By Mehdy Ghannad

Waiting, yes this is what I have learned since I entered into this industry 3 years ago.   After contemplating on this decision over and over again last week,  I made a decision to pursue a path, but now I am forced to wait some more to see if that is even still a possibility.  This now inevitably holds up the possibility to pursue the other options that I have until this choice plays out. You move forward it seems only to be bogged down with paper work and approvals.  As much as I joke about leaving corporate America, the media industry is just as inundated with paperwork, emails back and forth, and a lot of meetings before anything really gets done.  It's all good though, it's exciting that after only this short period of time I am presented with so many great opportunities, especially after talking with friends who have been in the industry for 10 plus years.

Let me finally let you all in on what I am actually talking about. The William Morris Agency (WMA), one of the largest talent firms in the world, has shown interest in me as a talent and The Hostel Life.  WMA represents Bill Cosby, Zach Galifinakis, Russel Brand, and a lot more well-known celebrities, so having an opportunity like this is huge!  Now going this route and teaming up with them,  means I cannot sign any distribution deals with any other TV stations or networks. So many of those other deals that are currently sitting on my desk have to be put to the side at the moment.   However online,  The Hostel Life can live just about anywhere, but when it comes to Network TV, William Morris wants to be sure that they are the only ones exclusively involved in the release to the TV audience.  Another unfortunate thing is that some of the upcoming episode shoots must be put on hold, until things get sorted out and finalized with William Morris.

So the good news is , that the the deal with AOL.on has been signed and is a go.   We are currently in the process of creating a channel with them and loading all the shows.  AOL.on, after YouTube, is the most watched and video sharing website.    The cool thing about being on AOL is that this also means that our videos will be connected with AOL's other properties, such as the Huffington Post.    Also all our videos can be seen on Tripfilms as well currently, which gets well over 100,000 monthly unique hits and they have already selected most of our videos as " Editor Picks."

Finally we are still aligning ourselves with more sponsors and trying to expand on our web and social media reach.  We are currently talking with Roozt, who sells trendy socially responsible brands, as they are interested in combining forces to offer giveaways to our social media audience.  The next piece of business is trying to figure out how to offer our audience a fan base a way to book trips.  Currently we are talking with World Ventures and Contiki, as they have experience with this technology and have the platform.    That's right, after you watch our shows and read our articles, you will be able to plan and book your trip right here on the website.

Something I always tell people who are inspired to make a life change, but don't know where to start, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."  - Martin Luther King, Jr.