a simple one, but it got people’s attention. By living on $30 food for 30 days in the United States, people knew I was making a real sacrifice for a cause. That is a remarkable thing which has worked many times in the past. I just put a different spin on it.

How You Can Apply It: It’s easy to think that it takes a big idea or concept to make an impact. I’ve found that this isn’t true. People resonate with clear, simple, decisive action that shows commitment. When you think about ways to be remarkable, keep in mind that a streamlined idea is more powerful than a cluttered one.

Life Offers Many Chances to Test Your Integrity. It would have been the easiest thing ever for me to cheat during this process. I could have taken a different way home, gone through a drive through, wolfed down a greasy meal and disposed of the evidence. No one would have ever known. I say from the bottom of my heart that I did not cheat – not once – even though I had dozens of opportunities each day. Instead, I used each temptation as an integrity check. I paused, thought about my goal and why I was working toward it, and kept on my path.

How You Can Apply It: If you have something in your life that you are very committed to, approach temptation as an opportunity rather than a threat. Take a moment to remember why you are on your path and decide if it’s still valid for you. If not, go ahead and give in. However, if you want to continue to succeed in your current goals, keep moving forward no matter what is in the way.

Collaboration Multiplies Efforts. This is one of the most powerful lessons I took from this experience. Living for 30 days on $30 food is not that remarkable in and of itself. Billions of people live on that, or less, every day. What made my efforts truly remarkable was the collaboration I had with an organization that is all about food and ecology. Their mission and programs, along with my efforts, created a compelling story that drew media attention and action from the audience – in the form of donations, blog comments and offline discussions.

How You Can Apply It: When trying to do something big, don’t sit in your silo alone. Find a partner with compatible goals and take advantage of the logarithmic effect of collaboration. You don’t have to agree on everything, as long as you have enough common ground to build on.

Energy is Everything. It Comes From Many Sources. Food is a very important source of energy in our lives, and I wasn’t getting enough of it during my 30 days. At times I suffered from very low energy and all of its side effects such as lethargy, headaches, and diminished mental capacity. However, because of all the support and attention I got, I was able to draw on the energy of others and keep going forward. If I had been doing this alone, I don’t know that I could have finished.

How You Can Apply It: When you are working to achieve something big you are bound to run low on energy at times. Think of ways that you can re-energize yourself through contact with like-minded people, proper diet and exercise, meditation/visualization, or just taking a break. It’s important to plan these strategies out ahead of time so that you know what to do in a time of need and don’t get tempted to quit.

Criticism is Great! Like anything that gets attention on the Internet, my blog received some critical comments and a few unfavorable mentions in other blogs. Some of the criticism was well thought out and offered value. I tried to use it to improve the project when I could. Other criticism was just plain snarky, or coming from people who fundamentally disagreed with my worldview. There’s not a whole lot you can get out of this type of criticism, other than to take it as further proof that you are being remarkable.

How You Can Apply It: Recognize the difference between helpful and destructive criticism. Although it may not seem like it, all criticism is good – it means people are paying attention. Derive whatever value you can from it and move on.

People Are Much More Generous Than I Gave Them Credit For. I was continually amazed by the generosity of people that followed this project. Whether it was a journalist that went out of her way to cover the story, a friend or coworker writing a check that I knew was a huge amount of money for them, or strangers calling and writing out of nowhere to offer me food, I saw the very best of humanity in those 30 days. I’m fairly cynical by nature, so this was a very uplifting experience for me.

How You Can Apply It: Know that if you are acting with good intentions, most people will support you in your efforts, even if it’s just with a smile.

There is Huge Power in Keeping Commitments. A lot of things come pretty easy to me in life. I’m a quick learner so I can often get away with imperfect effort and only cursory planning. This is okay sometimes, but at other times it is important to really put forth all your efforts. This project gave me the opportunity to make a very public commitment and the motivation to stick with it no matter how difficult it got.

