Over the last few weeks, I’ve received hundreds of emails from many of you that have read The Dream. First off, I’d like to personally thank you for your support. I’m glad it inspired many of you to reach out and find your true passions in life. Purposely, I made the book more about broader life lessons we all can live by, rather than just strictly about business. Some days I myself re-read the last chapter to remind myself of what’s ahead what I need to do to keep moving forward.

As we embark 2009, I hope it turns out to be a great year for all of us. The last six months of 2008 – while were bleak for the economy, I hope through perseverance we all make a major breakthrough in 2009.

For those of you in the Bay Area – I have two other book signings this month. Feel free to stop by to any of these:

• Towne Center Books (Pleasanton Library) 2:00pm (January 18)
• Stacey’s Books (581 Market Street, San Francisco) 12:30pm (January 20)

To a phenomenal year!

G

The Dream is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders and all major bookstores. You may want to call in advance to see if your local store has received their copies yet. If you’re in the UK and Canada – the book should be hitting stores shortly. I’ve also received many positive reviews from the folks that have already read it. Feel free to share these comments in this blog.

Here’s to never stopping, in reaching for the stars!

I will always remember 2008 now for 3 reasons: “The Dream”, Secret Millionaire, and Oprah. It’s always been a dream of mine to be interviewed by her and I’m glad I was able to share my story with her. What I didn’t expect was all of the positive support I would get after the segment aired. I’ve received thousands of emails over the last few days letting me know how I’ve inspired many to keep on dreaming.

So, first and foremost I’d like thank all of you for writing to me. Your words were priceless and I can’t thank all of you enough for the love and support you have given me. While, I still plan on going through all of the emails and responding to as many as I can – I wanted to share one special one with you from a 7-year old. Reading this – made a huge impact to me. It reminded me of all the reasons why I wrote “The Dream” – and realized it will make the impact I was looking for…

Name : XXXXXXXXXX

Company : Not yet. I’m only 7.

Email : XXXXXXXXXX

Phone Number: XXXXXXXXXX

Message : Hi G,

I saw you on the Oprah Show. Thank you for talking, to Oprah about being teased, in school. I am teased a lot; because, I have dyslexia. I think I am the least popular boy in my class. I’m trying to do what you told Oprah you did. I heard you say that you, “used the noise, for energy.” This is what I do, too.

I know wearing a turban and having dyslexia are not the same; but, we both turn negative noise into something positive. Hearing what you said, in your interview, gives me an extra boost of good energy.

Thanks,

XXXXXX

After the sale of BlueLithium – I decided that after my role at Yahoo was complete, I wanted to write a book. The main reason why? I felt that my life has all been about defying the odds through mistakes and lessons I’ve learned, and I want to empower others to never give up and to continue to find their magic.

But, here’s the catch – I didn’t know anything about how to write a book or how to go about even getting it published. One of the things I realized early on – if you don’t know how to do a particular thing – go out and surround yourself on the people that do. So, I did exactly that.

Last year I signed up the William Morris Agency – one of the biggest talent agencies in the entertainment & media space. Outside of the television, film, and production talent they represent – they also have a very big literary department. My agent introduced me to one of their literary agents and I flew down to New York to discuss my intentions for “The Dream.”

As I walked into his office, I was asked a very straightforward question. Why do you want to write a book and your only “25” – do you even have enough to talk about in a book? My answer was – “the last 10 years of my life have been a complete roller coaster ride and truly unique – and that exact journey came with situations that tried to stop me from reaching my dreams; I want to share my story to let people know to never give up and the biggest shortcut to each success all starts with that first dream.” On the second question – whether there was enough to write a book  – after I walked him through some of the stories – he later realized I had too much to talk about in just one book. Nevertheless, he was convinced that there was a story to be told and walked me through the process.

The second part was to find a co-writer. So, I was introduced to five different ghostwriters that all at one point in their life had written books that made the New York Times best-seller list. I connected the most with Pablo Fenjves and selected him to work with me on the project. Next, we needed to write a book proposal which almost is like a “book summary.” After six weeks – we finished the proposal. Now, my agent went to work and sent the book proposal to all of the major publishing houses. Several were interested in meeting me to discuss the project and eventually I connected the most with Airie Stuart of Palgrave Macmillan. I remembered having an honest discussion of why I wanted to tell my story. And, frankly I told her – that even if only 5 people end up buying this book – I am confident that this will get them closer to finding their magic. I remember jokingly later telling her – I am hoping we sell more than 5 copies.

A few weeks after that meeting, we ended up selling global rights to Palgrave Macmillan (part of St. Martin Press) for the Dream. Pablo and I went to work – and after 8 hard months, finally completed the manuscript for the Dream. That was a huge experience in of itself, and at times a very humbling one.

To be upfront – I’m not doing this for profit (after all the cuts, my share would be $2 per book). My passion is clear. I think we’re all in this world to do great things. There are obstacles and insecurities that sometimes stop us. I am hoping after you hear my story – you believe that we all can defy the odds.

The Dream releases globally on October 23rd, 2008.
You can buy your copy on Amazon.com’s pre-release by clicking here:

This week I was interviewed by the New York Times, and during the interview process – I was asked what famous quote, if any, I live by. After thinking about it, I had an instant flashback. When I was 16 – I took Philosophy 101 – and did a paper on Socrates. I’m not going to say that I’m philosopher by any degree – but I remember one quote that I read about that stood out. And you can say that – I’ve lived exactly like that over the last nine years.

“Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, and undue depression in adversity.”

Read it a few times, as it may have an entirely different meaning for you. But, in my eyes – the way I see it – success is a virtue of control. The more control you have of your success – the more you will continue to rise. Don’t get too cocky or think you are a god – since that’s what will eventually bring you down. And when you fail – it’s not the end of the world – since every true success has had its failures.

