The Zen Millionaire On Creating Abundance & Financial Freedom w/Ken Honda EP 1241

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This is episode number 1241 with Ken Honda. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. Welcome back, my friend. Today's guest is Ken Honda, who is a bestselling self development author in Japan, whose writings bridge the topics of finance, self help, and generating personal wealth and happiness through deeper self honesty. I loved the conversation that Ken and I just had, and Ken's financial expertise comes from owning and managing several businesses including an accounting company, a management consulting firm, and a venture capital corporation. And his approach to creating financial abundance really stood out to me, and I was incredibly excited to dive deeper into his beliefs. So make sure to check out his latest book, Happy Money: the Japanese Art of Making Peace with youh Money, as he's sold over 8 million copies of all of his books combined, and this one is an inspiring one. But in this episode, we discuss the common traits that millionaires share, how to shift our financial mindset from scarcity to abundance, why most of us are afraid to speak openly about money, how to heal our financial wounds, and so much more. And if you're enjoying this, make sure to leave a review and subscribe over on the School of Greatness on Apple Podcast and let us know your thoughts of the part you enjoy the most while leaving a review over on Apple Podcast. Okay, in just a moment, the one and only Ken Honda. Welcome back, everyone, to the School of Greatness. I am very excited about our guest. Ken Honda is in the house. Good to see you, Ken.

Hello, Luis. I'm so happy. I just woke up at five. I was too excited for the show.

I love it. It's early time where you are in Japan, and we're here in Los Angeles. I've been watching some of your stuff and learning about you over the last couple of years since I found out about you. You've got this book called Happy Money: the Japanese Art of Making Peace with youh Money. Most people that I grew up with, especially here in America, and I think around the world, don't feel any peace around money. They're afraid of money. They don't like to talk about it. They're scared of it when they have conversations. They're afraid when they have it. They're afraid when they lose it, when they spend it. They're afraid to go in debt, but they have too much debt. I'm curious, why in the first place Is it possible for us to have peace around money? And if so, what do we need to start shifting in our minds to create that peace?

Yes, I noticed when I was in North America, I casually asked, I thought a close friend of mine, I became very close to him. So I asked him, how much do you make a year? Just casually. And I know I said something wrong. because he looked so shocked. You asked me that? And I said, oh, oh, did I say something wrong? It's not so secretive in Japan that if you become close, you ask, you know, how much money you make to each other. But in North America, you don't even do it among close friends, right? It's sort of like something that you don't touch.

Even family, families don't talk about it. Why is it more openly talked about in a peaceful way in Japan or other places?

I think North American people tend to tie how much they're worth or how much they make with their worth.

Their self-worth.

Yes, self-worth. We have different value system, like how many friends you have or you're married or not, do you like your job. So say there are certain points. Right? So money is one of them, but not the major part of it. But in North America, I think it's a cultural thing and I'm not blaming it for. But I think people think how much they make, how much they're worth is it. You know, you may be good looking, but if you don't make much, like you're nothing. But if you make a lot of money and even if you're a terrible person, you get to be respected. So I think it's a cultural thing and it seems to bring a lot of shame and pride from money, which I don't see it in other cultures. So I think it's very unique to American culture.

Interesting. What would you say is the secret then to creating abundance financially in your life when most people struggle or fail to do that?

Yeah. I've been talking about this over the past 20 years. There are so many aspects of abundance. I call it visible assets and invisible assets. Financial value is just a very short, small portion of your abundance. But that is not included in the package, I guess. So that's why we obsessed about making money or we jump onto this investment ideas and that's interesting cultural phenomena.

Gotcha. What would you say, so the invisible assets, would you say those are more important to learn about and master in order to create abundance over the visible assets?

Once again, invisible assets, it's part of your life. So if I say that going on fishing with your friends is so much fun for me, I'm not interested in doing much business. So by American standard, I become a loser because, you know, I'm enjoying fishing with a bunch of my friends. But they could be old millionaires. who retired early. But I think going for fishing with a bunch of friends are not as respected as going on a venture business and trying to make money or just to start a company with your own visions. So I think it's a criteria. Do you focus on more relationships? or peace of mind. And the peace of mind is the most precious invisible assets. But a lot of people trade for money. And that's a sad thing. All over the world, people do that. We think we have to do it to bring food on the table. But is it really worth it to trade with your peace of mind or with your integrity. But unfortunately, many people do that.

Is it possible to create peace of mind abundantly and also create profitable financial abundance at the same time?

Yes, that's what I've been teaching. But you have to prioritize it because all your questions come from, at the end, I want to be rich. So can you give up the idea of becoming a rich? Because you have to let go of this idea of becoming wealthy financially. My mentor, who is called Warren Buffett of Japan, he said, if you want to learn about money from me, you have to forget about money. That was his first request. Oh, wait a second.

