"I became a millionaire at 17!".

Didn't get voted "Best Smile" in this year's yearbook? Don't worry--thanks to Catherine Cook, 18, you still have a chance at myYearbook.com. The site--created by Catherine and her brother David in 2005--offers all the features of a yearbook (pics, autographs and, yep, superlatives) with a social networking spin. And, oh yeah, it's worth millions. Here, Catherine shares their amazing story and offers advice on how you can cash in on your own ideas and dreams.

IT all started one afternoon during my sophomore year. My brother, Dave, a junior at the time, and I were hanging out when he grabbed his yearbook to show me this girl's picture. But once he found her photo, he said, "That looks nothing like her!"

This sparked a whole discussion about how crappy yearbook pictures are--I mean, you can't really tell anything about a person from such a tiny, black-and-white snap. We thought it'd be so much more fun if you could go online, add your own photos and interests and even post funny superlatives, like "Most Likely To Fight Their Way Out Of A Bear Cage" or "Most Likely To Get Lost In A Cardboard Box." You could even meet new friends and keep in touch with old ones.

And, just like that, we had the basic idea for myYearbook.com. Of course, you can't just start up a website out of thin air--you need money (and lots of it). Lucky for us, our older brother, Geoff, had started up EssayEdge.com, a college admissions essay site. It had just been sold to a bigger company, so he had the cash to back us up. After we shared our idea, Geoff agreed to invest $250,000. We were in business.

WORKING GIRL

Getting funded meant we had to get to work--fast. Going to school and running myYearbook made me crazy busy, but I never thought about quitting--even when we were e-mailing and instant messaging our programmers in India until 3 a.m. Yes, I was always tired, but at the same time, the experience was exhilarating. I even somehow managed to keep my grades from slipping--that made my parents happy!

Dave and I--who have split the site responsibilities since the beginning--kept our plans hush-hush until we were ready to officially launch less than two months after our initial brainstorm. To spread the news, Dave and I wore myYearbook.com T-shirts every day, and he even wore myYearbook.com boxers.

ROCKSTAR STATUS

Once people heard about our success with myYearbook, Dave and I became rockstars at school. Wherever I was--the cafeteria or in gym class--people would come up to me and give me ideas for the site. I was a little nervous about what teachers would think about myYearbook, especially because some of them were in the process of blocking other online social networks from the school. But once they all started reading about it in the newspapers and saw us being interviewed on TV, they were really supportive.

My friends were great. They'd help me package T-shirts (we gave out hundreds a week). My boyfriend--whom I'm still seeing--would help, too. There were definitely moments when I thought it'd be nice to just be, well, normal, but I was having too much fun. I loved the excitement and how the site just kept growing. Today; we have more than 20 million users all over the world--60 percent teenagers and 40 percent college students-and it's actually bigger than Amazon and Wikipedia.

MONEY HONEY

It wasn't all about getting interest from students: To keep the site running, we needed advertisers. Once we had a million members, we knew we could make money with ads. So we started shooting out e-mails to movie studios and companies that make products for teens to see if they were interested. Luckily, they were. From that point on, money kept pouring in.

I officially became a millionaire at 17. But I don't think of myself as rich. I've never done something crazy like buy a new car or anything. I mean, my clothes are hand-me-downs! On my myYearbook page, I list my favorite designer as "Dior"--but that's not Christian Dior. It's Donna Dior, the girl who gives me her old clothes!

DREAMING BIG

We've had offers to buy the site, but Dave and I aren't ready to sell. We want to make myYearbook the largest social media site on the web--we're currently third. Other than that, I'm focusing on finishing up college (I started Georgetown University last year) and maybe running for public office someday.

When people ask me for advice about starting up a business, I always tell them just go for it. So many people have such great ideas every day, but don't follow through because of their age or they don't have the start-up money. But the truth is, if you have a good idea, you can do something with it. It might take a little longer, but I think anyone can succeed as long as they're diligent enough and passionate enough about their idea. It worked for us!

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The 8 secrets to reaching your dreams

By Catherine Cook, as told to Sandy Fertman Ryan

1. USE YOUR TALENTS. Figure out what you're good at--whether it's giving advice, creating art or playing an instrument. Then make a real commitment to use and perfect your talents.

2. SET SPECIFIC GOALS. Rather than say, "I want to end world hunger," think, "I want to start a program to collect food for the homeless in my city." Then break your dream into smaller, attainable goals. For example, you could create a list of grocery stores and restaurants who may be willing to donate food regularly, contact people with cars who might help you pick up the food and find volunteers to sort the food. Before you know it, you'll have reached that dream.

3. CREATE AND KEEP DEADLINES. Having set deadlines will help keep you on track and give you a "finish line" to work toward.

4. SEEK ADVICE. Don't be afraid of asking for help when you need it--whether it's from your parents, friends or gout own customers if you have a business. People will be happy to share their insight.

5. STAY FOCUSED. Be diligent and take yourself seriously. Try to minimize distractions to get things done well and quickly. Your dream is important to you, so it demands your full attention and loyalty.

6. BE PASSIONATE. Get others excited about your dream. Use your enthusiasm to recruit a team to help you and to gather supporters-whether it's financial supporters or cheerleaders.

7. RELAX AND HAVE FUN. While you're working toward making your dream come true, remember to Lake some time out. Go for a run, hang out with friends, see a movie--anything to clear your head. By staying relaxed, your mind will be refreshed and prepared to tackle anything.

8. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Because if you won't, who will? There'll always be naysayers. Stay focused on your goal, be confident and trust yourself.