I first heard of the “Toys For Tots” Internet toy drive way back in 1998 – through my friend, Rick Beneteau. I’ve tried my best to support this annual event ever since, by spreading word around and contributing a little bit to make life brighter for a child during the holidays.

Thousands of needy children who would otherwise NOT get a single gift at Christmas this year, will hopefully now get several!

Introducing The 10th Annual Internet Toy Drive, in affiliation with the official U.S. Marine Corps “TOYS FOR TOTS” Program:

http://www.internettoydrive.org

We *know* that with Your Help we can go a LONG way into making sure Santa visits EVERY needy child this year!

* ALL donations will be placed on special order forms (credit cards and online checks) on the Toys for Tots secure server. Donors will receive an automated email/tax deductible receipt when their donation/order is confirmed. Mail-in payments are also accepted.

* Donations will be dispersed to the nearest U.S. Marine Corps Base to the donor for the purchase of needed gifts.

Listen to the theme-song for this project! Turn up your speakers and click here

This year’s goal is to raise $100,000 for Toys for Tots from now until December 24th. That can ONLY happen if all of us put our hearts and mouses on the line to put the word out.

Here are 4 simple steps you can take right now that will HELP more than you might imagine:

1. Visit The Internet Toy Drive Website and give whatever you can right now. Even if it’s $5.00, it WILL HELP!

2. Help Spread the Word by telling everyone you know about The Internet Toy Drive. Please send them a link to this blog, or share this letter with them – and invite them to pass it along if they have an opt-in list.

3. If you have an ezine/newsletter, PLEASE feature this message in the weeks ahead.

4. If you have a website, PLEASE grab one of these banners and link to The Internet Toy Drive.

Personally, I’ve always believed that giving is the greatest way to receive. YOU can do a whole lot of good by taking these simplest of actions. But PLEASE do it now – this is just a one month drive!

Let’s Help Kids this Christmas!

On Twitter, during the Heart Kids Tweetathon in September 2009, I said:

“Retweets alone don’t matter.”

They really don’t. Neither do clicks on links.

Donations do.

Caring does.

Involvement, too.

Passion helps.

Those are the things that make a difference.

Not more ‘clicks’ on a link to ‘measure your influence’.

Anyone can click. Because it’s easy. And means NOTHING.

That’s why when my new friend Nate St.Pierre (founder of ItStartsWith.US) shared a daring plan to “hijack” the FAST COMPANY “Influence Project”, I got excited about the social media experiment that had devolved (in my humble opinion) into little better than a link-bait viral tactic.

Nate wants to turn that public perception around.

In a style that’s his unique own.

By using YOUR ‘influence’ – to touch people you see, meet, talk to, care about, and engage in your daily life.

Read more about this exciting twist to the “Influence Project”.

I hope you’re curious enough to send Nate your email address to learn more.

He promises to delete the list after the event ends.

I trust he will.

I’m also sure you’ll go back to join his group – and continue to do cool stuff, like the monthly “love bombs“.

All hands to the decks… ship ahoy!

EAVB_UUXUUIGGIE

1 person emailed me about it.

I tweeted about it to 4,432 followers on Twitter.

4 people suggested ideas that may work.

1 person contacted me with an offer to help.

I blogged about it.

I shared the message with 1,353 via email.

35 clicked the link to read my blog post about it.

3 made donations.

We hit the target.

400 children will benefit from teaching aids.

These numbers are fairly typical of any fund-raising effort I’ve been involved in. And they never cease to amaze and humble me.

Any meaningful change is effected by the caring few.

YOU can be one of them.

Start. Today.

I read the story three times.

First, in the writer’s voice. As if she was telling the story.

Next, in my mother’s voice. As if she was telling it to me.

Finally, in my voice. As if I was telling it to my daughter.

And each time, it was a little different.

Subtly unique.

Personal.

That’s why it’s great writing.

Read it… here.

I sat in front of the monitor, watching intently.