You're like, But how do I make more money?

Yes. So how can I learn about money if I forget about money? So he said, you,'re obsessed with money making ideas. So unless you forget about money, I cannot teach you about money. So his teaching was very Zen. So I might be confusing a lot of viewers at the moment because I A lot of people always think, okay Ken, that's great. And then how can I make money?

And how do you make money?

So you have to forget it, at least for the next half an hour or so.

When you forget it, what should you be focusing on instead?

What is the most important thing in your life? And that could be your family, that could be your hobbies, that could be certain causes. And if that's more important than money, you should go for it. and I can teach many ways to invite money in after you find what you do. But there are only two kinds of life in on this planet. Kind of like that you follow your heart, do what you enjoy. The other one is the life that you cannot enjoy. So a lot of people choose the path that you cannot enjoy as long as they can make money. and then they think, okay, if I make enough money, I can retire and start doing what I want to do. But it doesn't happen that way. You'll be lucky if you can make a lot of money and then retire, but because you lose a lot of motivation, you lose a lot of energy if you go take a path of making money, and then you cannot make money. And even if you're lucky and you made it, you don't know how to look for happiness. Because you sacrifice all the happiness and peace of mind for money. How can you change the attitude? It's very difficult. Because all you think is just a simple thing, efficiency. How can I cut cost? How can I increase my wealth? But think about it this way. If you just make a lot of money outside, but if you come home, do you always talk about cutting costs, you know, don't waste your time with your kids? Because all the fun time with kids are worthwhile, you know, just pull out all the tissue papers, that's a lot of waste. You know, making a pizza with your kids, It takes three hours or four hours. If you're a business owner, hire somebody to do it for you.

Right, right. Order from delivery and it's going to taste better.

Yes. Oh, like a cooking something with a family takes three or four years, you know, and making terrible pastas. They don't look good, they don't taste good, but it's fun. So, but oftentimes we tend to think like, well, we should hire somebody. We should outsource it. But how much do you want to outsource? Because, you're losing all the fun. So that is my point.

So we should be forgetting about money initially for a moment and thinking about what are the things we enjoy doing the most? What are the things that bring us the most fulfillment, the most peace of mind, the things that bring us alive? And just getting back to that place as opposed to first obsessing over money first, remove the obsession and focus on the enjoyment. What happens when we come from a place of enjoyment in life? Does money start to flow more out? effortlessly when we are being that way?

It depends. Because if you're doing a volunteer work, money may not follow. So one of my national best sellers is do what you love and make sure money follows you. That means there are so many starving artists. They do what they love, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they can make money.

Right.

So you have to make sure it's two different things. But I think if you do what you love, Definitely you'll become happier and less stressed and you'll be more attractive as a person. And that person has a better chance of making money if they choose to. But just once again forget about the money part because making money is just, I'd say, one of 14 fields in life. You know, self-image, or your sense of contribution, you know, connectedness, sense of being connected with nature is often forgotten in the Western world. So there are many fields of happiness. So if you focus only one or two, business and money, you cannot see all the other 12, for example.

And so, and what happens if we Don't do the other 12 in our life. Are we missing out on something or is it just?

I think you just become a very boring business machine.

Got it.

Yeah, you just talk about money or business all the time and then I have a few friends like that. Yeah, he's fun as long as we talk about business, but if he is, you know, if the topic goes on to art, music or like life, He suddenly becomes quiet because he has nothing. He has no art, he has no music, he has no girlfriend. So, no food, he only eats just quick burgers and energy bars.

Just to have enough energy to go make more money.

So, I want to say there are so many different fields than money. But we think that making money is the most important. And it's so sad because we are exchanging our life force energy with salary. So it's almost like we're cutting piece of our body parts. And if we do that, you know, that's illegal. But if we just cut out a piece of our life, which is time, somehow it's okay.

Interesting. Why do you think people are so bad at attracting things they want in general? Maybe not even just money if we're freaking about that, but if they're wanting to attract a great relationship, great opportunities, great friends, why do you think we're, in general, humans are bad at attracting what's really healthy and good for them?

I think everybody's attracting what he or she wants. So I think the question should be, Why do we keep attracting what we don't want? Because I think everybody's attracting what he or she truly wants. One of my students was attracting bad guys. No money, no work, and terrible with, he always cheats. And she knows that. But she bumps into, she is a master of finding one bad guy out of a thousand good peeps. guys, you know, I'm sure there's so someone like that in North America too. So she is good at sensing, she's good at spotting, she's good at finding a bad person. So in a sense, she is a master of attracting that person. So I think attracting what we deserve or attracting who we really want is clarifying who we should attract is more important. That's how life goes.

Yeah, so clarifying who we should attract as opposed to who we shouldn't be attracting, is that what you're saying?

