This is the final week for my brother, Greg Chavez, to make his final case to the judges on the TV show, American Inventor.

Right now, he’s a semi-finalist with a 1 in 6 shot of winning the show and the Million Dollar Prize.

Those are pretty nice odds!

It’s amazing to think that he’s been working on this project, this vision, for over 14 years now. (We all used to chuckle a little bit at some of the early-stage, crude prototypes he would come up with…who’s laughing now?)

Whether he wins or loses, he’ll have a real chance of getting this off the ground now. It’s a tribute to the fact that if you keep your eye on the ball, and remain focused and determined, great opportunities are bound to unfold…even in the most unlikely places!

He’s done an excellent job developing his product, The Guardian Angel, and tomorrow night, July 25th, on ABC at 8pm Central we’ll all find out if he makes the cut to the final three.

If he get’s to that point, it will be up to the viewing audience to select the winner with their call-in votes.

All of us here at Northstar Thinktank (Including Greg!) would really appreciate it if you’d take time to watch the show this Wednesday night, July 25th, at 8pm CST (ABC) and be prepared to support Greg with your votes if he makes it through to the final.

If you missed seeing one of Greg’s previous episodes…Here’s the YouTube link.

Hey, in the meantime, I found a very interesting article this morning on BusinessWeek.com about the The 30 Greatest Entrepreneurs of all time. Their lives leave so much for us to learn from…I highly recommend taking the time to review their profiles.

Maybe you’ll create the next YouTube-Like phenomenon. Who knows? No doubt, that would be an incredible accomplishment that a small percentage of entrepreneurs will experience.

Now, for “the rest of us”…perhaps, creating the “next YouTube” doesn’t need to mean exactly that. What if you could duplicate the innovative thinking and methodology of the founders of world-renowned businesses like YouTube–and create your own YouTube-like success.

I’m guessing very few of us need a billion-dollar-hit to define our entrepreneurial success. I’m certain though, that one of the best ways for entrepreneurs to succeed on any level, is to study, observe, and mimic those great, well-known companies who are well documented and in full-view.

They provide great lessons in the way we should approach business. They teach us how to innovate. They teach us how to persevere. They teach us how to think creatively so we can uncover unique solutions to our own complex business challenges.

One of the members of our Northstar Thinktank team recently pointed me to an important article by Preston Gralla of PC World, “25 Websites to Watch”. This is an insightful article because it highlights the businesses who are jockeying to become the “next YouTube”. They’re forging ahead with innovation, usefulness, and fun as their inspiration for what works best in their quest for massive online success.

Can you create your own next YouTube? I don’t know. That depends on how well you learn to apply the lessons of those who are already there.

Check out this great post for more information about this topic:

Clone the Success Story and Make Your Own Success