Dear friends,
Thank you for your continued support and interest
in this email list. In this email, I want to personally invite you to join
in making a difference. For the first time, I am inviting everyone on this
list to seriously consider how you can help contribute, both financially and
otherwise, to building a better world through supporting our work. But
first, I want to tell you how the websites and email lists are growing. Then,
at the end of the email, I will introduce you to Challenge Day, the most transformative
program I've ever seen for our young people. I can almost guarantee that a
15-minute video clip of this amazing non-profit organization will leave you
moved and inspired.
As you probably know, I manage four websites, all
of which provide both heart-felt inspiration and empowering information to
work together towards a brighter future. The WantToKnow.info
website is by far the most popular of the four. Focused on exposing major
cover-ups and working together for the good of all, this reliable, revealing
website has now had a total of almost 500,000 visits and a million page views
in the two years since it was founded. Currently averaging well over 1,000
visits a day, WantToKnow.info directly inspired a major book (The
New Pearl Harbor by Dr. David Ray Griffin), and has educated and inspired
numerous reporters, politicians, and other concerned citizens around the world.
Though not as popular, the other three websites
are doing quite well. Web of Love now
averages well over 100 visits a day, while Moment
of Love and Global Community for All
both receive about 50 visits a day on average. All three of these websites
are clearly focused on spreading love and inspiration in the world through
reminding us of the common humanity we share with all people on this planet,
and through inviting us to join together in communities of love and inspiration.
All four of the websites I manage are also a reflection of my deep, unwavering
commitment to what's
best for all of us.
The deep insider email list (one email every
other day) now has over 800 subscribers from around the world. The list of
education and inspiration (one email per week), which includes these 800,
now numbers 1,200 subscribers, with more added every day. Both lists are subscription
only. No one is ever added to the lists unless they specifically request to
be added. We've received hundreds of wonderful emails of support and gratitude
from subscribers. Thank you for your warm words of support and encouragement
for all that I and we are doing. Without your help in spreading the word,
we would not be reaching the large numbers of people we do.
One of my own key weaknesses in life is asking
for support. I'm one who has been very good at offering support to those
in need, yet when it comes to myself, I have often had fear and hesitation
around asking others to support me and my efforts to build a better world.
I have a fear that others will see me as pushy or think that somehow I see
myself as better or more worthy than them. I have also tended to not trust
that others will do the job as well as I could. My core
issue of arrogance wants me to believe that I can do things better than
everyone else, and that I can't trust others to do the job well. I am committed
to transforming these weaknesses, and thankfully have made a lot of progress.
This email is one example of my commitment to work on these issues.
So realizing that this is not easy for me, I
want to warmly invite you to join in supporting my deep commitment to personal
and global transformation through love and empowerment. There are
many ways that you can do this. Financial contributions are one important
way you can help. Whether it's $10 or $1,000, every dollar helps to support
the empowering work of these websites. At this point, we still depend
completely on volunteer labor. As contributions have not yet exceeded expenses,
we are a few hundred dollars in the red. Other than our website designer (who
was paid $300 for his many long hours of great work), no one has ever been
paid anything for the many thousands of hours of work that have gone into
these websites.
I personally spend over 40 hours a week on this
labor of love. Since resigning from my interpreting work at the State Department
last November, I have had no income. Though I am drawing on limited funds
I had put away towards retirement temporarily to sustain me, I am hopeful
that with your support, I will be able to compensate myself and eventually
others who are deeply dedicated to developing and promoting this empowering
work. Your financial contribution, however how large or small, will help us
all to build a better world, and to reach and inspire many thousands of people.
To contribute by check or credit card to WantToKnow.info, click
here. To make donations online to Web of Love, Moment of Love, or Global
Community for All, click
here. You can also use the "Donate" links at any time
on the websites.
Another way you can help is to participate
in our new Readers Forums. We just last week established these forums
for website readers and supporters as a way for all of us to develop community
and to share ideas and information. As there are only a few posts on the forums
right now, new visitors are less likely to participate. If you are willing
to sign on and leave a message, you will add color and flavor, helping to
kick start these forums and to share something of yourself in the process.
Use the links on any of the websites, or click
here for WantToKnow.info or here
for the other three websites.
Many of you have been most helpful in spreading
the word. Without you, we would never be getting the amount of interest and
attention we have. For those who are not aware, we have developed suggested
emails for spreading the word on each website. If you look at the links
on the left side of any page of the websites, you will find one named "Spread
the Word." If you click on this link, you will see a carefully crafted
email which you can easily copy and paste to your email to then send to your
friends and colleagues. In this way, you can help even more people to learn
about our empowering work.
One of the most powerful ways all of us can
make a difference is to take the time to look at where in our own lives we
are not on purpose and in full integrity. Getting clear on our deepest
life intentions may be the most meaningful way we can make a difference in
the world. Click here
for empowering ideas on developing your life purpose and intentions. And to
promote greater integrity, we can continually ask ourselves where we are keeping
secrets that cause us to feel separate and distant from each other. How can
we live in greater integrity and with more love and respect for all people
on our planet? For some excellent suggestions, I highly recommend http://www.WantToKnow.info/brighterfuture
which is a concise two-page summary on this and more. I also welcome any other
thoughts or suggestions on how we can all work together to build a brighter
future for ourselves and for future generations.
And now I have a very special treat for you.
As I mentioned earlier, Challenge Day is by far the most transformative program
I've ever seen for our young people. I've become friends with Rich and Yvonne,
the loving couple who founded this deeply inspiring program many years ago.
Challenge Day has transformed many lives across the United States and Canada.
Hundreds of testimonials every year come in from teenagers witnessing to how
this one-day program dramatically changed their lives. Some have even commented
that before Challenge Day they had been seriously contemplating suicide, but
now see meaning and real possibilities in their lives.
Challenge Day is a one-day program offered
in hundreds of high schools and junior highs every year which opens students
to seeing their common humanity in a way that is simply miraculous. It
is not uncommon by the end of the day to find rival gang members hugging each
other and saying I'm sorry, even with tears in their eyes. "I am truly
sorry to the millions of people I have picked on," commented a former
school bully as he hugged a gangly boy he had tormented for several years.
I challenge you to watch the 15-minute Emmy award-winning video clip available here and see if you aren't
moved and inspired by this life-changing program. For more information on this empowering work, you can contact
me, or explore the engaging material on the Challenge Day website at http://www.challengeday.org
Thank you very much for being a part of my community.
Your emails and support over the last couple years have often brightened my
day and further inspired me to be all that I can be. I feel truly blessed
and honored to be able to share deep inspiration and education with so many
wonderful, caring people. May we all continue to work together to support
each other in being the best we can be, and in building a brighter future
for us all.
With much love and best wishes,
Fred Burks
