I have written a couple of posts here about Dafna Michaelson and her 50in52 Journey. The 50 state journey has ended and Dafna is now moving from  sharing the stories of  hometown heroes making a difference, to actually helping them to make it happen!

Be inspired! Watch this great video about her 50 state  Journey:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6049949n&tag=related;photovideo

What Dafna is doing now:

Click here to view the embedded video.

You can make a difference too! Without traveling cross country! With just a few clicks by voting for Dafna to win a $250,000 Pepsi Grant to continue her journey to help others. like you make a difference in their communities!

Please Click Here to VOTE!

Think all “kids” are game playing, texting, youtube watching couch potatoes? Think Again! The current “economic crisis” has left many adults asking the question, “what do I do next,” and wrestling with a reality that doesn’t look anything like they thought it would. Yet there is a movement taking place, a revolution if you will…young people around the world are taking the ‘lemonade stand’ to levels that most can’t even imagine. Ben Armstrong of Raleigh, NC is one such young entrepreneur. I discovered his company, “9Miles Media” online, and was fascinated. This is from the “about” page on the 9miles Media website: 9Miles Media was founded by two entrepreneurial teens in Raleigh, North Carolina in October 2008. Our entire organization is based on

giving already-talented teens the opportunity to foster their creative skill-set and learn important life & business lessons along the way. It is upon these principles that the group has grown to include 5 members, age 13-16, in three countries, with a very unique range of creative skills.

We’ve had an amazing journey coming to where we are today, and now feel confident that we can provide you a professional and competitive solution in a timely manner. We adore what we do, and you’ll adore what we can do for you.

Curious about what makes these kids different, I contacted Ben and two other members of his team, Joel Drapper, age 16 of Dorsett, UK and Donald Harvey, age 15 of Durham, UK. Here is what I learned: They all connected via social media with the intention of meeting other like-minded teens and “learning from others”. Interestingly, they have a very collaboration focused mindset placing greater values on teamwork than the “go it alone” approach. When in need of support, they serve as each other’s support system, although each one of them emphatically listed their parental support as being one of the key factors in their individual success.

Joel and Donald are both home-schooled, which seems to be the case for the vast majority of entrepreneurial tweens and teens. I asked them if they had any thoughts on why this might be.

Donald: I think it’s to do with the fact that one-to-one tuition really improves self-confidence and also helps you learn to motivate yourself more easily – there are no peers to distract you or to pressurize you into doing certain things which you wouldn’t ordinarily do. (Joel agrees)

Ben: (who is in US public schooling) I think maybe seeing all of the quote on quote “average kids” who do “just fine” going to school, playing sports, and coming home, then doing it again the next day makes you lose focus off of what you could do in the long-term. Furthermore, Teachers don’t focus truly on student success in the broadest sense, but instead their test scores.

Each of them also reflected on the advantages of being young, or at least pre-college in age and mindset. “A real blessing that we have right now is being able to not be so centered “on the money,” Ben replied. “In addition, we don’t have to

provide for ourselves at the moment, our parents of course provide for our basic needs – therefore we don’t have to worry so much about making mistakes, knowing that it’s not the end of the world if we do make them and allowing us to learn more by not having that element of risk as much,” said Donald.

Like many adults, teens tend to find the responsibilities of work, school, homework and daily chores overwhelming time-takers, often not leaving time for their respective projects. Ben’s response to this was simply, “I don’t find time – I make time. You can’t really “find time”. Everyone is busy, but if you are committed to something, you do make time for it.”

One of the most telling questions I had the chance to ask them about was about their goals, what was driving them to do the things they were doing. The answers I got back were nearly identical and very surprising to me. “To learn, grow, connect with others, and to create and enjoy amazing experiences along the way.” No sales quotas, financial goals or success as most grown-ups would measure it, just learning, growing, sharing, and enjoying the ride! I wonder how much more successful “grown up businesses” would be if this were the focus!

All three repeatedly expressed the importance of continuously learning. When I asked more about this, I found it interesting that they would rather learn from other, like-minded teens or just teens rather than from us grown-ups. They all felt that adults often come across as patronizing to them. Keep in mind, many entrepreneurial teens have already earned more than many adults do in a lifetime.

What do they want you to know about 9Miles Media?