The angiogram of a child we were operating on next was playing. In black, white and gray, it displayed the deadly heart defect that left him breathless, blue, and fighting to live.

The door opened. An anesthesiologist’s head peeped in.

“Come on. Get scrubbed. The patient is ready.” She was in a hurry.

“One moment,” I replied. “I haven’t finished seeing this angiogram.”

And then, she spoke the words that opened my eyes to a stark realization – and led me to make a major career choice… to resign my position at India’s biggest congenital heart surgery center.

“It doesn’t matter.”

She went on, “Dr.R has seen it already.”

Dr.R was the consultant who’d be performing the surgery. I was assisting him. Until then, I thought my role in the unit was important. That what I did mattered.

Apparently, it did not.

I was redundant. Unnecessary. Irrelevant.

A week later, I quit.

And moved to the University hospital where I had trained. A place where I conducted surgery on my own. Where I was actually making a difference.

Where my evaluating a patient’s reports before surgery mattered.

Where my involvement with the child’s family mattered.

Where my teaching and guiding a resident trainee on proper procedure and conduct of complex surgery mattered.

Yes, it matters.

It matters where you are. It matters what you do. It matters whom you impact.

It should.

And if it doesn’t, well, maybe you don’t belong there?!

I’ve read Seth Godin’s blog for many years. So have millions of others. (It’s free.)

And like those millions, I’ve bought his books. First, one. Then, another. Soon, the entire collection. (It’s inexpensive.)

Not surfeited, I now wait eagerly for the next one.

And in the meantime, discuss his existing work with a group of like-minded people inside his private social network, Triiibes.com

I also watch videos of his presentations on YouTube.

I even wrote once to ask if he sells recordings of his lectures. When he mentioned a few months later that one was available, I immediately ordered the DVD (It was pricey!)

Whenever he does a fundraiser for his favorite, the Acumen Fund, I try to donate. (It’s fulfilling)

And yesterday, when I heard he was coming to Hyderabad to give a talk, I reserved my seat, booked my flight, and am raring to meet Seth Godin for the first time. (It’s expensive, and uncomfortable.)

Am I a true fan?

I’ve gone from reading a blog, to buying books, discussing ideas, wanting to learn more, asking to purchase expensive collectibles, getting involved in a shared purpose, and am now going to some trouble to get a chance of meeting the person behind this.

What has Seth Godin done on his side to retain my trust and respect?

• Been authentic. Shown integrity. Remained consistent. Over many years.

• Is always courteous. Responds to almost every email, even if only with a few words.
• Has reached out to help, gone over and above the minimum – and done so willingly.
• Has never abused the trust I’ve vested in him.
• Is at or near the peak of his chosen area of expertise. And stayed there.

Do you want to lead a tribe?

Do you want more ‘true fans’?

This sounds like a good game-plan to follow.

Just be prepared to stick with it for a while!

I was excited to see India’s cricket hero Sachin Tendulkar on Twitter. In record time, he has over 250,000 followers – and one of his early actions on the social network was to raise funds for a Foundation to help children with cancer.

Any cause that helps suffering children gets my automatic endorsement and support… and this post was crafted in alignment with that purpose. Because in Sachin’s efforts, I see some lacunae which may cost precious donations that might help a few more ailing children.

Having been involved in fundraising online for almost ten years, I’ve learned a lot about best practices, what works, and critical elements of a fundraising website which build credibility and maximize donations.

Here are a few questions prospective donors often ask when they arrive at your site.

1. Who is raising money?

This matters over and above everything else, because if it’s someone I don’t trust, then I’m definitely NOT donating. Imagine Bernie Madoff setting up a website that seeks donations. Would you contribute?

So, clearly explain who is raising money.

On Sachin’s site, I know the two people involved very peripherally. Sachin Tendulkar is a household name in most Indian homes, as a generation grew up admiring and being entertained by the ‘master blaster’. When his wife Anjali appeared for her medical school final exam at Sir J.J.Hospital, I was a senior surgical resident in Prof.Adi Nazir’s unit – and watched her win a gold medal.

