aloha, my name is Lane!

1) Begin with the end in mind and decide now what you want your obituary to read. We are only here on this earth for a finite period. I like this picture because this is what will probably be on the welcome table at my funeral. I hope you can make it!

Rich Cohen wrote that there are four rungs of being remembered after death: “Newly dead; Dead but remembered; Dead and all those who knew you dead; dead and all those who knew those who knew you dead.” In terms of YOU… All that matters is what happens when you’re alive. Your legacy will offer you no pleasure after you’ve passed so live how you dream but know that there are some unconventional paths that you have to take (like buying cashflowing rentals not in your home state).

And for myself… fame will do you no favors for me once I die, but at least people can use TheWealthElevator.com to get out of the rat race.

2) Create a repository of information where my children or others can reference with some context into what I was thinking. Plus, I got tired of telling my friends who never took action on the advice I gave. Creating a podcast has greatly impacted my life by allowing me to meet with so many people, and many of those I have built strong relationships with even outside of money and real estate.

“Why a Podcast?”

I jumped on the podcast band-wagon in 2007 while I was working on the road, when I did not have a friend near me. It got me into CrossFit in 2008, Paleo in 2009, Real Estate Investing in 2010, Intermittent Fasting in 2013, Internet Marketing in 2015, and led to meeting and creating friendships with a lot of you, because we are aligned on the same wavelength. Yes… The phrase “we met on the internet” is totally acceptable! Obviously, a few of these interests have come and gone but in the macro sense, podcasts have instilled a lifelong interest and ability to learn.

Vinney Chopra calls it “Automobile University.”

3) While I am alive I want to teach/empower others to fish for themselves. In real estate, we use leverage and by teaching others, I am leveraging other people to achieve their financial goals in hopes that they will pay it forward. I poke fun at MLMs a lot but I would like to create a pyramid scheme of philanthropy.

I’ll be honest when I almost got fired from my W2 job (for nothing that was my fault!) and saw how much Wall Street/mutual funds rob people, I get pissed. Which got me through the first six months of building this platform. As you know anger can only take you so far… As you will read in my book I realized the positive impact I was making which ultimately is a more sustainable fuel source for the mission that is TheWealthElevator.com.

What is the change that you want to make in the world even if its a 1% move in the needle?  Financial education – people have such struggle so much to make ends meet.

I was baptized on Easter 2016 and searched for a way to give back. I want to help others, but I struggle with giving money away, because I know I can grow my money much faster and I am much more frugal than any philanthropic organization. Bill Gates gave back only after he amassed a fortune. Tithing as you go along has a smaller cumulative impact.

My end game is to give away my wealth to rightful causes via a Charitable Remainder Trust. As I grow my local community in Hawaii, I try to surround myself with like-minded people who want to help other good people financially… (not like having some sort of lame for-profit coaching business based of referral fees). I don’t know how this is going to come together but I am conscious of running a non-profit entity the right way.

4) I hope my blog/podcast will help families realize the powerful wealth-building effects of real estate, so they can spend their time on more important things, instead of working long hours and worrying about their financial troubles. There are a lot of successful families with good jobs (teachers/engineers/programmers/finance), yet they struggle to make ends meet financially. It is their kiddos who ultimately get the short end of the stick. Being a Latch-Key Child growing up, both my parents had to work, and I was left home alone after school to fiddle with my thumbs.

With Real Estate you are able to grow your wealth exponentially faster than the conventional 401K’s and stock investing, therefore you are able to escape the dogma of working 50+ hour weeks at a job that is unfulfilling. And if you are one of the lucky ones who happen to do what you enjoy… well good for you 😛

Money is not everything, but it is important because it gives you the freedom to live life on your terms.

It is a great time in history to be alive, with general peace and technological convenience. But I see a silent war being waged upon the shrinking Middle Class. This is the Civil Rights movement of my time. In a way, people have a kind of Stockholm Syndrome, with Wall Street profiteers being the captors. Let’s work together to redirect money from the Wall-Street casinos and corrupt financial institutions… to help the endangered ‘Middle Class’ savers find safer, more profitable investments in Main Street opportunities, benefiting local communities!

“I walked the linear path for much of my life. Raised as part of the disappearing “middle-class” programmed me to study hard in school, checking the boxes on extracurricular activities, cramming for the SATs, and getting a high GPA to get into college, all to live a “practical” life.
Growing up, we were told to “waste nothing” and turn off the lights every time you leave a room.
I still feel guilty to order a soft drink at a restaurant as opposed to tap water.”

excerpt from The One Thing That Changed Everything