“What we’d like to tell the world about 9miles Media is that we aim to bring together the talent, personality, professionalism, experiences, and values of ordinary young people doing extraordinary things. We try to learn those very important life-skills of honesty and integrity along the way, and I believe that it has very positively impacted our lives,” said Ben.

I asked Ben if he had a message to share with other entrepreneurs, young or old, to which he replied, “I think the most important thing in this business is being able to know when it is time to be professional and when it is time to be quite friendly. I think being very personable is a huge aspect. Beyond that, if you plan for the unexpected, and actually enjoy making a mistake and learning from it you can have great rewards. People often think that they can’t do something like starting a business because of their family or financial background – I disagree completely. Just put yourself out there and keep yourself focused on what you want to achieve. I like to tell people (and this has special meaning to me as a pilot) ‘The sky is the limit, so shoot for the stars!’ I think that’s true for anything you do in life.”

These are all great lessons…at any age!

Dafna Michaelson checks in from New Orleans on her 4oth stop in the 50 in 52 journey.

She is traveling the country sharing the inspiring stories of others. I think she is the most inspiring of all!

That is why I am sharing HER stories here! (for more on this click here).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here is the interview with Martha Forbes that Dafna talks about in the video above.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Be sure to visit the 50 in 50 Journey Website for more inspiring stories about every day people making a difference every day in communities across our great country!

If you haven’t been following Dafna’s journey, please read the previous post to “catch up”!
This is Dafna’s second video of her own journey. Although she has countless video’s of the stories of others, this is her sharing her own story, and her recent trip to NJ as part of her 50in52 Journey

Click here to view the embedded video.

I met Dafna Michaelson a few weeks ago, thanks to a twitter introduction by a friend in Chicago (who I also met via twitter!). Dafna has an amazing story. She is a single mom on a mission to inspire others to make a difference by sharing stories of people all over America who are making a difference. She has spent the past 9 months traveling all across the country interviewing and video-taping every day people who are making a difference (see her 50in52journey here!). Like so many purpose-driven people, she focuses on the cause, and other people. She is after all committed to sharing their story. One of my passions ironically, is to show people the value of their own story, and the value of sharing it with others.

So as I questioned her (although I was the one who was supposed to be getting interviewed:), I came to know her amazing story. I learned about how she simply felt called to do this. Even though her journey is quite different than mine, I recognized an instant common thread, and felt an instant connection that I can’t even explain. She walked away from her career and began her pursuit of her passion late last year, about the same time that I did. She had no idea “how” she would do it, and was surrounded by many who told her that she couldn’t, shouldn’t and a 100 reasons why! When I asked her how she overcame that, and stood up to that and got through that, she simply said “I just knew this is what I was supposed to do” (I could totally relate!)

As she told me how important it was to her to inspire others, and how passionately she believed that sharing these stories with others would do that, all I could do was smile. Smile and say “your story is the most inspiring of them all.” She teared a bit, and I understood why. It was like meeting a kindred spirit…(that’s the power of sharing your story!)

While she has traveled countless miles meeting people who are making a difference, she had no doubt met many who simply were unaware of their own “amazing-ness” – just as she was.
I contacted her a few weeks later after seeing one of her twitter posts and going to her website. Her post said that she was off to Alabama, and I went off to her website. Why? I wanted to see something. I wanted to somehow be a part of it. Share in it. Hear the story. Ironically, the only videos on the site were those of others (of course! I thought!:) So I promptly called her on her cell phone (yes we twitterers do use phones:). I convinced her that her story is part of the story, and that the journey is part of the story. Even the stuff that doesn’t seem that exciting! Not one to “toot her own horn”, I have no doubt that she agreed only because I convinced her that it would serve others! I knew by offering to put it on my blog, she wouldn’t have to worry about whether she was somehow stealing the limelight from those she was interviewing.

I am so excited that this will be the first of many “good soup stories”! I hope that you will follow along as we watch her journey…The journey of a single mom, on a mission. The story of a woman who is creating her own story, and not living the story that someone else made up. A woman who was called. and who didn’t let the thoughts, opinions or judgments of others stop her. Who found a way to do it, in spite of the economy, in spite of the naysayers, and in spite of the “status quo”!

Go Dafna Go!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Be sure to check out all of the amazing stories on her website:
http://www.50in52journey.com
Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dafna_m
(What’s YOUR story? If you would like to share it please email to goodsoupstories at gmail dot com