4. BlogYou saw this coming didn’t you?

My annual Movember appeal.

Here is where I lay out all the reasons you should participate in Movember, support someone who is participating in Movember, or more selfishly, support MH3’s participation in Movember! I mean you know the reasons right? The causes and charities the movement supports? The measures they suggest you take for your own health benefits?

Then I add a dash of personal appeal, telling you about people close to me who have prostate cancer or perhaps sharing a story of a friend whose father has it. Or even more dramatically, I point you to the Movember web site to read the plethora of inspiring stories and messages they collect.

Now that I have your intellectual and emotional attention, I layer on a healthy dose of good old fashioned bribery. I am sure the folks at Movember & Sons HQ would prefer for me to call them incentives, but if the card is a spade, call it. Last year I offered lunch & learns (one of which I still owe someone… I know, I know BW, I am on it); discounts to the Canadian Sponsorship Forum, and even an opportunity to use my chalet in Whistler for a week. Fortunately no one took me up on that one, cause me don’t own a chalet in Whistler. (Editor’s note: this was not actually part of last year’s appeal and is a cheap attempt to get a laugh, but nobody is laughing).

Suffice to say when I started crafting my appeal for this year, I was overwhelmed. Inertia set in. How could I top last year’s?

So I did a little market research. But didn’t get any good ideas.

Then I did a little brainstorming. Still nothing.

I spent an hour with my pal Google and she didn’t have any goodies for me I could steal!

Then I went for a run. Whenever I need to crack a problem, running solves it. As the endorphins kick in, suddenly so does the creativity. It took me a couple of kilometers but suddenly I was flying! The pavement was vanishing beneath my soles, the music from earphones was lilting through my head, the majestic morning sun was inspiring me to keep going farther and farther. But still nothing.

Then it came to me. If I want to appeal to you, I should KISS you. You know the KISS I am referring to? Keep It Simple Stupid. So I will.

I, Mark Alfred Harrison, he of the bad middle name and the victim of a life of ridiculous nicknames (Herschel, JJ, Brunswick, Dark, Student); born in Ottawa, Ontario in the winter of 1965 and now a proud resident of Toronto, Ontario; would duly appreciate your support of my Movember campaign.

Your support can come in several ways:

  1. You can donate to my campaign here: http://mobro.co/MoHerschel
  2. You can donate to our TrojanOne team here: http://ca.movember.com/mospace/776482
  3. You can watch our stylin’ video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kfdVWBshJE
  4. You can email me your Movember story and with permission I will share it.
  5. You can join the movement here: http://ca.movember.com/?home

It’s that simple! Thanks for your support.

“Stupid” Me!