The Ordinary Guru Contest August 5, 2014
Posted by nrhatch in Humor.trackback
Have you ever met an everyday, ordinary guru who helped you break a myth that held you back, sparked insight, or helped you see the world a little differently?
If so, tell your story by entering the Ordinary Guru Contest.
From the Ordinary Guru website:
We’re looking for short stories, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, cartoons, and poems about ordinary gurus.
Ordinary gurus teach us what we need to know in order to expand our view of ourselves and the world.
These gurus aren’t just people— they can also be anything in nature that offers you an insight or life lesson, perhaps a pet, a wild animal, or even a tree that helps you see yourself or life differently.
No fee to enter! Fabulous prizes!
First Prize: $5,000
Second Prize: $2,500
Third Prize: $1,500
NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. PURCHASE OR PAYMENT DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 years and older. Contest ends August 31, 2014.
Winners will be announced on or around October 1, 2014. Selected stories from the entrants will also be published in White’s forthcoming anthology, The Ordinary Guru Project.
Subject to complete Official Rules.
Good Luck!
Spirit Lights The Way 
Sounds great! Shame that Australia isn’t in the running 🙂
Maybe someone can start a similar project there?
I am not a writer but I would love to read the stories! Are you going to enter Nancy? I have had more than one guru that sparked some insight AND made me see the world differently!
I might. I haven’t written anything yet, but I’m rolling ideas around in my mind. Like you, I’ve met more than one guru who pointed me in the right direction.
Thanks for the heads up, Nancy. No entry fee…that’s unusual. 🙂
Especially with sizable prizes AND publication credits.
Very cool concept!
The sponsor wrote a book, And Then I Met Margaret, about some of the ordinary gurus in his life. That sparked his desire to learn more about other people’s stories. Hence the contest and planned anthology.
Sounds wonderful — the makings of a great book of stories.
He’s not the only one intrigued with the idea. Hope he gets a great response to the contest.
As for someone who gives a different outlook on life, I have written a very short character sketch, less than one page in length, about a Born Again Christian Vampire, who only drinks pigs blood.
I think “Some of God’s people got fangs!” is a definitely different, along with comical way, of looking at things. I could develop it into an actual short story, which I’d enter into the contest; if I can overcome my never ending writer’s block.
Keep in mind that contest submissions have a 1200 word limit ~ not much to sink your teeth into. 😎
I’ve checked out the Guru Project website. They want a non-fiction essay about an actual experience, not fiction; which is too bad. I’ve found one of my stories, a cautionary tale about a guru type being, who is best to avoid. The story’s a warning to be careful what you wish for. However the content makes it unqualified for the contest.
I could try to remember someone who gave me an entirely new outlook on life; or I’ll check out other writing contests. There’s a multitude of them on the internet.
Have fun looking around for the right contest. I subscribe to Winning Writers and Poets and Writers. Both share info on contests on a regular basis.
Interesting. I wonder if anyone will be writing about you, Nancy.
Hey! Are you calling me “ordinary”? 😎
I might enter with BFF as my “ordinary guru” ~> the time he calmed me down about upcoming surgery:
Me: “I’m going to have to call everyone I know before going under the knife.”
BFF: “Why?”
Me: “To say good-bye . . . just in case.”
BFF: “Well, you ought to do that every morning then . . . you never know when you might get hit by a bus in Jersey traffic.”
Me: “OMG. You’re right. I could die! So I might as well enjoy myself in the meantime.”
I ended up having the best summer of my adult life while waiting for surgery. Carpe Diem!
Sounds like BBF did his own form of surgery… stitching your head back in the right place!
My gurus are those who tell me to STFU when I need to hear that message… which is often.
Yup. BFF helps me keep my head screwed on tight. He would NEVER tell me to STFU . . . he says “Zip It!” instead.
This seems like a great contest for you to enter… I hope you do!