But unfortunately, my friend's mechanism psychologically, she is not ready for good, honest person, because she gets excited when she gets abused in a certain way. It's a programming, so you have to really start healing yourself. Otherwise, you don't know what to want. So I think the tragedy of this planet is people are confused about what they want. So they're complaining about what they attracted. and at the same time, okay, this is life. So part of them are depressed and also given up. And somebody like very, very, very few people like yourself, Louise, know sort of like how to get out of this, you know, box, you know, and then look at yourself like, oh, I was a battery and then stuff starts flying, right?

Yeah, I'm curious, when I was younger in my career, I was broke. I was living on my sister's couch. I was making, I don't know, a couple hundred bucks a month, maybe, in Ohio, in America. And I had a mentor that I was learning from, what I was working for, and I was just kind of taking on every different job I could at this place to learn as many skills as possible. and after six months, I was trying to do my own thing on the side as well. And after six months, I remember saying to him, I was like, Man, I feel like I could really use some money right now. I feel like I'm still struggling and it's no fun just being broke every day and relying on other people to help me financially. I could really use some money. And he said something to me I'll always remember. He said, Money comes to you when you're ready for it. And I was like, I feel really ready though. I feel like I'm ready to make some money, you know? Like bring it to me now. I need this. And he said, it'll come to you when you're ready for it. And it started to come maybe a year later and then it started to really come the next couple of years. And I look back at that always and I think I wasn't ready at that time. I wanted it, I needed it potentially, but I wasn't ready for it. How do we, reprogram our minds to either heal or shift our perspective to be ready for the money, the relationship, the healthier opportunity for us.

I think the question should be, what do you need? Why and what do you need the money for? Unless you are clear with what you want to do, I think you will never be ready. I have a you know, young people like your young person back then say, Ken, I want to make $1 trillion. I want to be a billionaire. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, and I say, what are you going to do with the money? And he says, I don't know. And if you don't know, you don't need it. And then people say, I need a million dollars. And my question is, Why do you need the money? And they say, I want to feel secure. So, do you think one million would be enough? And she or he would say, oh, three million please. And then life doesn't go that way. Money comes after what you give out to the world. It's just a reward. I'd say, to be precise, it's just one portion of the prize or reward that you've given out so much to the society. So that's why my mentor said forget about the money. You know, you have to focus on what you want to put out. So if you put out so much, ready or not, money will come. Just think about if you come up with a great app on iPhone and then release it worldwide, like or not, ready or not, money will come flooding.

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So if you find something that will change the way people live or if you can offer something to the world that people love enough to pay you, there will be money. So if you get stuck with a mind game, you have to really look at the reality. Otherwise, you have to get stuck in this place of I have low self-image that's why I cannot make it. You know, it doesn't really matter. You don't need confidence. You don't need a college degree or MBA. All you need is curiosity. What if I become that? What if I. I have a million dollars. What would I do? And if you're so excited about the way to spend your first million dollars, you will find the shortcut to the million dollars. But by the way, the first million dollars you make, you're gonna waste your money anyway. So, as you know. So, you know, the first million will be spent on something stupid, somebody takes it, that's sort of like a membership fee.

Yeah, the price to admission. Yeah.

Wealthy people's club. So your first meeting will be lost anyway. And I've written a book on those. But if you know, and if you have this mission and passion of how to spend your first one or $10 million, you are on the right track. Because now the energy will support you.

I had a friend, going back to your point about how much money do you want? A million dollars? Well, actually, I'll take $3 million. I had a friend who sold a company for nine figures recently. And his equity got diluted over time. So he really only came home with maybe 15 or 18 million, which is still a lot of money, but it was a nine-figure business that he created and launched. And at the end of it, he spent a bunch of money on some big party with friends, and then he bought, like, a, you know, a boat or, you know, another house. And he's like, oh, i've only got, like, I don't know, seven or eight million dollars left. And then to live a lifestyle that i'm at now, this. This only lasts so long, you know.

I can't keep this way.

Yeah, it's only lasts a few years. So it's like. So part of it is adjusting your lifestyle to figure out what you need and why you really need it and. and just being aware of that because, you know, 1 million turns into three, needing 3 million turns into needing 20 million and it's never gonna feel enough if you're living in a certain lifestyle. And so what should we be thinking about instead of like, I want to make a million dollars, should we be reframing that in a different way?

First of all, you really have to figure out what you want in your life. Do you want to, do you want to make it? Do you want to be a success socially? But you could end up being a loser, personally. So do you want to be a happy person or do you want to be a wealthy person? You can take both. But the way to happy and wealthy people only has an opening to aim for happiness first.

I love this because most people think once I'm there, then I'll be happy, then I'll respect myself, then I'll get the the attention I want. But what I'm hearing you say is the only way to happy and wealthy is through happiness first.

