5 Things I Learned on the Road to the Dream - The Book 

Available in Book Stores Everywhere December 2008 - Available Here Now!

One morning he was a newly retired soldier, within days of embarking on a business career in Oregon. The next afternoon he was on a national stage as a contestant in the running for ownership of a super format Ace Hardware store, part of the largest hardware cooperative in the world, an international brand with more than 4,600 independently owned retail locations and approximately 80,000 employees. It all began with the click of a mouse.

Meet Gower D. Talley: Desert Storm vet, musician, MBA, world traveler, marketer, dad, and quite possibly the only person in the world to win a million dollar hardware business through a national open competition. 5 Things I Learned on the Road to the Dream follows Gower's journey through Ace Hardware's "Dream Ace" Contest. Joining Gower at the beginning, readers will travel from his home computer to New York, Chicago, Houston, Portland, and finally Las Vegas, where thousands of business owners gathered to make the final selection - live. Now the owner of Ace Hardware of Gleannloch in Houston, Texas, Gower credits five key life lessons he learned and refined through personal and professional experience that he believes led him to stand apart from more than five thousand other hopefuls. With an energetic, guy-next-door style and a belief that people create their own luck, Gower's story can inspire people from any walk of life.

From the introduction: You could have done this. There is nothing inherently exceptional about me. All I did was to decide to do it. If you were to decide, you could have or be anything you want. You can win your own Dream Contest. You do not have to be the strongest, the smartest, the fastest, or the prettiest. All you have to do is decide to do it. Most of the rest of the world around you is going to decide to try. If you actually decide to win, you will.

Gower lives in suburban Houston, Texas, where he owns and operates The Dream Store, Ace Hardware of Gleannloch. He lives with his beautiful wife, Jill, his precocious grade-schooler, Gracie, and their vicious attack Yorkie, Mickey.

  Visit www.aceofgleannloch.com for more information.

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