Winning the Lottery

I was chatting with Tyler Merrick, our Founder, the other day and he told me about an experience he had recently. It touched me and wanted to share it with all of you. Take a look. A message from our founder - Tyler Merrick Earlier this summer I was in NYC for Fancy Foods, a tradeshow that Project 7 was exhibiting at. As far as tradeshows go, this show is the pinnacle in the food industry. Down every isle a collection of delicious, rare food delicacies await showgoers. To say we felt a little bit out of place would be an understatement. In some ways our presence "interrupted" the show, with messages like "Feed the Hungry" plastered all over our booth. Opulence isn't about "feeding the hungry," and we knew it. It's hard not to get discouraged, even before the day starts, knowing that you are the odd man out. That coupled with the unknowns, like will people looking for the finest food money can buy will stop at our booth to learn about changing the world, or will they skip it to try some 18-year-old balsamic vinegar. It's hard to not lose sight of your objective when one is in a sea of self-indulgence. However, there we were, taking a step of faith. To top it all off, the world cup was underway and Ghana was playing the U.S. - this being mentioned will all make sense soon. I found myself wrapped up in myself at the end of the first day of the show. We didn’t have any big leads, I missed my family, I was just wrapped up in “me”. Never mind that if I just took five minutes to take stock in what I have to be thankful for it would have sounded like a wish list for Christmas for most. However, I wasn’t in that frame of mind... I was into me. We got ready for dinner, got into a taxi cab and all that changed. There were three of us from Project 7, so I hopped in the front seat with the driver. And this is the man that changed my perspective for the better. His story was amazing. He was from Ghana and he had literally "won the lottery" to come to America. For six years in a row, he tried and failed. On the seventh year he finally "won." He told me about Ghana and how much he loved it there, how wonderful the people were. But, he also talked of how much he loved America and how his life had changed forever - for the better. He was one of the happiest, kind men I had ever met - and it was real. And, to top it all off, Ghana had just beat the U.S. in the World Cup. He wasn’t boastful in Ghana’s win over America, just happy. This man beamed with pride for both his old country and his new. It was amazing. He helped me realize something. This man had left everything behind to get to America. He drove a cab for 14 hours a day, six days a week and in New York City - the toughest place to be a cab driver. He didn’t work on Sundays, as that was his day for worship at church. He didn’t complain about the bumper to bumper traffic and people that cut him off. He just smiled and thanks poured out of him. I couldn’t help but feel so convicted about my selfishness, how I took for granted the very country my family and I lived in. How I was focusing on the wrong successes and blessings. Thanks to this happy man from Ghana the negative thoughts of the day about not yielding any sales leads were put into perspective and became a distant thought. My family is safe and taken care of, I want for nothing and have the opportunity to do some real good with Project 7. Soon our cab drive was over. I thanked our new friend for making my day and that I looked forward to seeing him in Heaven. I closed the door with my spirits lifted and mindset changed. Of all the cab drivers that could have given me a ride that night, he did. In some way I had hit my own Ghana lottery.

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