Yes. And then if you're lucky or if it's your destiny, I would say, you may be rewarded with money. But, you know, there are many lives that necessarily money will follow, but you can still enjoy life and stay very happy. Because if you go after money, you're likely to lose everything. Your peace of mind and those people who put money first, your clients love that. Think about two florists, by the way, I always carry flowers like this in front of me. So there are two florists, for example, just nearby your house. one florist always think of the cost. Instead of 10 roses, I should give nine roses, you know, instead of good roses, maybe smaller ones so they can cut cost, right? The other florist always just bring in the best flowers and always take good care of it so that it will last on their houses. Where would you go? You know, so if you are good at math and good at business, in the short term, they will lose long term. So people who love flowers and then he or she can talk about roses for hours. Those people really care that you just, they care about the roses on in your house. You know, they're just praying their kids will stay longer. so people can enjoy. They might think about the cost, but the love of the flowers is bigger than the business. But those people are the ones that I think all the clients would go to. So eventually they will succeed.

Yeah, I love that. Do you think it's possible then, because I heard you mention that some may not be your destiny. Do you think it's possible for anyone to achieve financial freedom, if that's what they're looking for. And stay happy.

Yes, theoretically, yes. But some people are not interested in money that much. I think you and I have this quest for truth, quest for hunger, for service. So those people could become financially successful. But if you don't have the motivation, and if you're just a kind of person who just enjoys looking at the flowers all day without anything, those people may not achieve financial independence. But when I grab him, are you okay without achieving financial success? And he would say, oh, it's okay as long as I can take this time to look at roses all day. So it's, I think it's his or her business if he or she wants to achieve financial independence. Because think about it this way. Even if you don't achieve financial independence, if you have 20 wealthy friends who take good care of you because they love you, Do you think he or she needs to have a million dollars in your bank account?

No.

So if you become a lovable person and receives a certain respect, I think you're okay.

Yeah, yeah.

That's true. Yeah, so you don't have to achieve financial independence, but you need to really figure out what's most important for you right now. Otherwise, all your life is filled with preparation for financial success and business success. But your most precious time is in your 20s and 30s and 40s. Oh, by the way, my National best sellers series is 17 things to do in your teens and 20s and 30s. I thought about more than two million copies. So I interviewed people in their 20s, people in their 30s and 40s and 50s. And the common question I ask of all their generations, what do you regret most that you didn't in your 40s? What are the three things that you regret most that you didn't do in your 60s? You know, I grabbed people in their 60s, 70s and 80s. You know, looking back, so I'm in my 50s, so like I grab people in the 60s and 70s, what would you regret in your 50s? And, you know, people often talk about, especially successful, my older successful friends in the 70s, 80s, they have like a few public companies. And they say, I spent too much time and energy on business.

Wow.

Yeah, I didn't have to build this empire. You know, it's okay personally to have only 5% or 10% of the success I made. But I wish I was at the soccer game for my boys. You know, I wish I spent more dinner, date dinner with my wife. I wish I spent more time on concert hall. but I just missed those because of my business meetings. And I think I was very addicted to making money. And I regret that I didn't spend much time traveling and chatting with friends, you know, talking nonsense, just laugh and over beer. I wish I could go back and waste all my time Wow.

Why do you think that there are so many people in the world that have this idea they want to build an empire? But then later, I'm hearing you say a majority of people are saying, and maybe there are some people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s that are like holding on to, they're really proud of the empire they've built and they don't regret anything. Maybe there's some people out there, but I'm hearing you say a lot of people wish they would take less of their empire for more time with people they cared about. Why is it this thing that we think about building an empire?

I think it's embedded in a human gene, I guess, you know, the Chinggis Khan of 14th century. 95% of the time he was in a battle. He ended up, he built one of the biggest empires of the human history. but he ended up dying in his temporary tent in the war. So all the business tycoons could end up dying in a hotel room where they were going to sign the biggest contract ever. So once again, what do you want to do in your life? You know, what do you respect? or cherish most. And if you don't respect that now, you cannot respect that in 10 years. And your precious life is only, I would say, from 25 to 55. And if you are 65, you can have a good time. But still, I think a lot of events happen from age 25 to 55. And if you keep that's a working hours too. So, years. So if you just focus on life, mostly on business, you lose most of your fun time. So if you're too business oriented, you really have to change the priorities of life. Otherwise you're going to regret in 20 years.

Yeah. I'm a big believer that you mentioned charity work that it may be if people are focused on charity where they're not focused on the money as much, then they may not build as much wealth for themselves. Let me know what you think about this thought. I'm a big believer that the amount of money we make is directly related to the amount of value we bring to others or to the marketplace or to the world and our ability to position and package that value in order to receive money. Would you agree or add or take anything from that?