But that’s all I know about the couple who are now raising funds for a worthy cause. On the website, there’s little else about them. Telling a story about how they came to be involved in fund-raising for cancer kids could go miles longer in getting visitors to buy in to the cause, and support it.

We also hear of a Dr.Jagannath – but know nothing more about him. (UPDATE: See below for how I got to know Dr.Jagannath, and more about this amazing and compassionate surgeon!) Tell us HIS story. We WANT to hear it. That’s true of ANY fundraising or awareness building website. Don’t go light on that part of the website – it matters more than anything else!

See how I tell my story here.

2. What are they raising money for?

The cause or problem that you are hoping to solve needs to be highlighted. The more detail you can provide, the better. And the focus needs to be on the solution, more than the problem.

This is where most fund-raising websites fail. Copywriters or activists go overboard trying to build up a sense of the futility and hopelessness that their chosen recepients are facing – with the result that a prospective donor begins to believe nothing can be done… and leaves without donating!

Story telling works even here.

• Talk about how you are trying to make a difference.

• Tell your donors and supporters how their involvement matters.
• Show how even a minor contribution on their part can have spectacular impact on those unfortunate people you are working to help.

See how I do this here.

3. What exactly will be done with the funds?

Too many fund-raising websites gloss over this part. Sometimes, it’s because they aren’t yet sure, or are still drawing up plans.

But sadly, this ‘missing part’ is what they have in common with other sites that are scams trying to cheat people to contribute to a non-existent cause!

A great differentiator for a genuine charity venture is to showcase, in copious detail, what happens to the money that is contributed. Talk about what you’ve already done, if your organization has a track record. Or explain at elaborate length the scope and nature of your activity and involvement.

• Are you building up a corpus, or raising operating capital?

• Will you be funding individuals, or other groups?
• Are you running a short term event, or do you plan to keep this going?

Tell them. They want to know. And then, get involved.

Once again, people love stories. Read one of mine here.

4. How much is needed?

Another important variable that is overlooked is to quantify your goals.

Tell your donors and supporters how much money you need to meet your targets. And then, denominate in terms of how they can help! Everyone likes being a part of something special – like your non-profit effort. Show them how it is possible.

There are many misconceptions about technical issues. When I started raising funds for heart operations, people wondered how they could possibly donate enough to fund such expensive treatment – because they thought each operation cost $50,000 to $100,000 (as it does in the U.S. and other developed countries).

When I explained how the same treatment only costs $2,500 in India, there was a renewed surge in interest – because now people believed they could really make a difference by getting involved!

So, always tell your audience how much you hope to raise. And by when. Then, let them know how they can contribute.

You’ll be amazed at how much of a difference it makes in getting more donations.

5. Where are the stories?

Everything I’ve listed out until now is about story-telling. And the reason it works in a non-profit context is because the stories are so compelling!

When you read about how a child born with a heart defect suffers, faces a stark future, and then a gleam of hope appears on the horizon by way of a donor who helps fund her operation – and then, when you see the bright smile that lights up her little face… something inside you comes alive and rejoices, too.

You feel GOOD. Because now you see how your decision, your action, your donation, is going to change a fellow human’s life and future!

That’s magical. Stories belong on a fund-raising website. As many as you have to tell and share.

But make sure they are real, genuine stories. Tell them honestly, ethically, with empathy and compassion. That is what resonates with your audience who wants to help you change the world and make it a better place.

See some of my ‘Smiling Little Hearts’ stories here.

6. Can I trust them?

With my data. My money. And my support.

Without this convincing element, your fund-raising website is DEAD IN THE WATER!

And that’s what prompted me to write this post – because when I looked at Sachin Tendulkar’s fundraising website, I saw it lacked some serious credibility building elements.

