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How to be a self-made millionaire

Monday, October 20, 2008

Can following your dreams really pay off? It sure did for Gurbaksh Chahal. He's a self-made millionaire and author of "The Dream: How I Learned the Risks and Rewards of Entrepreneurship and Made Millions" and he's not even 30. He shares some of his business sense.

Tips to following your dreams:

  • Listen to your heart. We tend to do well at things we love, so find something you love-or learn to love what you're doing.

  • Adjust your attitude. Without the right attitude, you'll never succeed. You have to believe in yourself, often to the point of madness, because until you prove yourself the only people who believe in you are your mom and dad (if you're lucky). If you have any doubts, get out now.

  • Figure out what you're good at. Very few of us are gifted, so we need to work with the gifts we have. If you're five-foot-two and you love basketball, let me be the first to tell you: It's probably not going to happen. (But don't let me stop you.)

  • Trust your gut. We are complicated creatures. That inexplicable feeling you get sometimes-well, it tends to be right a lot more often than it is wrong. Try not to overanalyze it. Some mysterious Inner You is trying to help by pointing you in the right direction.

  • Do your homework. Before you start anything, make sure you know exactly what you're getting into. Ignorance is dangerous. What you don't know can and will hurt you.

  • Be frugal. The only person you need to impress is yourself, and you'll be impressed by success, not by a sleek office with Giorgio Armani couches. It boils down to need versus luxury, and a fancy office isn't going to improve your performance.

  • Learn to listen. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone is entitled to an opinion, and even wrong-headed opinions can open your eyes to things you might otherwise have missed. So listen, even to the people you disagree with-and maybe to them more than the others. Then process what you've heard and have the courage of your convictions.

  • Own your mistakes. At the end of the day, every decision you make, even if it was inspired by misguided advice, is your decision. Nobody wins when you start looking for someone to blame. Let it go. Keep moving. Forward movement is everything.

  • Never compromise your morality. We all need to live by a moral code.

  • Take the advice of that late great comedian, Jimmy Durante: "Be nice to people on the way up because you will probably meet them on the way down."

  • Expect the unexpected. If you're ready for anything, you'll still be unpleasantly surprised-but at least you'll get through it.

  • Don't get emotional. Logic and emotions don't mix.

  • Pick your battles. The fighting never really ends. Don't let the meaningless skirmishes sap your strength; you're in this to win the war.

  • Grow a thick skin-a very thick skin. People will question your ability to succeed, and the loudest among them might make you doubt your own talents, so you'll need a thick skin to drown out the noise. The silence will help you focus on your objective, and you will prevail. Take chances. Without risk, there is no reward. But make sure it's intelligent risk. Only a fool bets against Tiger Woods (until it's time to bet against Tiger Woods).

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    About his Book: "The Dream: How I Learned the Risks and Rewards of Entrepreneurship and Made Millions"
    "The Dream" is the title of G's upcoming memoir. The book is a long form non-fictional journey of his personal story on his road to achieving his dreams. It will be released globally through Palgrave-Macmillan on October 23rd, 2008. $24.95
    >> Buy the book on Amazon

    About Gurbaksh Chahal:
    G was born in the town of Tarn Taran, near Amritsar in Punjab, India to Avtar and Arjinder Chahal. In 1985, his parents received a visa for America through a lottery-based system in India, and the following year, when he was four, the family settled in San Jose, California. His parents had arrived with only $25 to their name, and they struggled at menial jobs to make a future for their four children.

    For the Chahal family, as for many immigrants, education was paramount, but G left high school at sixteen to form Click Agents, an Internet advertising company, which he sold two years later for $40 million. In January 2004, he launched a second company, BlueLithium - the next generation in Internet advertising. The company was focused on data, optimization, and analytics and became a pioneer of behavioral targeting. BlueLithium was named one of the top 100 private companies in America three years in a row by AlwaysOn, and in 2006, it received highest honor as Top Innovator of the Year. (Previous winners included Google, Skype, and Salesforce.com.) On September 4th, 2007, Yahoo! announced that it was acquiring BlueLithium for $300 million in cash.

    G is living proof that no matter how humble one's beginnings, there is truly no limit to what an individual can achieve.After he completed his role at Yahoo, G signed up with the William Morris Agency.

    G is featured on the new prime-time network show The Secret Millionaire (FOX air date December 2008). He has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, FOX Business Network's Cavuto, among others, and has been profiled in such publications as The New York Times, Entrepreneur magazine, and The San Francisco Chronicle. He completed his memoir, "The Dream" slated to globally release on October 23rd, 2008 by Palgrave Macmillan. G is also currently developing several other television shows.

    Website: http://www.chahal.com

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