'Go buy a donut, a facemask, a coffee': Missouri woman finds uplifting note with $5 in a book she bought in Target - and starts chain reaction of good deeds
- Ashley Jost bought the book as part of a reading challenge with her girlfriends
- The note inside was from a woman named Lisa who told her to 'you are amazing'
- Jost, 27, shared he feelgood tale on Twitter and it received over 3,000 likes
- She is carrying out an act of kindness, worth $5, each day this week
A woman who found an uplifting note and a $5 bill in a book she bought in Target has decided to 'pay it forward' by doing good deeds for others.
Ashley Jost, 27, who lives in Columbia, Missouri, was passing the books section in a Target store, when she remembered she had signed up to a reading challenge with her friends.
When she started to read it, she noticed a $5 bill inside and a note from a random woman which prompted her to carry out acts of kindness for others.
Ashley Jost, (pictured), who found an uplifting note and a $5 bill in a book she bought in Target has decided to 'pay it forward' by doing good deeds for others
The handwritten note was from a woman named Lisa who told the reader to 'practice some self-care' by buying something nice with the $5 bill she left inside the book
The handwritten note from a woman named 'Lisa' read: 'To the person who buys this book: I am having a tough day. I thought maybe I could brighten someone else’s with this little surprise.
'Go buy a coffee, a donut or a face mask. Practice some self care today. Remember that you are loved, you are amazing, you are strong. — Lisa.'
Jost said she was started a challenge with her friends in which each had to read at least 10 pages a day for 75 days. The book she bought was Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis.
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She told KOMU: 'I keep hearing this book is an easy read and kind of inspirational, so I thought okay, 17 bucks, I'll just grab this book and it'll be my first read of this challenge.'
She put the book down to check on her dog and when she returned, she noticed something on the ground.
Jost added: 'Five dollars fell out, and it took me a second where I was like, 'Wait, what just happened?.
Describing the moment as 'surreal', she added: 'I read it once, and I read it again and I thought, "dang this is really neat.'"
Jost bought the book in Target as part of a challenge she undertook with her girlfriends to read ten pages of a book each day for 75 days. Now she is happy with the decision she made
Jost purchased the book 'Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals' by Rachel Hollis
'Like this is something that only happens to strangers on the internet, not some random person in the middle of Missouri who just happens to decide in the heat of the moment to buy this book at Target,' she said.
She decided to take a photo and share the feelgood story with her followers on Twitter. Her tweet has been liked more than 3,000 times and has been picked up local and international news outlets.
Jost has gotten messages and replies from others who want to pay it forward or were positively affected by Lisa's note in another way.
She added: 'In that moment, I didn't necessarily need the pick-me-up, but I feel obligated to share it, and I'm hearing back from people who did. The ripple effect is pretty incredible.'
Jost decided to take a photo and share the feelgood story with her followers on Twitter, which has been liked 3,100 times with hundreds of comments from users impressed by the story
Jost received many messages and replies from others who are paying it forward or were positively affected by Lisa's note
Jost has now decided to carry out a random good deed each day this week in response to the surprise.
'I decided to maximize it. We live in a college town where there are so many people living paycheck to paycheck, so I decided I wanted to do one random act of kindness every day this week, each worth $5.'
On Monday, she sent a $5 Starbucks gift card to a friend. Jost claimed that she placed another gift card, with a note, in the library of the university where she works.
Jost has now decided to carry out a random good deed each day this week in response to the surprise and has similarly left a note inside a book for someone else at her library
'I made a point of ending my note with the same words Lisa wrote to me. '"Remember that you are loved, you are amazing, you are strong.'"
'My dad told me this morning he bought the groceries of the person behind him,' she added.
She said if she ever met Lisa, she would thank her for the gesture and hopes that she is as happy as she made her.
'I hope wherever she is, hopefully her day has improved, her chapter of life has improved, and I would definitely tell her thank you.'
'She gave back to her community, which is something we all can do. Even if it’s as simple as a smile. That smile goes a long way.'
