I do applaud the efforts of trevor and wish him the best (as I'm sure everyone does), hopefully by posting this article on this site will increase the exposure to his very worthy cause, a disease that on some level has touched us all!
This is his link http://www.thereandbackcanada.com
The Battle for A $1 Million: Trevor vs. Eric
So a guy named Eric Duncan wants to make a million dollars and to help that plan along he has created a website called www.illdoanythingforamillion.com. As he advertises, “Well what can I say? I want a million dollars and we all know I am not going to make that on my own.”
There are rules of course: “I will not do anything to cause permanent disfigurement to myself or others,” he says on his website. “ I will abide by the laws of the country the acts are held. I will not cause harm, be it Physical or Mental to any other living creature or human. It should also be within a reasonable Timeline, not the rest of my life kind of deal.” (Although in an interview, he said a disfigurement “that could be repaired” was okay.)
Duncan’s site has gotten a lot of attention in the last few days. CTV.ca ran a video report about it, and other news outlets have carried the story as well. Someone even started a Facebook group for him and a blog as well. He has received emails from as far as Brazil. He admits the his idea is “absurd”, but says his cause is noble: “I’m tired of working,” he said. “I want a life. I just want a life.”
Not everyone, however, is a fan. Most notably, Mr. Duncan has received some criticism from a fellow Canadian who also tried to earn some significant cash. That man’s name is Trevor Redmond – the man who tried to walk across Canada and back again to raise funds for cancer research.
“Maybe
he should take a lesson from Paris Hilton, go to jail for half a month
and presto, an instant million for an interview,” Redmond said
bitterly of Mr. Duncan. Trevor’s chief complaint is really two-fold.
He’s annoyed that 1) Duncan started his drive for $1 million during
the season of giving and 2) that Mr. Duncan’s “greed”
actually got more media attention than Redmond’s epic journey
across Canada.
“Why do we give so much value to folks like this?” he asks the Canadian press. “It boggles my mind and sensibility. Someone please explain this to me.”
Still, it seems a lot of people support Duncan in his quest to earn 1,000,000 dollars. “Seen you on the news tonight!” a fellow Albertan wrote on Duncan’s Facebook Group. “Fantastik idea dude! Same with me - if I had a million id give it to ya just for doing this!” A Vancouverite wrote, “Eric you’re the man... I hope you get it bro!” The Facebook Group was only just created and already has 179 members.
He has his detractors too. “How about he gets a job and works for a few years and save his money, invest wisely, etc.?” a user named Ted wrote on a blog that featured Duncan’s story. A poster on his Guestbook suggested Erick perform…fellatio to earn his $1 million.
For his part, Trevor Redmond wonders if he should be making such a big deal over something so insignificant. “Maybe I shouldn't fuss so much,” he said. “I did almost the same thing last year. I did everything I could and sacrificed everything I had. By this time last year I had earned almost 9 million. That's right, nine million in less than nine months. It was the hardest thing to do, earning that much.”
Of course, Redmond didn’t earn money – he took steps -15 million of them, to be exact – all in the hopes of raising money to find a cure for cancer. “I'll give this fellow a million,” Trevor added. “If he could follow me for a month, he will have a million. Follow what I did this year and last, he will have it... I will take him on.”
Trevor’s ultimate goal was a dollar for every step he took. As reported on SCN some months ago, Trevor fell well short of that goal, raising only $30,000 during his cross-country quest. When he realized he wasn’t going to raise much more than that, he called it quits in Ontario on his way back to Vancouver. Since the mainstream press was uninterested in his story and the majority of Canadians had no idea what he was doing, he felt it was foolish to continue when so little had been accomplished.
“Like the fellow who wanted a million dollars, I wanted a million as well,” Trevor lamented. “In fact, I wanted a dollar for every step I took. Unlike him, I wanted every dollar to make an impact on the lives of others. For every step I took to count. I wanted to reach millions of Canadians. For the effort I took to cross Canada, I received 30 thousand to put towards cancer. How I wish it was more. How I wish my steps could have reached more.”
By contrast, Mr. Duncan just wants to “have a life.” He works as a “remote cook” and has apparently worked on every continent on Earth. Evidently, he doesn’t mind his job, he just wants to be rich and not have to work as hard to enjoy his time. As he puts it, “I could buy a house, pay off my debt, buy a round at the bar, invest it, help the people who have helped me... whatever! Doesn't matter, I just want a million.”
Trevor
Redmond is watching Eric’s quest closely. “If this fellow
does make a million tell me how and I will do the same if it helps to
conquer cancer,” he said. “Or maybe this fellow is willing
to join me and we can do it together. I will not give him a million
dollars, but show him a wealth that can never be taken away. In this
he may have his million.”
Will someone pledge to give Eric $1 million dollars if he were to walk across Canada pulling a 300-pound trailer behind him? How about just $500,000? $30,000? It seems a bit unlikely, doesn’t it?
Indeed, Eric Duncan earning his $1,000,000 is improbable, but the way he sees it, he’s got nothing to lose. Worst-case scenario, he gets his 15 minutes of fame and is an Internet celebrity for a few months. Best case scenario, he makes his million and becomes an even bigger celebrity.
And what if he is successful? What will that say for our society and the value of money? For Trevor Redmond, it was never about making money for himself – his was a wider cause, one that with a much more profound impact. While he trekked across Canada, he subsisted on bottled water and the bare necessities, and he tried to change the world in his own small way. It’s a lesson Eric Duncan would do well to learn, even if he doesn’t achieve his goal. For as Trevor said in a timely reminder, “I am wealthy; but I’m not that rich.”
One has to wonder which is more important. Or if we
even need to ask the question.
Trevor's website - http://www.thereandbackcanada.com
