When he first decided to enter the Templeton Foundation’s Power of Purpose essay competition, August F. Turak had no intention of submitting an article about a monk he’d met on retreat at a North Carolina monastery.

“In fact, what I had in mind for the competition was a much more philosophical piece,” says Turak, a former software business owner who’s now a volunteer instructor at Duke and North Carolina State Universities. He had written about Brother John a few years earlier, and shown it to some of his friends and students. When one of them suggested he look there for inspiration, Turak thought about it and decided he was right.

Good call. Turak’s probing essay was the unanimous first choice of the five judges in the essay competition.

Beginning with Brother John’s simple act of kindness—the offer of an umbrella on a rainy night—Turak embarks on a life-altering search for the meaning of charity, and its purpose in a decidedly uncharitable world.

Sir John Templeton initiated the competition as a way to stir up worldwide consciousness of the essential role purpose plays in every person’s life. “Each of us has a purpose for living beyond our own survival and pleasure,” he said. “Investing, rather than spending, our lives involves the commitment of our resources—ideas, love, talents, time, energy, money—to those activities that support this larger purpose.”

Late last year, the Templeton Foundation launched the worldwide call for 3,000-word essays addressing the subject: The Power of Purpose. Cash awards for 19 winners totaled $500,000, including one $100,000 grand prize.

“The whole idea was to focus light on the idea of Noble Purpose and to rejuvenate the idea of everyday heroes. We are bombarded daily with negative images of humanity. This was a chance for people to once more see the goodness in the soul of humanity—and perhaps inspire people to act on their instincts of purpose,” said project director Michael Reagan, president of Lionheart Books.

In response to the call for entries, the Foundation received some 7,500 essays from 99 nations.

And somewhere in that mountainous stack sat Turak’s essay.

“After I’d entered the competition, I didn’t exactly forget about it,” says Turak, “but I didn’t give it much thought—and I never thought I’d actually win.

“So when the phone rang that day, and they said I’d been selected, well, I was floored. It was kind of like having Ed McMahon show up at the door.”

The competition was tough, and the Foundation had engaged a demanding panel of judges: Rick Warren, author of the best-seller The Purpose-Driven Life; Nancy Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; Hugh Delehanty, editor-in-chief of AARP Publications; Paul Davies, professor of natural philosophy at the Australian Centre for Astrobiology; and Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund.

“What impressed me most about the entries was the wide variety of approaches the writers took,” said Delehanty. “You might expect to read a lot of inspiring stories about people who have demonstrated purpose in their lives. But then there were those who convincingly applied the topic to subjects ranging from DNA to mushrooms. That’s amazing.”

The competition rules encouraged entries in the areas of Personal Reflection, Journalistic Report, Scientific Inquiry, and Fiction—and all of those categories are represented among the other winners:

Crying Forever by Straun Stevenson, a gripping first-person account of the struggle for human survival in the former Soviet Union’s Semipalatinsk nuclear test zone. A member of the European Parliament, Stevenson based his essay on a recent visit to the area.

The Face Collector by Dr. Mitch Abblett, a poignant portrait of a haunted Vietnam vet who deals with his past through photography. Abblet is a Newton, Massachusetts psychologist.

Grace by Leslie Larson, the story of a 74-year-old woman who learns to write—so she can unleash the lifetime of poetry that resides in her head. Larson works on Project Read, an adult literacy program in San Francisco.

How Wonderfully We Stand Upon This World by Dr. Alan Hirshfeld, an inspiring biography of unschooled bookbinder-turned-electrical genius, Michael Faraday. An award winning science writer, Hirshfeld is professor of physics at the University of Massachusetts.

Fixing Haiti by Randall Frame, a first-person account of a journalist who thought he’d seen it all—until an encounter with a starving child forced him to look at himself in a whole new way. Frame is acquisitions editor at Judson Press in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

The Natural Order and the Human Mind by Stephen Pimentel, a meditation on the purpose of the universe, and how it echoes from vast galaxies to the microscopic human gene. Chairman of the St. Jerome Chapter of Catholics United for the Faith in Fairfax, Virginia, Pimentel often writes about the intersection of philosophy, theology and science.

The Bathroom Cleaner by Elizabeth Orndorff, a story that shows how the highest callings can be found in the lowest places. A longtime advertising professional, Orndorff teaches adult Sunday school in Danville, Kentucky.

Streets of Mud, Streets of Gold by Fruma Klass, featuring the moving story of how her grandparents found purpose in one goal: emigrating from the Ukraine to the United States. Klass is a freelance copywriter in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Listening to Purpose by Bennett Johnston, an essay probing the realm of memory, and the human need to share the stories of our past.

The Goodness of Trees by Doug Wesselmann, a story about a troubled veteran who discovers that the very memories that haunt him hold clues to his purpose in life.

Fixing? Helping? Or Serving? by Dr. Stan Goldberg, the story of a Hospice center volunteer who finds that those who are dying have much to teach the rest of us about living.

Who Will be Joseph? by Esther North, the story of a young girl who learns the value of humility and service from her grandfather, a thoughtful Canadian prairie farmer.

The Day of the Shoes by Lisa McMann, offering a somber glimpse at the life of the homeless—and the testimony of a man who gave up a fortune to become one of them.

Footprints of Purpose by Diane Pleninger, the ruminations of an expert in mycology (mushrooms), about a particular type of mushroom that has developed a peculiar survival strategy.

The Stone Bird by C. Kevin Smith, the story of an old artist, a stone sculpture, and the questions from a small girl that force him to face the painful story behind it.

A Prisoner’s Purpose by Kenneth Hartman, a first-person account of finding purpose, and of determining to “change the world” while serving life in prison without chance of parole. Hartman is a state prison inmate in Lancaster, California.

The Skating Rink by John Casteel, a touching account of a mentally challenged man who inspired generations of children with his dedication to a local ice skating rink.

What Ever Happened to Chris Olsen? by Carol Franks, the tragic account of how one man slipped between the cracks of the health care system—and how one woman vowed never to let it happen again.

Competition judge Warren added, “I ended my book The Purpose Driven Life by asking readers, ‘When will you write down your purpose on paper?’ I had no idea that an essay contest about purpose would soon be established, and provide the vehicle for exactly what I hoped for.”

Bill Newcott is Features Editor for AARP The Magazine in Washington, D.C.

To read all the winning entries, log on to www.templeton.org/powerofpurpose

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