TIME FLIES

Recently, during lunch with a friend, he asked me, “How long have you been in America?” “We came to San Francisco in August of 1980,” I replied.

“That means you’ve been here 45 years!” he exclaimed. “We need to celebrate. I’m buying your lunch—but can I keep this 42 Encounters with San Francisco book I picked up in your office?” he asked with a smile. I thought it was a fair exchange.

“How did you manage all these years?” he continued. “Well,” I said, “we came to the United States to study. My wife Elfa enrolled in a fashion design  college and I pursued an MBA. I had a dream at the time—to start our own fashion business.

This might sound fantastic; however, my first official job was as vice president of a women’s high fashion company in San Francisco . I quickly learned that in that industry, to make $1 million, you often had to invest $2 million. I didn’t have either.

In the evenings, I become a distributor for a network marketing company Amway. That’s where I met my future sales manager—the person who introduced me to the mortgage business. He had a simple but powerful argument: “In sales, your commission can be far more than a manager’s salary.”

It was September 1983. He was right. I quickly learned the mortgage business, became a top producer, and a year later, we launched our first company with partners—driven by the high-interest rates of the time.

Elfa, who had been pursuing her fashion career, joined me to help run the business. In September 1985, we started our own company: Pacific Bay Financial Corporation. Forty years later, we’re still managing it together.

In addition to that, just  recently, we celebrated our 58th wedding anniversary.

People often ask us, “Do you always agree?” Of course not. Disagreements happen. I might say something is black, and Elfa might insist it’s white. But in the end, we often realize it’s actually black and white with the touch of grey, like the three images I chose to illustrate this story. They are going to be in one of my future books called “42 Encounters with Light”.

Meanwhile you can enjoy my latest very special book “Reflections”, which you can order on Amazon.

 Care and share!