Three lucky winners will collect $30,000 and take a sabbatical, no HR approval required.

By Tim Nelson
August 20, 2019
Claudiu Maxim / EyeEm/Getty Images

Admit it: no matter how much you may love what you do, everyone has fantasized about dropping everything to travel the world or pursue that passion project. The only problem is that the overwhelming majority of people lack the vacation days and/or financial resources to take an extended break from the real world. 

But what if, for whatever reason, a cold brew coffee company could help you finance the actualization of your wildest dreams? Well, today’s your lucky day, because Stōk Cold Brew wants to give three passionate people the chance to take a paid “STōK-bbatical” from their jobs to pursue whatever it is that would fulfill them the most. To make that possible, each of three lucky winners will get $30,000 to fund their next moves, which will hopefully involve more than just buying up a lot of coffee. 

To Stōk, giving money to people to do what they want to do is a sort of fuel for achievement that’s not all that different from caffeine. “Similar to our cold brew coffee, we believe our STōK-bbaticals provide that extra bolt of motivation and inspiration that people need to turn their passions into actions,” Stōk Cold Brew Coffee marketing director Lindsey Morgan said in a press release. “We’re thrilled to begin the application process and help STōK fans take some time off to pursue what they’re truly passionate about.” 

So how does one get their hands on that cold, hard cash? To “fire yourself,'' as they put it, visit the contest’s site and write them an email about what you’d do with $30,000 ($20,000 in travel/lodging expenses plus a $10,000 stipend), and you might just win it. The contest is open for submissions through Labor Day, and the three lucky winners will take their two to four week trip sometime between October 1st and December 15th, making people jealous by documenting the experience on social media along the way. 

So chug some cold brew and let your imagination run wild. Someone out there is going to get paid to turn their dream into their dream job. It might as well be you.