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The Dream: How I Learned the Risks and Rewards of Entrepreneurship and Made Millions | 
 enlarge | Author: Gurbaksh Chahal
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $12.47
You Save: $12.48 (50%)
New (38) Used (8) from $12.47
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 29587
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0230610951
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.04092
EAN: 9780230610958
ASIN: 0230610951
Publication Date: October 23, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. 100% money back guarantee. All books shipped from Strand Bookstore, New York City, USA.
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Product Description
Gurbaksh Chahal started the Internet advertising company ClickAgents from his bedroom at the age of 16, having emigrated to the United States with his Sikh family from the small town of Tarn Taran, India. He dropped out of high school to pursue the venture full-time, and two years later sold ClickAgents for $40 million, making him one of the youngest self-made millionaires in history and allowing him and his entire family to realize their dreams. Chahal went on to become the youngest executive of a multi-billion dollar NASDAQ-listed company, and then sold his second company, BlueLithium, to Yahoo! for $300 million, turning many of his employees into multi-millionaires as well. In The Dream, Chahal's refreshing advice for entrepreneurs encourages them to embrace risk and to carve out new niches in the marketplace. He emphasizes the value of good business timing: how to execute an idea and get it to the marketplace, how to create and maintain solid business relationships, how to stay grounded, and--most importantly--how to teach yourself that failure is not an option. Chahal's story not only shows how a 16-year-old immigrant overcame discrimination and adversity to fulfill his highest ambitions, but also provides aspiring entrepreneurs with valuable hands-on advice on how to achieve success.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
Worth its weight in gold! January 9, 2009
What a gold mine! In this book you will find a wealth of information as G shares the story of his road to success. He is honest and humble about the mistakes he made along the way as well. His friendly advice is interwoven with stories of his upbringing and his family's struggle to make a better life for themselves here in America. This book will inspire you to never give up no matter what.
Humble Millionaire December 17, 2008
I just met the guy at the book signing where a lot of people are waiting for him to speak and to give some introduction about his book. I can say the G's is a down to earth guy, during the question and answer he illustrate how he build his company and give you some advise about on how to pursue your passion. You can tell right away that he knows his talent , skills and where his heart stand for. never in his presentation did he mention about the word "millionaire" let alone the money he make when he sold his company.I always admired individual in whom you know they have a lot of asset but never boast about it, even in one simple presentation.
One thing that struck me when one lady ask him some question on how you feel being label as millionaire's , he started to feel awkward being called a millionaire.You can tell right away that he don't want to be label to that level but want to be called "lucky and bless". In his conversation in the bookstore he said, in all the thing that you desire, you got have a "Passion" a belief in yourself in every little thing you do.
Yep, i can tell he a down to earth guy.
A Story of Success with Real Advice December 14, 2008
Gurbaksh Chahal's journey clearly demonstrates his qualifications as one of the most successful internet entrepreneurs of all time. He took the unusual step of dropping out of high school because his entrepreneurial desire shone so brightly. Out of the hundreds of business books and biographies that I've read, The Dream stands out as one of the best. This book isn't an ego trip or a dry technical book. Chahal's book combines the best elements of memoirs and the business success genre to produce an engaging guide for others who desire business success as well.
Throughout the book, the author also includes short summaries of lessons based on the stories he covers. For example, he tells the story of facing prejudice against Sikhs and relates it to the important business lesson of surrounding yourself with people who want you to succeed. At the end of the book, Chahal offers a helpful bullet-point list of entrepreneurial lessons.
For example, early in his life as an entrepreneur, Chahal demonstrates the importance of persuasion and getting buy-in from people who matter most:
"I realized I couldn't bear another day of school, and I was ready to take the biggest risk of my life. It was the defining moment that every entrepreneur eventually faces in one form or another. I had to have The Talk with my father. I was terrified about approaching him. He was a man who valued education above almost everything else. How could I tell him I wanted to drop out of high school? Then again, if I was to pursue my dreams, how could I not?"
After leaving school, the author went from not being able to get a job at McDonald's to starting some of the most successful online companies ever. Upon observing the success of brand advertising networks like DoubleClick and performance-based advertising companies like ValueClick, Chahal started innovating by seeking to be better than the competition in terms of performance, delivery, and professionalism. Your idea doesn't have to be new. You can pick a successful business model and then start innovating from that starting point in order to stand out from the crowd.
Chahal also addresses many of the challenges in business such as dealing with malicious people, resolving technical problems, managing employees, interacting with a potential acquirer, etc. He also covers the importance of finding ways to adjust to success and setting fresh goals after achieving everything you've dreamed of.
I loved this book.
Learn, Learn and move on November 25, 2008
Excellant story. And an inspiration for the rest of us.
"G" lays out how his journey unfolded and in the process teaches us to learn from and apply lessons learned along the way.
 A nice book with universal lessons all entrepreneurs either learn before they start a company or as they start it. November 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I liked this book. It is another of those business books written by an entrepreneur who made a lot of money by creating a company or two and then wrote a book explaining how he did it and what he learned a long the way. There were 7 chapters.
The author's story was interesting. At least I found it to be. But I would have liked the book better if the author had expanded on his Chapter 7 that covered "The Lessons of Entrepreneurship." I group those lessons below in five different categories as follows:
I. LEADERSHIP SKILLS
>>Do your homework
>>Never compromise your morality
>>Watch your back
>>Own your mistakes
>>Don't expect perfection, but strive for it
>>Be fearless
>>Pick your battles
II. PEOPLE SKILLS
>>Perception is reality
>>Learn to listen
>>Adjust your attitude
>>Grow a thick skin
>>Forget noble motivations
>>Be nice to people on the way up
III. TIME MANAGEMENT
>>Don't procrastinate
>>Don't do anything by half measures
>>Expect the unexpected
IV. BUSINESS SKILLS
>>Never lose sight of the competition
>>Trust your gut
>>Listen to your heart
>>Don't get emotional
>>Be frugal
V. OPERATIONS
>>Always negotiate from a position of strength
>>Hire the smartest people you can find
>>When it comes to staffing your company, don't be frugal
>>Figure out what you are good at
If you are young and a want-be entrepreneur, then I recommend you consider giving this book a read. The author was young when he started his entrepreneurial journey. And the numerous lessons he cites in the book and I cite above are definitely important lessons one should learn preferably before, but maybe during, their journey to starting a company.
You may not make as much money starting and selling your first company as the author did. But the lessons he talks about are universal. 4 stars!
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