Former Military Reconnaissance Systems Specialist and Commercial Real Estate Executive Debuts The Awake Code at July 7 Chicago Book Launch Event Featuring ELEW and Benefiting K9s For Warriors

CHICAGO, June 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago has played a defining role in Gordon Charles MacLean's life and career for more than three decades. It is where he forged many of the relationships that helped launch his commercial real estate career, earned his Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation, and repeatedly returned for inspiration and reinvention. On Tuesday, July 7, 2026, MacLean will return to the city for the launch of his debut book, The Awake Code: 39 Rules for Living A Fully Engaged Life, a work that shares 39 principles for living deliberately—drawn from his military service, a career spanning hundreds of commercial real estate transactions, and the hard-earned lessons that emerged after losing nearly everything during the 2009 financial crisis.

"I didn't write this book to be an author," MacLean said. "I wrote it because I was trying to survive my own life. At some point, everything I'd built stopped making sense. The frameworks that got me here went quiet. And I either had to drift—or wake up."

MacLean's path is far from a conventional author's story. He entered military service as a young man searching for direction and found in the uniform the foundation that would shape the rest of his life: discipline, responsibility, and perseverance. Years later, he took a single foreclosure property and turned it, one hard decision at a time, into a commercial real estate career spanning office, retail, multifamily, and industrial assets, completing more than 200 transactions over three decades. Then, in 2009, like many investors, he watched much of it disappear.

The experience forced him to reexamine not only how he worked, but how he lived. Over time, he began documenting the lessons, observations, and principles that ultimately became The Awake Code.

The book is organized around 39 practical principles for living with greater awareness, purpose, and intention. Drawing from lessons learned in business, military service, personal setbacks, and recovery, The Awake Code is geared toward professionals, entrepreneurs, veterans, and anyone seeking a more deliberate approach to life and leadership.

"This isn't motivation," MacLean said. "It isn't a theory. It's lived experience—tested through pressure, through failure, through rebuilding. No fluff. No clichés. Just principles that actually work."

Each chapter combines personal stories, lessons from influential leaders and thinkers, reflection questions, and practical action steps designed to help readers create their own path forward. Topics range from leadership and wealth-building to self-awareness, resilience, generosity, and personal responsibility.

While the lessons in The Awake Code are universal, MacLean says many of the relationships, experiences, and turning points that inspired the book trace back to Chicago and the people he met throughout his career in the city.

The July 7 launch event will bring together veterans, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and community members for an evening of inspiration and connection. MacLean will share lessons from his military service, commercial real estate career, and personal journey, discuss The Awake Code, participate in an audience Q&A, and sign copies of the book. MacLean has committed to donating 100 percent of proceeds from books sold at the event to K9s For Warriors, the nation's largest provider of trained service dogs for veterans suffering from invisible wounds of war. Guests will also enjoy a special live performance by internationally acclaimed pianist ELEW (Eric Lewis), creator of the groundbreaking "Rockjazz" movement. Known for his electrifying, genre-defying style, ELEW has performed at the White House and opened for Sting's North American "STING 3.0" Tour.

For more information about The Awake Code and Gordon Charles MacLean, visit www.gordonmaclean.com.

The Awake Code Book Launch
Tuesday, July 7, 2026 | 5:30–9:00 p.m.

Reception • Hors d'oeuvres • Open Bar • Book Signing
Special Live Performance by ELEW (Eric Lewis)
Benefiting K9s For Warriors

Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago
401 N. Wabash Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611

Complimentary Admission with Registration
Registration: Eventbrite

About Gordon Charles MacLean

Gordon Charles MacLean is the author of Awake Code: 39 Rules for a Fully Engaged Life, a commercial real estate executive, entrepreneur, military veteran, and developer whose career spans more than three decades of leadership, business development, and investment management. During his service with the U.S. Air Force's 9th Reconnaissance Wing, he supported classified electronic warfare, reconnaissance, and intelligence collection systems aboard the U-2 aircraft, an experience that profoundly influenced his philosophy on awareness, preparedness, and purposeful living. He earned his Certified Commercial Investment Member designation through the CCIM Institute, headquartered in Chicago. Mr. MacLean is the Managing Director of a Sperry Van Ness (SVN) brokerage franchise and currently serves as Managing Trustee of Scotch Hollow, a 72-acre mixed-use development in Walton County, Florida.

About The Awake Code: 39 Rules for a Fully Engaged Life

The Awake Code is a practical guide for individuals seeking greater purpose, clarity, resilience, and engagement in life. Organized around 39 principles drawn from MacLean's personal and professional experiences, the book encourages readers to move beyond distraction and drift and toward intentional action, meaningful relationships, and authentic success.

Gordon Charles MacLean is available for interviews with print, broadcast, podcast, and online media outlets before and after the event.

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SOURCE The Awake Code