You too, Janna! Just think of all the stuff you’ve learned from those guys of yours. Or your pets. Not to mention the occasional wise cactus or rock on your path.
Nancy, I hope you enter. Whether I want to or not I am too far away!
Thanks, GM. Wish it was open to ALL my favorite Gurus around the Globe.
I think this is a fabulous opportunity. I will seriously give it some thought. I might have trouble narrowing the field–there have been many!
If nothing else, it gives us an incentive to pause and reflect on a few of the lessons we’ve learned from Ordinary Gurus. Of course, I think that the gurus in our life are not just plants and animals. A painting, a sunset, a pertinent quote, a movie ~ all can open our eyes, mind, and heart to let the light in.
when will we find out the winners for 2014? Its mid october already…..
I went to the website . . . nothing.
I e-mailed Rob White . . . no response.
Here’s the link:
http://robwhitemedia.com/interact/contact/
nrhatch, you don’t think this is a scam do you? I certainly hope not
but it sure does feel like one. i wanted to read the winning entry
At the moment, I don’t know what to think. It sure seemed legit when I submitted my entry . . . but, now, not so much.
I saw it promoted on Winning Writers:
https://winningwriters.com/meta-nav/our-sponsors/the-ordinary-guru-contest-no-fee
So I just tossed an e-mail to adam@winningwriters.com to see if he knows what happened to the contest.
i just tossed off an email inquiring about the contest to nick@mindadventure.com inquiring about the contest. will let you know if and when i receive a response
Thanks, Anne. If I hear anything from Adam or Rob White, I’ll let you know.
here is some more info for you…
Mind Adventure, Inc
6 Harborview Terrace
Salem, WA
And the administrator of the contest…..get this….ain’t it a trip!!!
Sweepstakes Pros
P O Box 18404
San Jose, CA 95158
Am thinking about lodging a complaint with these states’ BBB over this. I hope that none of the submitted stories end up in rob whites 2014 book without awarding any prizes.
if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck……
It does seem rather quacked up, Anne.
I’m still hoping for a reasonable explanation, but feeling less optimistic that one will be forthcoming.
nick is no longer associated with the ordinary guru project. referred me to rob white, who has not answered nrhatch so far
I haven’t heard back from Adam at Winning Writers after he said he’d try Rob directly ~ I assume that’s because he hasn’t heard anything further.
It’s a very odd business and quite disappointing since the project seemed like it would be inspirational reading for all.
sent an email to sweepstakes pros asking why the ordinary guru project contest has no winners announced yet
awaiting reply…..
Perfect! Fingers crossed that they’re still wading through stacks of awesome entries and that the timeline has just been pushed back a few weeks.
Thanks for your follow through, Anne.
I emailed Nick and he said the same thing (ask Rob). Being a contest on such a large scale, it’s silly to not give any news out for an entire month.
It’s a strange turn of events. I’ve heard nothing further from Adam or Rob.
Nothing yet.. Is the contest a joke??
I don’t know if it was a “joke” but it does appear to be defunct, dead in the water, a done deal. I haven’t heard anything further from Rob White or Adam at Winning Writers.
Has anyone heard anything? I submitted a piece and want to submit it somewhere else but…
I did get this update from Rob White in November:
We had great hopes when we began this Ordinary Guru contest. We felt it was an opportunity to share other peoples’s stories with the world about how ordinary folks in their lives helped them progress toward their dreams. We spent a great deal of time & effort to have a website set up & hire professional and legal assistance to be sure all was done professionally and in order. What we did not expect was the challenges that came with the website being hacked by a malicious person and that the server hosting all of the submission files would be infected with malware. Despite our best efforts over the last several months to recover the information, we were unable to do so.At one time it seems there were more than 1,600 entries. We have lost most of them & have been unable to retrieve anything of substance. This is a great disappointment to me and my team. I apologize to all of you who submitted a story.
All copyrights return to the author of each story. No story will be used by me & no book will be forthcoming.
Rob