Here are some things you need:

* a privacy policy statement (explaining how you protect and use donor data)
* a ‘Terms of Use’ policy statement
* ’social proof’ by way of endorsements, testimonials, and links to other sections of the Web that help engender trust in you and your organization
* a statement of your aims and objectives
* your mission/vision statement
* details about your team, including composition of your board/management
* press clippings or media appearances, if any

While not the best example, see how I’ve attempted to include these on my Foundation’s website.

Will these automatically make visitors to your website trust you?

Of course not. These are just starting points. But combine this with a passionate community of supporters who’ll help you spread word over time, and you’ll have a winner.

How about glitz and glamor? A flashy website with bells and whistles, and killer design? A set of branded graphics, custom created scripts and stuff to create an immersive experience?

All of this might help too. But only AFTER you’ve got the essential elements firmly in place.

In the words of Warren Buffett, “Look for three qualities: integrity,
intelligence, and energy.“

Their order matters. And the six elements above will all help build on your image – as long as you’re doing what you do with integrity.

What more can you add to this list? Please share by leaving a comment!

UPDATED on May 24th, after communicating with Dr.P.Jagannath:

I have since had an informative email exchange with Dr.P.Jagannath, who is Chairman of the Department of Surgical Oncology at Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre in Mumbai.

With over 20 years experience as a surgeon treating patients with cancer, and a slew of accomplishments in his chosen field of medicine, Dr.Jagannath has more recently launched a portal for public and professional education on cancer at IndiaCancer.org.

Interestingly, it was inaugurated by Bollywood superstar, Amitabh Bachchan – yes, the same caring celebrity who funded 10 heart operations last year (here’s the story).

He has also set up a charitable trust called ‘Crusade Against Cancer’, a foundation with several objectives including prevention, education, and assistance for cancer patients, and the general public.

“In spite of significant professional commitments nationally and internationally as a chairman of world congress of IHPBA , I am trying to reach out and create awareness and help those in need,” Dr.Jagannath said in one of his emails to me.

You can learn more about this dedicated proponent of cancer awareness here and also on his LinkedIn page here.

And please help support his initiative to reach out a helping hand to children fighting the hardest battle of all, against the deadly killer called cancer.

Looking back on over a decade of working on the Internet, I realize there’s ONE critical mistake that has been costlier than any other that I’ve made.

This is a blog post about it. Hopefully, there are some lessons here which will help you avoid doing the same. (I drafted it, however, as a reminder to myself – and as a short outline of the steps to take to fix it, and right quick!)

How I Built My Online Network…

In my Web-based universe, there are three kinds of people:

• People who have not heard about me

• People who have heard about me, or know me casually
• People who know me well, and care about my work with heart kids

In the beginning, my aim was to get more folks into the second group… and then move them into the last one.

The steps I took towards this end worked. Soon, I had a few thousand people in my network. Quite a few of them were supporters of my CHD awareness effort.

What I didn’t realize at first, but probably had existed all along, is that there were distinct sub-groups within this core of supporters. Broadly, I see three categories.

• 1. People who care deeply about underprivileged kids, support my work with them, and have changed their lives (personal and business) in some significant way to become a part of it, on an ongoing basis.

• 2. People who care about my work and support it, but have other priorities. They will respond when asked for help, through donations and marketing assistance, but not spontaneously.
• 3. People who once cared about my work with CHD kids, but no longer do – for a variety of reasons.

Why don’t these people care NOW?

Some ‘fell out of love’ with the purpose (spreading CHD awareness and raising funds), or the person (me).

Some shifted tracks in their life and business, finding other worthwhile ventures and causes to support.

And some had only ‘cared’ (or pretended to) for other reasons!

What ‘other’ reasons?

Maybe being seen to support my CHD work gave them a good feeling about themselves, and so they did it for a while.

Maybe they leveraged their association with a good cause to their benefit, until they reached a point where it wasn’t needed any longer.