In my book – you’ll hear a lot more examples of how I saw my success and managed it carefully. At the end of the day, don’t change who you are as a human being – no matter how successful you get. I’ve seen it happen too many times and that in essence becomes the ultimate fall. Stay humble. Live for yourself and don’t let life, live for you…

This week I spent a several hours working with my ghostwriter, Pablo, on a draft for “The Dream.” When I was a kid – I could have never thought that I’d be writing a book at 25. And over the last few months – given what’s happened to my life, it’s been one of the most amazing experiences thus far. If you think about it – whenever you go through a life changing experience – you need to sometimes realize the checks and balances in life. What I mean is, realize what got you there and what your priorities are. This helps you stay grounded. Writing this book has not only been a great experience, but it’s been a very humbling exercise. It made me realize in detail all of the different elements I went through as early as 16, to be where I am today. And of course, who in my life – supported me all the way.

One of the upsides of writing a book is that – in the first page of the book – you’re able to write a dedication. It took me less than 30 seconds to write this dedication. It was an easy decision for me, since I realized that after all I am – and after all I’ve been through – it’s because of my family. So, thank you once again:

Dedication

“This book is for my father, who taught me the meaning of perseverance; for my grandmother and mother, who showed me the true meaning of love; and for my three siblings, who have been there for me every step of the way.”

Hello Everyone. Welcome to my blog. This is actually my first blog post ever and I thought I make this one special. From my website you may already know my story, but I’m hoping this blog allows me to communicate directly with everyone. As you all know, I’ve had an incredible and fortunate journey in my life. Not a single day goes by – when I think about how grateful I am. Nevertheless, nothing came easy or was handed to me. It was all risk that turned into reward after some great ups and downs. Over the last 9 years – I’ve had an amazing career on the Internet. At 16 – I started my first Company, ClickAgents, and then one of the first things I did as an adult, at 18, was merge it with ValueClick for $40 million. At 21, I made one of the best decisions of my life, and that was to re-join this industry and start BlueLithium. And, as you may know, BlueLithium merged with Yahoo for $300 million last October. So what next you may ask? I learned one thing about myself while I was learning everything about the way the world works. I love to be challenged and I love to win.

After the merger with Yahoo – I stayed on an interim basis as CEO. In the beginning of 2008, my job was done. One thing I know about myself is that being idle is not something I can do. I figured out very early on – I’m not the type of guy that can simply go on a never-ending vacation or just sit on an island for the rest of my life sipping a margarita. I was ready for my next challenge.

I was introduced to the William Morris Agency and shortly thereafter signed up with them. As you may know – William Morris is one of the oldest talent agencies in the world and represents some of the greatest personalities in entertainment. I felt fortunate that I was in great Company. Things started to move fast. I had some great ideas on some TV shows that I was working with them on, as well as, a memoir that I wanted to write about my journey.

Within several weeks – I was presented an opportunity about a new show that a major network was producing. The more and more I learned about it – the more I fell in love with the underlying premise of the show. Several weeks later – I was casted and selected by the network to star in it. The filming took several weeks and was an incredible experience for me. You can definitely say it was very different than starting a Company. But, like I said – I am always up for a challenge, and this was definitely a memorable one. The show is slated to come out on a major network come this Fall – and as things come closer – I am hoping you all watch it and enjoy it as much I did being a part of it.

Meanwhile, after the filming, I met with several of the top book publishers. I was looking for the right publisher that understood the reason why I was writing this book and the message I wanted to get across. Far too many times – people hear my story and they ask…How? Why? And how can I? The short answer is – it’s not easy and there is no easy way. But, the long answer (you will find after reading the book) if I can do it – you can too! I believe everyone can find that same magic I was able to find in myself. After meeting with Palgrave Macmillan – I signed global rights to my book, “The Dream.” William Morris also helped me find my ghostwriter – Pablo Fenjves (NY Times bestselling author) to help create a very powerful book that I am hoping inspires people to find their magic. Pablo and I have been working on the book for several months now – and it’s been a privilege to work with such an incredible writer. We’re about 90% done – and will be turning over the manuscript next month (June) and are looking forward to releasing it during winter 2008.

So, now what, you may ask? Sell Company #2 – film a show, write a book, what could be next? Like I said – being idle is dangerous for a guy like me. So, I decided to go back into my roots. I love creating something out of nothing. The joy of it – is the best adrenaline rush you can get.

I started researching a couple of months ago – of what the market needed and what Company #3 could do. Obviously, I have a non-compete so I can’t start another ad network. But, what is something that I can use my skill set toward and have a great time creating? Then, it all clicked. And over the last 8 weeks, I’ve been in stealth mode launching gWallet (www.gWallet.com).

I realized how much the credit crisis was hurting America. In a recent report, almost 18% of American homes will either have zero or negative equity. Even the government is looking for a quick fix. President Bush’s recent economic stimulus package was the result of injecting cash back into America. But, the underlying problem still is going to exist. How can you maximize the value of that dollar? Hence, the ideas of gWallet were defined. And, I went to work.

You can say – I am back into full swing and loving it! The adrenaline rush is back – since this is what I love doing. Everything from picking out the name, to the logo, to creating the team is almost like solving the most intricate puzzle. Except – you’re stuck with it after your done building it. Therefore, you have to be careful every step of the way.

Today, VentureWire released an article that outlines how much progress we’ve made in just the last 8 weeks. We’re already well under way for raising $10 million for gWallet. I start my pathway again. I hope this time – it is just as exciting as it’s been the last two times, if not more. Wishing everyone continued success as my journey continues…