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

After watching my episode of Secret Millionaire, I learned that reality-TV is all about post production. Even though the emotions and stories are all real – editing makes everything come to life. Nevertheless, here are some missing parts that never made the episode:

•    The obvious shock, the show advertises that a millionaire will donate at least $100,000 of their money. I ended up gifting well over $100,000 – but the way editing was done – it made it seem I only gifted $90,000.

•    Due to privacy issues (which I completely understand), one of the additional recipients that I gifted was completely edited out.

•    St. Anthony’s is also a place where a lot of people go when they are trying to get their lives back on track. Even getting a job these days is all about getting on the Internet. So, I donated a new computer lab to St. Anthony’s.

•    I was deeply touched by the kids that lived at Raphael House. So, I started a “birthday fund” so at the very least, they get a birthday gift on their special day.

•    In the final part of the show – the millionaires go back into the community to follow up on the recipients that they gifted. That also did not make the final cut.

I know a part of making this show – is to keep it entertaining. So, there were certain scenes that were also edited in to add humor. I got a laugh out of them myself. I never actually said BAM four times in a row or said “grocery shopping – it’s not that easy.”

Nevertheless, my heart was always in the right place when I did Secret Millionaire. I’m proud of what I was able to do and blessed that God gave me the opportunity to start giving back at a young age. I’ve also continued to support St. Anthony’s and Raphael House throughout this year.

And, I’m sure philanthropy wise; this is only the beginning for me.

For those of that missed the episode you can catch it locally on Chahal.com or Hulu.com.

It was great to see Raphael House and St. Anthony’s get great recognition for being amazing local charities of San Francisco. It’s unfortunate that some of the people I gifted were left out of the editing room floor since I had donated over $100,000. But, I understand it’s hard to put an entire week into a one-hour episode.

Nevertheless, I had an incredible experience being a part of Secret Millionaire. I hope it inspires the youth to be a part of philanthropy very early in life.

I also would like to thank everyone for the incredible feedback.

Episode Premiere: December 11th, 2008
Time: 8 pm / 7 pm Central
Network: FOX

As many of you know, my episode for Secret Millionaire premieres today. After I sold BlueLithium to Yahoo last year, I also signed a 3-year non-compete. So I decided to make a list of all the different things I wanted to do outside of “business.” One was to write my memoir, “The Dream”, and another was to develop reality-based television shows that could inspire people. In November 2007, I signed up with William Morris to explore both of these projects.

 My agent introduced me to a group of producers of who were doing a show at FOX called “Secret Millionaire,” And who asked me if I wanted to be on the show. I was skeptical at first but I liked the premise:  Going undercover and helping people that have no expectations. In February, I was cast as the first Secret Millionaire and began filming the show.  Surprisingly enough, this ended up becoming one of the best experiences of my life.

You sometimes wonder why certain things happen to you – especially at certain points in your life. Perhaps, this was God’s way of reminding me that no matter how successful I become – to never forget where I came from. This type of neighborhood was familiar territory for me because more than twenty years ago, when my parents came to the United States from India, we lived in the projects of East San Jose.

During the week I filmed the show, I spent most of my time at two charities. St. Anthony’s Dining Room (soup kitchen), and Raphael House (a woman’s shelter). At the soup kitchen, I stood in line, ate food with the homeless, and helped out in the kitchen. Through this, I met some incredible personalities. At Raphael House, I was fortunate that I was able to volunteer there. Since, it was a battered woman’s shelter and I was a man. Nevertheless, I met some amazing women who had one main goal in life, which was their desire to be great mothers. I’m very close to my grandmother, mother, and sisters and saw my emotional journey begin to take over. I realized how grateful I am for family and how blessed we all are in this world.

 At the end of my journey, I donated over $100,000 to the charities and to 3 individuals with whom I had developed an emotional connection. I also realized deep down inside, even though I am only 26 – that philanthropy is going to be a big part of my future. This show also goes beyond money. The gifting, while it was monetary – the emotional impact was far greater. It helped renew hope in humanity.