Maybe it was a way to get and keep my attention, while they piggy-backed on my reach and network to gain an advantage – or until they sold me their product or service.

My Big Mistake

… was in not realizing these nuances.

I assumed (wrongly, in retrospect) that all the people who cared did so for the same reasons.

And that they would continue to care for a long time. Even forever.

Both were mistakes.

In fact, my initial ’strategy’ (if you can call it that) was to reach the people who could reach many more people with the message of CHD awareness – which explained why I entered the Internet marketing space as a specialist in email newsletter (ezine) marketing.

My hope was that, if I helped email marketers learn to become better, more successful, and ensure they could build big lists, they would happily promote my message of CHD awareness to their growing audience – and so the CHD message would gain exposure as my business clients grew more successful.

The Moving Parade

Marketing guru Jay Abraham teaches a concept called the ‘moving parade of life’.

In a nutshell, it means that any population or demographic has a diverse mix of people. It’s like standing by the kerb watching a parade passing by.

Some people in the procession are trumpeters. Others are drummers. A few swirl batons. Others march in unison. And many are just walking along for the fun.

And as the parade passes along, some marchers may pick up batons to swirl; some trumpeters may take a turn at playing drums; or some passers-by may join the march in earnest.

Things change.

Life works like that. People, and their interests, change over time. Some lose interest. Others get interested. The level, intensity and depth of their interest keeps fluctuating.

And this mix in your human social network changes dynamically, constantly.

Understanding that nature of your market helps tailor your marketing message and approach.

How Did This Matter?

The approach I took worked upto a point. But only with the right sub-group of people – those who really cared about helping under-privileged children with congenital heart defects.

The drawback is that this section is always going to be a FIXED fraction of my overall network.

So, if 20% of my audience is made up of loyal supporters of the CHD awareness effort, then when I have 2,000 people on my list, I’ll have 400 supporters… and when this network grows to 10,000 people, there will be 2,000 ‘true fans’.

Also, at a guess, around one-half of the ’supporters’ group will keep shifting in and out of focus. At some times, they will be active in helping spread word. At other times, not quite so much.

That’s just the nature of our human existence, with its multiple distractions, shifting priorities, multi-dimensionality and constantly altering circumstances.

Unfortunately, I came to this realization very late.

Quality Over Quantity

I’ve always been a strong proponent of ‘quality’ over ‘quantity’, and argued that with 100 qualified prospects I can achieve more than with 10,000 random people.

That still holds true.

But even with an emphasis on quality, quantity (numbers) does matter. In a big way.

And that’s where I messed up!

Once I found my 4,000 quality prospects, I eased up on the efforts to attract more people into my network, and chose instead to focus on deepening relationships with those inside it.

That didn’t work too well. Compounding the problem were some significant personal limitations I had to work with.

Accepting My Weaknesses

• I find it difficult to ask for help. With anything. My wife often screams at me for not asking directions, and just driving around in circles.

• I won’t be a pest. I can’t keep on asking people for things when they seem to have cooled off, or lost interest. Maybe with some persistence, they’ll come around. But because I’d be resentful if someone did that to me, I won’t do it to others.
• I won’t change my self to fit someone else’s expectations. Sometimes, statements and blog posts I’ve published based on my observations of distasteful practices in the online marketing space has caused heartburn, which reflected in people’s support for my CHD work. So be it.

Creating Evangelists?

Chet Holmes says, in a business context, that it takes an inordinate and disproportionate amount of effort and expense to go from ‘mediocre’ to merely ‘good’ – while it’s relatively easier to go from ‘good’ to ‘great’.

That applies to other situations as well.

When someone is already a fan, they don’t need much by way of involvement, encouragement and engagement to continue – while it is nearly impossible to shift someone who is barely curious about CHD as a concept, and turn them into raving evangelists for sick kids!

If I had worked to grow my network bigger, then the chances are that the same fraction of the larger group would fall into the ‘loyal supporter’ group… but because of sheer network size, I would have a bigger number of them in my circle of influence.