How You Can Apply It: Every time to you make a commitment and follow through on it you increase your power. If this is something you want to work on in your life, I highly recommend looking at Steve Pavlina’s writing about 30 day trials. Think about ONE (not three, or seven, or twenty-four) aspect of your life you want to improve and work on it for 30 days straight. At the end of the month I guarantee you will feel better about yourself.

Sometimes All They Want is Sensationalism. I was pretty disappointed by my segment on Mitch Albom’s radio show. Mitch is a well known journalist, sports commentator and the guy who wrote Tuesdays With Morrie, so I figured he would do a somewhat insightful interview. I was wrong. For six minutes he basically grilled me on what I could possibly be eating and why I wasn’t dead yet. In the end, I realized that there is no such thing as bad publicity and I was just happy to be heard by a larger audience.

How You Can Apply It: Don’t turn down an opportunity just because it’s not as sincere as you’d like it to be. Unless we’re talking about something that is degrading or humiliating, it’s okay to get a little off your chosen path if it helps you move forward.

Everyone Gets Something Different Out of It. I was surprised by the attention that I received from a small community of frugal bloggers. They were really attracted to the ways that I saved money on food purchases. To me that was purely incidental to the main goals of the project, but it was important to them and they were able to learn from me. In a way, I was able to add value to a community without doing anything extra. I’ll take it.

How You Can Apply It: Approach your project as a big party and be willing to accept whatever people bring to it. If someone gets value from focusing on one small aspect of what you’re doing, accept it as an added bonus or an opportunity to set your targets differently.

It’s Scary to be Open. It’s Also Rewarding. I made a commitment at the beginning of the project to be very open about my experiences whether they were good, bad or ugly. Well, a couple of times they got plain ugly and I was obligated to share that. In this recording I shared one of my lowest points of the month. It was a scary thing to do, but it also drew a huge wave of support that helped me continue. I also stepped outside of my blogging comfort zone a few times by posting videos and photos of me looking less than my best! However, that type of content really helped people connect with me and kept them loyal to the project until the end.

How You Can Apply It: If you want people to support you, you have to be willing to be who you are. Human beings are very good at sensing when someone is holding back the whole truth, so it is vital to be honest. That means you will reveal yourself as flawed and all-too human. This is a good thing. No one can identify with perfection. Show off a few scars (well, maybe not literally!) and your audience will find it much easier to connect with you.

I Have a Wonderful Support Network. During this project I had far more offers of help than I was able to take advantage of. People lined up to work out food barters and other ways to help me. I now have demonstrated proof that no matter what happens to me, I will never go hungry in all my life. My friends and family won’t allow it. That’s very empowering and also humbling. Thanks, everyone. I love you too.

How You Can Apply It: Unless you are a hermit (and I’m guessing most hermits don’t have Internet access), you have more people than you may realize that would be more than happy to help you out if you asked. Say thank you, right now, just because they’re there. You may never need them, but they’ll be there if you do.

Being Remarkable is More Fun Than You Can Imagine. It seems like half-starving myself for 30 days, running around constantly doing media and volunteering, and trying to keep up with 2 blogs for a month would be anything but fun. Wrong! I had more fun during the project than I usually have in 3 months. I met great people, had the chance to do cool stuff, and was the center of attention in my office. Even better, at the end of the project I had the chance to go to Key West for a week and enjoy 7 guilt free days of eating frozen key lime pie on a stick, knowing that I had some weight I needed to gain back!

How You Can Apply It: I hope you can guess this by now – do something crazy, something bold, something that will move you down your path in life like a rocket! Do it for a short, defined amount of time, but put your best effort into it. You are guaranteed to be surprised by the results.

As you can see from my experiences, striving to be remarkable is a really powerful way of moving further along your path. I like to think of it as being crazy with a purpose! Of course I have to add that although my project is over, you are still welcome to make donations to Blandford Nature Center & Mixed Greens. For more information, check out their online donation options

If you have a story of your efforts to be remarkable, share it with us in the comments, or on your own blog.

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*I’m counting some donations – including a $100 check that I delivered personally – that came in after the technical “close” of the project and the celebratory photograph, as well as the 1-1 match from All At Once which effectively doubles my efforts.

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