I agree with you 100%. But that's only as long as you're calculating into financial value. There are certain things, like say a kindergarten teacher who spends he or she spends all her passion, all his passion into kids in front of him or her. And he or she is adding great value, but only for five kids. And they just love it. So I don't want to talk to these guys. Okay, you can leverage this, you can package your knowledge and just outsource it or start selling in a mass scale. I wouldn't do that because they are truly enjoy in their quality time.

Absolutely.

Certain thing is not measured by financial numbers. Or elderly homes, you know, I know a lot of people who work there, it's hard working time, you know, they stay up all night or like nurses, you know, they're just doing so much but that doesn't necessarily mean that she gets $2 million a year. So this financial system is, I went to extreme. That's why I think there could be a big shift happening in the next few years. So it'll be more fair to all the people.

What happens when we compare ourselves to people on social media who seem to have all this wealth or financial abundance or to our friends or peers or people at work who are maybe making more or less than us. What happens to us personally when we compare our financial situation with others?

So I jokingly advise people, if you want to be happy, stay away from Facebook because it's likely to make you feel miserable if you're not ready. If you don't have a good mentality, Facebook is a killer for your happiness. Because there's always somebody out there somehow who is eating at the better restaurant, who is dating a better looking person, both guys and women, and also who is buying a bigger house, a nicer house than we live in. nicer clothes, you know, so they're having a better vacation somewhere outside exotic. So there are always somebody better, somebody who is worth more. But if you start comparing your friends and others with you, that is a shortcut to unhappiness. So if you use Facebook to congratulate your friends and figure out what's possible for you, I think Facebook is a gem, you know, because you can see people's houses. I want that. Congrats. Congratulations for you. Oh, I'm so happy that you find him. You know, if you mentality is like that, I think Facebook is a great place to be. But if you just feel jealous or competitive, I think it's such an exhausting place.

And. I mentioned this briefly, but I wanted to dive in a little deeper about this, about kind of healing your financial wounds. If we have a wound financially or we're in debt and we're ashamed of it and we're not able to get out of that debt, how would you say we start the process of healing our financial identity or wounds that hold us back from financial abundance?

Luis, thank you. That's a very good question. Oftentimes, money can bring the worst and the best emotions out of you. Negative emotions could be anger, frustration, resentment, and good positive emotions could be like love and happiness. And if you're in debt, money only pulls out bad negative emotions such as shame, guilt, frustration. But it's because you look at money, debt almost like a punishment or curse. But I always advise people who are in debt to turn that view differently. So I would say, you know, like five years ago, 10 years ago, you borrowed the money from the bank or friends. That means they trusted you. They trusted your earning ability so you can pay back. So debt is not a curse or burden. it's a trust placed on you. You know a totally stranger bank, they knew, they figured out, you'll be able to pay back. Isn't that great news?

Yeah. Yeah.

If you cannot trust that, I don't know if I can pay back, they did. So that means they have a better trust than you. So you can thank them for trusting you. So, it's like your parents or grandparents who believe in you more than you do yourself. So, those financial institutions are like mentors and supporters. So, you can, I think, pay back their trust every month. So, interest is a form of appreciation from you. Thank you for trusting me.

Me.

So every time when you think of that, instead of feeling, I'm burdened, I'm chained, you know, like a slave, just think of it this way, you know, you have such a trust and love from a total stranger, your ability to pay back. So you just imagine a few bankers faces and just say, thank you so much for trusting me. Thank you so much for believing in my paying back abilities. So to appreciate, to answer, to respond to your trust and love, make sure to pay back every time. And to show my appreciation, I pay you back the interest. So thank you. Every time you see a bill, instead of looking at it, oh, no, like a curse or a death sentence. You know, you can say, oh, thank you. I love you. So you can turn it around.

Yeah. Was there ever a time in your life where you struggled with money?

Actually, to be honest, I have been lucky to be able to live my life without struggling with money. My father taught me well in my early teens and 20s, so I actually never borrowed anybody from anything. I borrowed $10 from a friend in college. But that's about the only cash I needed. I bought my real estate in cash, bought cars in cash. So I didn't want to build an empire. So I'm not a billionaire, but I have enough financial resources so I can actually live freely. But I never borrowed any money or I've never been in a financial situation. that I needed to struggle because I had always great people, great friends who helped me with money, investing and, you know, trust.

Yeah.

So I'm. I'm one of the lucky ones. So in that sense, I cannot really teach people how to get out of a bad place. Well, many Financial experts say I had only two dollars in my bank account, and now look at me, you know? I have been fairly wealthy all my life. You know that old saying, it's not.

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That way.

Gotcha. And what was another lesson that your mentor told you after he said, forget about money? What was the next few lessons that really inspired you?