I need more of this kind of people to scale the work I’m involved in, to make a meaningful difference, and to reach my ambitious goals of sponsoring heart surgery for 47 children every year, if not more.

Living With The Moving Parade

As I fleshed out this post, the solution grew increasingly obvious. All I have to do is…

To grow my network… BIGGER.

Much bigger.

And that’s the focus I’m taking now. With very ambitious targets. The good news is that, because I’ve done it before and know how to do it, I know it’s only a question of playing the game on a bigger scale.

• It’s the reason I invested into learning from traffic master Jon Mizel, in his ADVANCED Traffic Evolution course.

• It’s why I will be using exciting new ways to build and grow my list in the weeks to come.
• It’s also the reason I’ll be shifting the way I interact with my present audience from a ‘intensely personal’ approach to one that’s more segmented, and structured towards focusing on the ‘true fans’.

I’m inviting YOU to be a part of this future. A future that will touch and change a child’s life. Help create an entire generation of healthy youngsters who, before now, had little to hope for.

A chance to make a meaningful difference – and heal a child’s heart.

You can get started by subscribing to my email list, or following this blog’s RSS feed, or joining my networks on social media like Twitter, Facebook or many more.

And if you too are looking to make an impact, as a business owner or a social entrepreneur, then there’s probably a lesson for you in this long ramble.

Please share your thoughts and feedback by leaving a comment below. Thank you.

Seth Godin is remarkable. Always. At least, I think he is.

But when I read an excerpt of his new book, LINCHPIN – let’s just say I felt a bit let down!

In this post, I’m going to explore WHY.

First, a quick reminder about the fallacy of trying to judge or describe the whole after seeing only a part – like the 5 blind men who described an elephant variously as being like a rope, a tree trunk, a knife, a rough carpet and a thick snake (after feeling, respectively, the tail, leg, tusk, back and trunk).

All I’ve read is the digital excerpt, NOT the entire book.

Still, I had hoped for some a-ha moments in even that sample – so when I shared this short message with a good friend inside TRIIIBES.com, I wasn’t sure what to expect in reply. I wrote to Marcos Gaser:

“Maybe Seth set his bar too high with Tribes. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood while reading it. Maybe Linchpin just describes what’s in my daily routine. Whatever the reason, I just didn’t find that magical ‘A-ha’ in the excerpt, the way I’m used to with Seth’s writing. I’ll give it another read a day or two later, to see if it’s ‘just me’!”

Well, let’s just say I didn’t need to read it again. Because Marcos’ short, insightful reply made the reasons clear to me in a flash of brilliance…

I am not a marketer by study or experience, and so Seth Godin’s earlier books had many a-ha moments – because they were about marketing.

TRIBES, and more so LINCHPIN, are not about marketing any more – they are about personal development.

LINCHPIN (and even TRIBES, in a way) is about throwing off the shackles of ‘conventional mediocrity’, about ‘following one’s heart’ and ‘making a difference’, about ‘attracting your audience by being unique, special, meaningful’ – and those are things I am ALREADY working on, understand better, have a certain experience with!

The essential premise is that “Everyone is an ARTIST”. And here, in Seth’s words, “artist means someone willing to stand up, stand out and make change.”

Maybe more traditional, corporate and ‘factory world’ readers in Seth’s audience (who may have viewed his earlier work with some ennui and a “So, what’s new?” attitude) will find many a-ha moments in LINCHPIN, the way I did in Purple Cow, or Free Prize Inside, or All Marketers Are Liars, or Survival Is Not Enough.

Like Rajesh Setty says in his very nice review of LINCHPIN,

“In LINCHPIN, Seth focuses on BEING rather than DOING. Seth’s compassionate plea is for everyone to ‘be’ an artist – be a Linchpin rather than a cog in the wheel.“

Does this sound like a familiar theme from my blog posts here?

