About Me
Born May 6th 1967, Burrel earned his stripes on Chicago's notoriously tough West Side. His father, an uncompromising and powerful man, ruled his son with a rod of iron. He drove Burrel hard, relentlessly drumming in the lessons of discipline, self-reliance and accountability. Burrel's mother Gloria, while facing her own personal challenges, provided unconditional love, and support for her eldest son of four children.
While still in his teens, Burrel had become unofficial "Emperor of Chicago" as gang chief of the Cicero Insane Vice Lords, a formidable street gang whose members numbered in the thousands.
And it was at 16 that he left all that behind him. Following his heart, his conscience and his soul, Burrel walked away from a way of life he could no longer be a part of.
Since then Burrel has stood strong in the world of business. He is a natural and gifted entrepreneur, building success by applying his Strategies for Millionaire Magnetismâ„¢ to his personal and professional life.
A gifted entrepreneur, over the years Burrel has owned a number of profitable ventures including a grocery store, luxury car and jewelry dealerships, entertainment and music interests (he still holds the record for Chicago's biggest hip-hop concert in '95), gas stations, and a high-end furniture store. For over sixteen years, he has been partner in Diamond Developments Inc., a new construction group, responsible for thousands of homes and commercial developments in the Chicago area.
Active in the community, Burrel has worked with non-profit group Ready-Set-Work, and in 2001 was featured on ABC Seven's long-running Harry Porterfield segment as "Someone You Should Know." He has been described by the Chicago Defender as a "man of vision, as well as a man of action."
However, Burrel knows it's the tough lessons he learned when young--his "Soul's Tattoos" as he calls them--that are the foundation for how he lives his life today. Despite personal tragedy--his son Marshawn was killed in a mindless act of violence in 2002-- he is a man of boundless faith, passion, optimism and integrity.
Today Burrel Lee Wilks III lives between Los Angeles and Chicago, and works nationally, and internationally, as a Life Coach, motivator, and "voice of the inner city." He is a high-energy husband, father, and grandfather as well as passionate advocate for the "power of possibility." A believer that each of us has the power of transformation within ourselves, he promotes a life philosophy based on "acute self-awareness, self-reliance, and relentless resourcefulness."
