ItStartsWith.Us » Weekly Reviews

Love Bomb Video Update!

Lauren — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 02:37:30 +0000

In the video above, I mentioned Ellen’s response post to our Love Bomb Mission! You can find it here. A bit is below:

“Thank you each and all for all of the encouraging words, hugs and the donations. They, along with the sales and jewelry orders have begun to restore my faith in myself as well as the world in which I live. To hear from so many people who don’t want anything from me has been wonderful, a miracle for me.” – Ellen

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Love Bomb Update

Lauren — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:18:14 +0000

Hey world!

Man, it’s been awhile since I’ve updated everyone on what incredible things are being accomplished.

When you signed up for Love Bomb, you were told you could change the world in just 5 minutes a week. It’s my job to make sure you see the fruits of your 5 minutes, and I’m so excited to share some of these with you!

Earlier this month, we all dropped a Love Bomb on a woman named Annie who had just found out her new baby most likely had Downs and also had a hole in his heart. We came together and left 256 comments full of love, encouragement, prayers and hope, and so much comfort for her. Annie posted a response to all of you here and said, “I just sat at my desk dumbfounded as e-mail after e-mail came through.” She said our comments came when her and her husband Jade needed them most, and that it was “just unbelievable.” Guys, “you brought tears to my eyes today when I realized what was happening. Your prayers ARE working & I am thankful for you all even though I may never know who you are.” Thank you, team, for being the support this family needed.

But let’s back up!

On July 22nd, we dropped a Love Bomb for Nicole and her baby Wrenn, who was diagnosed with an extremely rare genetic disorder and needed a lung transplant to survive. It wasn’t looking good, and Nicole was at rock bottom. That week, we left 230 notes of love for Nicole and her family. I am beyond ecstatic to report that baby Wrenn just got her new lung, and her family is in high spirits! YES.

On August 5th, we Love Bombed a man named Jeff who lost his parents in a car accident that Friday night. We left 243 comments on his blog, and this is what he said: “An army of strangers has helped me smile for the 1st time since this all began. I have no idea who you are or how we’re connected, but thank you.” When he found out who we are, he said, “thank you from the entire family.” Man. Way to go, guys.

On August 12th, our Love Bomb was for Bria. Bria was struggling with severe depression and anxiety. She has gone through incredible pain from her family, and we came together and left 341 comments (341!!) on her post. Since then, I have gotten to know Bria personally and can tell you she is in a much, much better place. She posted a thank you to all of you here saying, “nearly 300 strangers have given me hope to keep going. Thank you. You are all my angels.” Bria now works with us on a new project. She is an awesome woman full of compassion and love – thank you all for seeing this in her and reminding her of who she truly is.

On August 26th, you guys left an outrageous total of 504 comments for a 17 year old young woman named Rachel. She was ready to give up, struggling with eating disorders, and had no one to talk to. Five hundred and four of you gave her your love, your encouragement, and let her know that we believed in her, and told her that life WILL get better. She posted a response to this that made me cry. You should take a moment to read it here. You changed the life of a young girl and communicated a type of love she had never known.

I could seriously keep going forever – there are more and more of these. I wish I could forward every email of thanks that ends up in my inbox to each one of you!

I am so proud of the entire team, and beyond thankful for the reassurance that there are so many of you willing to give 5 minutes of your week to change the world in a way that is needed most.

I am honored to be a part of Love Bomb, and to be part of a community who is opening their heart every week to those who need it. I can promise you that not one person will ever forget the day they woke up in the midst of a crisis to hundreds of strangers flooding them with love and encouragement to keep marching.

Nanette, a single mom with breast cancer, said it best last week after we dropped a Love Bomb on her: “I can’t believe this exists, I can’t believe people really take the time to do this for people. I imagine this love just spreading and exploding all over the universe and finidng those that need it, it all swirls around and lands in the right places, and comes back to those who give.” The rest of her thank you is here.

Thanks again, you guys! You rock.

Lauren
@dropalovebomb
@laurenlankfordSimilar Posts:

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The Week In Review

Nate — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:58:32 +0000

During the course of any given week I come across a lot of interesting and useful things, some of which I write about, most of which I don’t. At the end of most weeks I have a small list of links that I end up saving, so I thought I’d start sharing those with you on Saturdays, in the hope that perhaps you’ll find some value from them. I’m sure this will change and evolve as I go, but for now, here’s a quick summary of what went on this week.

My Stuff:

Spreading Ideas: TED
One of my favorite sites on the web — TED’s mission is to spread knowledge.

Be Remarkable (It’s Not That Hard)
Lessons learned from a trip to the hospital — how to stand out in people’s minds.

Other Good Stuff:

Gary Vaynerchuk
Speaking at the Web 2.0 Expo about building a personal brand (caution: strong language).

How to Make Student Engagement Contagious
How to encourage group participation by just being flat-out crazy (but sincere). Second video, last two paragraphs.

Nyle — Let the Beat Build
I absolutely love the idea behind this video.

40 Examples of Incredible Photo Manipulation
Awesome Photoshopped pictures.

Cool New People:

Kelly Rae
Seattle artist with some unique stuff, a fun outlook on life, a nice site, and even pictures of her (artistic) home.

Funny:

Tiny Dancers
This kid makes me laugh hard every time he smacks his bottom.

Inspiring:

$2.00 portraits
Whenever a homeless person asks Thomas Hawk for money, he offers them $2.00 to take their portait. Great pictures.

Difficult:

Our son’s asthma complications putting us in the ER for two nights this week. It’s very, very scary. (He’s fine now.)

How I’ve Made An Impact:

Told my wife that I noticed her taking time out of her busy day to console our daughter over a little broken toy, instead of casually dismissing it like I was about to do. Reinforcing the fact that all of us need to slow down and realize what’s most important in any given situation.

Friends Who Have Helped Me Out:

@Killandra
Kind words and compassion during a tough time

@absolutelytrue
Helped one of my articles get seen by 1,000 people instead of the usual 30

Mentions of ItStartsWith.Us

2 Techniques to Improve Your Conversational Savvy
By: The Four O’Clock Project

It Starts With Us
By: ABI Possibilities

If you have any thoughts, questions or comments about any of this stuff, feel free to respond below. If you’ve seen anything particularly inspiring, useful, or funny this week, I’d love to hear about that as well. Until next week . . . Similar Posts:

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