I think arigatou, arigatou, money is a word he used. So what can I do? You know, I wanted to know the, Stock tips, okay, buy Apple or buy Sony or whatever that is. And he said, Ariga, to your money. And that is a shortcut to financial independence. And Ariga told you money, and then that's it. My turn is gone, and there are like 100 other people wanting to ask him questions. If you're with Warren Buffett, you cannot get his attention more than two minutes. So, I try to figure out, I think I told you money, and I just looked at everywhere, but there's no nothing about thank your money. And then I became a student of Waha personally, so I could spend hours, I spent hours with him afterwards, so I could really get to ask him about the meaning of thanking your money. He said, when money comes in, say arigatou or thank you to money. And when you pay money, when money leaves your life, once again say arigatou to your money. You bow to your money and then really thank the money for staying with you. Even though it's a short visit, thank you for staying. So money will love that and then at night, money will just start the chatter. Cain is a good place. You should go.

I like that.

And then money will come back. So I couldn't really figure out what he was joking or not, but I think he sounded serious. So his secret is thanking your money. And I asked him why. He said, Human mind can only focus one thing at a time. So if you focus on thanking your money, appreciating your money, money appreciates. So his teaching is very zen. So once you think subconsciously, money is great, money is fun, money is lovable, and then you become a magnet to money. But if you just go for money, money will run away from you. It's like dating. You know, if you just try to get girls or boys, they run away. But if you don't, they'll come to you.

Sure. I love this approach and this is something I've been doing for years actually. I can't remember if I learned this somewhere or if I just saw someone talking about this. When I see payments come through in my email or my bank or wherever they come through, I say thank you. I say thank you every time, whether it's a dollar or you know, a big check. I'm like, thank you, thank you. I really appreciate it. I don't say thank you when I'm paying something. Why? And I want to try this because I think it's an interesting approach. Why? Should we also say thank you when we're sending out money to others?

Because if you get a bill, that means somebody did something for you. For example, if it's an electricity bill, because of the electricity company, I can use the internet. I can use the lighting and microphone and computer. It's not only one-man job. There is this service person, there's this people who are at the power plants. Also, there is somebody who just brought oil to Japan from Middle East. And there are, I don't know, thousands of people working for the electricity, and they make sure that it's in my house installed properly. So there are millions of reasons to appreciate the electricity. And if it's safe, it's a if it's $300 or $500 or maybe smaller or bigger. Wow, you know, if I'm asked to install somebody's house with that electricity, I cannot do that with this money. So thank you for just giving me the electricity. Thank you for giving me water. Thank you for serving me good meal at the restaurant. Thank you for giving me a ride like Uber. So you can thank the person who gave you the service and product. So the reason you have to pay, you're getting something in exchange. And usually takes more than one or two or could be a hundred people's work. And then you ask the money. Thank them too. So that means the money you give to the electricity company will be paid to all the people.

Wow.

So like I can, it's like a magic wand. Even if it's a hundred dollars, this magic wand can, will start saying thank you, thank you, thank you guys. So, you know, it'll just thank, it's like a domino effect of thank you. So it's not just thanking your money, thanking the people who are connected with me. So we are all living on this planet. together. So if we have this feeling, everybody's feeling this way, we all connected. We all connected with the people in the Middle East. We all connected with the people in Russia, Africa, China, U.S. Like it or not, we all connected. So do we hate each other or do we appreciate one another? So if we start doing more, there will be no exploitation. of any kind. That's the economy I want to see in the coming years.

Yeah. It's such a simple philosophy and practice that I think if we can all start to do it a little more with money and with everything, the people that we see, our friends, thanking them when they're coming, thanking them when they're leaving for their time, their attention. My girlfriend does this with our meals every time we eat together. She's really thank she puts a lot of time and attention thanking the people that just made this, the people that delivered the food to the restaurant, the people who harvested the food, you know, and all the people. And it's not something I did until about a year ago with food. And it's something that I've noticed my digestive system relaxing, like me just taking in the moment and feeling a better sense of joy and happiness. while eating food as opposed to just eating protein bars to get to the next thing. But really appreciating it. And I think when we appreciate things, which I'm hearing you say, when you appreciate money, when it comes, when it goes, when you appreciate food, when you appreciate your home, your family, your friends, those things will appreciate in value and they'll want to come to you more. Is that what I'm hearing you say?

Yes, exactly. And Luis, you know what I've been talking about. and you've been practicing it without knowing maybe, but I think you've been doing it as a natural person. You know, there are certain things like a natural business person, natural artist. So you're one of the natural people who just appreciate things. You know, that's why you're successful and people love you. And so if you want to be like, if the viewers like want to be like Lewis, you have to learn what he's doing, you know? So it's not just small habits, but I think the attitude toward life. And somehow there are only two kinds, you know, one kind is people who keep appreciating, the other one keep complaining about it. So if you just, you know, it could be something very small, but after 20 years, your life will be very different. so I hope everybody will appreciate one another a little bit more from yesterday.