• Dare to be Different
• A World Obsessed with Numbers
• I Don’t Care
• I Got Tapped!
• Frustrated by Success
• How To Win – Always
• To You, What Is Success?

Having explored how difficult, scary, yet fulfilling it is to stop being a cog in the wheel, and for many years seeing one important purpose of my own blog to inspire as many others as possible to stop hesitating and take that plunge to ‘follow their heart’, I have probably instinctively tuned out much of what I read in LINCHPIN as being “stuff I already know, realize and completely agree with”… and might have dismissed on that ground alone!

So, thank you Marcos for showing me why I probably thought LINCHPIN was “nothing new”… and how, for that very reason, I need to tell many people who read my blog to get their own copy of LINCHPIN – and then think hard about making that decision to make a difference, in any way they like!

In his interview with Hugh McLeod, Seth Godin ends with:

“My work is done here, as the saying goes. To unleash something like this on the world, to go out this far on a limb and have people support you and embrace you and run with it… it’s the most ama­zing feeling.”

Do you want that feeling for yourself?

Then you should read LINCHPIN – and then follow YOUR heart.

Another good reason to do it is because, usually, reading Seth Godin’s books has nice “fringe benefits” – like TRIBES got me entry into Triiibes.com, a place where I’ve met some amazing LINCHPINS.

Here are a few reviews of LINCHPIN by fellow Triiibesters – you may find them interesting too:

• John Furst
• Becky Blanton
• Hugh McLeod

Today, on his blog, Seth said: “It took me ten years to write this book. I’m hoping it changes a few people.”

The book is LINCHPIN.

You can get your copy here.

Read it – then decide.

CAUTION: The theme of this blog post – and the video I link to – is NOT for children or squeamish, delicate people. It is raw, painful, and real. Skip it if you’re the kind who is too strongly affected by hearing of such things. You have been warned!

After four decades on this planet, having seen and heard of many sick and depraved activities, I find it amazing (and heartening) that I can still feel abhorrence, distaste and disgust at some things.

But I can. And do. It happened again last night.

Anish (@anishd19) on Twitter sent me a link to a TED Talk (India) video (NOTE: The video has graphic images and even more explicit content that can be hurtful).

I watched it – and squirmed in discomfort, cried in deep searing pain, and spent several disturbed hours thinking about many uncomfortable questions Sunitha Krishnan asked in the course of 12 short but lengthy minutes.

As a teen-ager, I loved reading novels by Harold Robbins. Many of my friends read it for the few pages of stark, explicit sexual narrative. I enjoyed the starker insight into human nature that Robbins was a master at expressing.

One of my favorite books was “79 Park Avenue”, a novel that defined a mindset and attitude about prostitution in my malleable brain that has lasted until today.

Sunitha’s presentation at TED ranks on par with this for impact.

Little children, their health and welfare, are close to my heart. I spend my professional career taking care of kids born with congenital heart defects. Most of my online work, writing and marketing efforts are directed at raising funds to sponsor their treatment.

Yet I have shied away from issues like child abuse and sex slavery in the past. Because I thought there was little or nothing I could actually do about it.

Now I feel ashamed about that. Of being a part of the uncaring and indifferent civic society the presenter decries in her powerful talk. The kind whose silence offers tacit, if passive support, to the cruelty of perpetrators – while adding insult to the injury of the abused.

And after sleeping over it, I decided to try and make amends for my silence until now – by sharing this amazing presentation, not with two people like Sunitha asked for, but with two thousand… or more.

Here, on this blog. And on Twitter. And other channels I have reach and impact on.

That’s the easy part.

What’s to follow is tougher. Much harder.

I’ve decided to try and change my mindset, attitude and prejudice about the victims. Not just of this kind, but of ANY kind of abuse. Because to spout empty words without backing it by deeper change within would be hypocritical.

It won’t be easy. It won’t happen overnight. It will take much soul searching and internal discipline.

I’m ready to try and do it.

Are you?