At the end of the day, philanthropy is not measured monetarily but based on the time and commitment someone offers. I hope we all continue to do our part and offer a hand. These are hard times in America. At times like these, it is good to help those who have less than you.

For more information about the two charities I mentioned above you can visit:

St. Anthony’s Dining Room: http://www.stanthonysf.org/
Raphael House: http://www.raphaelhouse.org/

The San Francisco Chronicle last Sunday did a profile piece on me, the book, and my upcoming projects. For those of you that didn’t see it you can check it out here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/26/LV8P13K9P3.DTL

This was a different type of interview – since it covered all sorts of levels of my life. Most previous interviews have focused on the headlines and monetary values of what I’ve created but this one I thoroughly enjoyed doing with Carolyne Zinko. We had lots to talk about – since she also had read my book and knew all about my journey thus far.

One of the areas I talk about in the book is about trust. Specifically with new people, friends, relationships, etc. The problem being: the more successful and more visible you become it becomes harder to trust people. It becomes harder to figure out peoples true intentions vs. when you’re just a child and meeting another person for the first time. Nevertheless, one of the readers that read my article had sent an email to Carolyne and she forwarded it to me. I’ve deleted any names associated with it – but I believe it’s a powerful story to share with a great ending.

Good morning, Carolyne:

Thank you for your article on Mr. Chahal in today’s Style section. I am an avid reader of the Chronicle and email writes when I feel like I have a local spin on their stories. I wanted to drop a line commenting on the difficulty in knowing who wants to be friends with you, just for you, when you have so much to sweeten the deal.

Like Mr. Chahal, my family came out to Silicon Valley to explore the vast opportunities that were offered in a blossoming Silicon Valley. My father was hired as an engineer and my mother was an Italian immigrant raising us in a foreign place. As a young adult, I fell in love with a struggling musician who got a record deal during our marriage and subsequently became an international pop star. We “had it all” very suddenly. We dined with other rock stars, shopped with our personal stylists and moved from a modest house to a poshy one, packed our designer bags and went on tour at a first class level. When our marriage predictably suffered from that instant fame and fortune, I moved back home to the Bay Area and was met with a new reality: I was not that girl from the farm-town anymore. I was not on the arm of the famous husband anymore. I had all that money could buy, but I had lost a formerly very strong sense of who I was and where I came from. I felt that I didn’t belong in either world…

Along came a “regular” guy I met at a friend’s birthday party. He knew that all of my friends were trying to fix me up with their well-to-do singles, but my broken heart must have been evident to him that day. He got my phone number and called me a week later.

When he pulled up to my house in San Francisco, he was in a 1980 pick-up truck and had two folding chairs and an empty paint can with four iced beers in the back. I was taken aback, but I smiled when I saw this simplistic approach to a date (no Bentleys, no tuxedos, no famous friends) and climbed in for the ride. He took me to an overpass so we could watch planes fly by and land. At the end of the evening, he shook my hand and said, “I will never be able to compete with the life you had, and I don’t need anything you own, but I can promise to always be an honest companion and love you for who you are.” I was shocked into giving him a second chance and by time we had several dates, I found that he was indeed very successful and had a keen eye for art collecting. He wanted me to like him for the person he was first and not judge whether or not our portfolios matched. As it goes, he was telling the truth way back then. We are still together.

My point to Mr. Chahal is this: There are people out there who will be able to see past your fortune (and soon to be fame) and appreciate that determined kid in a turban. Just give them a chance by keeping it simple at first. Sitting on an overpass waiting for the next plane to land (not your own!) gives ample opportunity for conversation. Actions and words reveal our true selves eventually. There is someone worthy of your friendship and love. Take time finding that gem. The money will just be another blessing to be shared between you.

Best wishes to you, Carolyne, and to all who strive to be who they are meant to be. And great thanks for supporting those who may be able to shock their father with an ample bank account one day if given the chance to shine.

Respectfully,

XXX

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…