And what happens if we start complaining about money more, whether it be just kind of frustrated little comments here and there, you know, what happens to money in our life when we complain about it, as opposed to appreciating and thank it?

So if you start complaining about money, like 95% of us, Money, just look at from a money's perspective. You know, if you've been complaining about it, oh, I don't want to go to him anymore. And then it's like a mutual. Feeling is mutual. Okay, you can complain about it. Okay, fine. I'm not going to come to you. So, and I think subconsciously, if you're complaining about money, you don't want it to be near you. so my favorite question to people is if money was a person, who would it be? That means if money was a person, would it be a fun person? Always joking, always making, entertaining you, or is somebody like a assassin, you know, who's going to try to hurt you or scare you or gangsters to try to, you know, intimidate you? So, if you're complaining, money may not be such a fun, good person. So, I think by complaining, you make money a villain, and you don't want that scary person to live in your house. So, for happy, wealthy people, money is their best friend. They're so happy to welcome them at home. You know, when you open the door, I find you, Louis. Louis, thanks. Just come on here, just grab a beer, just you treat your best friend like that. But if you complain about that, and if you find that person in front of you, doorstep, money comes here, no, no, no, I don't need you here. Get out of here. So that person cannot invite money in.

Sure, sure. You said you've been financially, you know, free or stable your entire life. You haven't had like an issue with it personally. You never had to really face that. Let's put a hypothetical scenario out there. And I'm sure people have asked you this before, but if for whatever reason you didn't have any money, it was gone. You didn't have your businesses, you didn't have any money, you didn't have any savings. For whatever reason in this hypothetical world, it was gone. What would be your next three moves in order to just get back to a stable financial place for yourself?

I just asked my friends, hi, hi, this is Ken.

Can I have some money?

I lost everything. Can you wire me money? You know, I don't need to borrow. I just want my friends to give it to me. So you don't have to, you know, just feel burdened. But how much is fun for you? Just wire it to me. My account is this. and then I just pray. I never see.

So you would ask them just for money without actually having to pay it back is what you're saying? Yeah.

Thank you. Can you save me happy money, please? And then I'll probably do the same thing with my readers and viewers. I have, you know, I've sold 8 million books and my podcast has 50 million downloads. and I personally have heard so many fun, great stories how they achieve financial independence. So this is a time, okay, my friends, you know, you can pay me back now. I mean, need.

Sure.

So if they feel like sending me a dollar or two dollars, any dollars will be fine. You know, I will do a thank you. Thank you. Live, you know, in two months. So please start wiring money. Now and see how it goes.

See how it goes. Okay, that's step one. What would be the next thing you would do? I like the approach. Sometimes just asking for what we want is what we need to start with. Just saying, Hey, can you give me $500? Can you give me $10,000? Can you give me this? Are you open to it? Maybe a lot of people say no, and that's okay as well, but just asking for what you want.

Yes.

Is a good first step. Okay, what else would you do?

So, by the way, I wouldn't do something like crowdfunding. Like if you just, you know, pay me $100, I'll do this. That's a give and take. So, what I would say is like, hi guys, please wire me some money. That's for one thing, right? The other thing is like, I'll ask my friends who has extra guest room, or extra house. And I'll ask them if I could use your extra room or extra house. And then I'll ask them how long and can I use your chauffeur and the housemates there. And can I buy the foods on your account. So I'll just make sure. And then I'll just stay there or stay with my friends. And I'll just ask my friends What do you think I should do? And then they'll give me advice and I'll just, I'll do that myself. I'll do that tour for questionnaire tour. What should Ken do for the rest of his life? Tour. So I can even make it open to public. If you let Ken stay overnight and just tell him, what he should do. You have to give him food and shelter. Anybody is welcome. Here's the link. So I'm kind of curious how many people will just sign up for that. So I'll stay over there for night and then I just listen, you know, without any advice. If they want advice, I'm happy to give one. But I only need only one bed one night and also nice food. and I don't drink alcohol, so just orange juice or just water will be fine. And if they want me to say something, I'm happy to talk. So let's see. So I have many creative ideas that people want me to do. So the reason I'm not afraid of money or I'm not losing everything is that even if I lose everything, my friends will never let me down. and then at least I, I can count on 20 or 30 friends who would probably give me an extra million dollars, you know, for me to get going because they're pretty wealthy and I'm, and I'm part of a wealth building history for them.

Right. You've helped them, you've helped them make a lot more money over time, so they'd be happy to give you some money. Gotcha.

I'm not gonna send them bills, but. I'm sure my friends would be generous enough to give me something. So I'm not worried about that because I've done so much to support people, even strangers. So this would be a fun challenge for me. It's a perfect surrender. So I might do that in my 60s or 70s.

There you go. Yeah, just lose all your money.

Yeah. So my inspiration is actually an American person. Bach Minister Fuller, you know, who's a great person. And what he did in his ending days was he donated all the money he had on the eve of the year. So he started with zero.

Every year?

Yes, that's what I heard. So every year he donated, he gave away all the money he made. and then start his next year with zero. And I'm very enticed into his lifestyle. I cannot do that now yet, but I may be able to do that in my 70s and 80s.

I'm curious, did he make more money every year starting from zero?

I don't know, but I think he didn't really care.

I would bet that if, let's say in five or 10 years, that you're like, you know what? I'm going to donate all my money or do something with it and not have any. I bet in one year, you would earn more back than all the years combined with that experiment of I have nothing or you wouldn't need to earn that much. And you would just be like people would give you money to pay your bills and support you and you'd be happy and that's all you need. But I bet you could go around and ask 30 rich friends and say, hey, can you give me half a million dollars each? And they'd probably do it. Yeah.

So it's not fun. So I wouldn't do it. So I'll just go into this total surrender and ask for help and ask strangers to let me stay. And I can write another International bestseller, too.

There you go. And you could generate Revenue by creating that story. I like that. Yeah. So. Have you seen any situation with all the people you've helped and inspired and spoken with over the years? Have you seen any situation where money buys happiness?

Luis, you're asking me so many great questions I never even thought of. So thank you for it.

Of course.

Making me so creative. Yes, so I have seen so many happy stories and sad stories around money. Because without asking, people come to me, Ken, do you have a minute? You know, amazing thing happened to me. So I have all the weird and strange stories that people would not believe it. So maybe I'll come up with a 50 amazing stories, you know, like my mentor, Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup for the Soul series, you know.

He's great.

Money, money stories are so fascinating. So a lot of happy money stories. So one time, for example, who was my student who lost everything and then she found out that she had cancer, she got fired and then her husband was cheating on her and then he left. So suddenly she doesn't have a home. she doesn't have health, she doesn't have money. So she stayed with her best friend for a while. And then I just give my seminar for free, like 10% of the seats are free. So I give it to financially challenged people now. So I think she was one of the, you know, paid forward seats. And then she really got inspired. And so she said, Within a year, I'll manifest a jewelry designing. I'll manifest a jewelry designer job. And also I'll find final independence. Now find my partner, better one than the last one, in a year. And I said, A year? Maybe three years, you know, she said, no, no, a year. And after about that, She came back again and then she said, you, know, Ken, what happened? She was proposed by a owner of the jewelry store. And then he has some money, he's dealing with jewelry, and he's such a sweet person. His wife died a few years before, so he's a very sincere person. So, she got the money, the love of her life, and then he asked her, I don't know if you would like working, but I want you to be part of this designing division. And then she got everything. So, life is giving you full of surprises if you are ready to receive.

Wow, that's beautiful.

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I'm curious about morning routine of millionaires and those that create financial abundance. What they do in their morning routine to help them attract more abundance. And I have a feeling that you're going to talk a lot about doing the things you enjoy that bring you more happiness and fulfillment in the morning so that you can be energetically a magnet for more opportunities during the day. But what would you say are some of the habits of happy millionaires where they're happy, healthy, living a rich full life, but they're also able to create financial abundance?

For me personally, I always start thinking of fun things that are going to unfold during the day. Like this morning I woke up 5:05 and start thinking, oh, you know, I'm on Louis show. Thank him, you know, I'm thanking you in my imagination. Thank you, Louis, for inviting me. I can't wait to see and I have another interview right after this. It's a Japanese interview, and I'm very so happy to do that. And also another meeting with my editor. I'm finishing another book, so that'll be fun. And then a few other things. But so I just start sort of like rehearsing my day and then imagine. people that I'm going to touch through you, Luis, especially with you, I'm going to touch many people's heart with this. So I really appreciate you for giving me this opportunity to be able to connect with your friends and viewers, your fans.

Absolutely.

It's such a great honor. So I feel so overwhelmed by the appreciation and wow, this Think of this ripple effect. If 10,000 people really get it and then start treating them more nicely, their family members start saying thank you five times more than they did, what's going to happen? So I cannot stop this excitement. So when I am full of excitement, I gotta get out of my bed and then start my day.

Sure. So that's something you do. You really think about thanking the experiences that were coming, appreciation in the morning. Do you do anything else for yourself personally or have you heard of any other routines or habits of people that what they do in the morning?

Yes, Luis, we're the same minds because I always ask the same question to other people. I can write a book for you, you know, the Morning Habits of Japanese Millionaires, right?

I like that. Well, I wrote a little mini book called the Millionaire Morning. which is the habits and routines, but I'm always curious if there's other stuff in different parts of the world that people do to bring in wealth and abundance.

Yeah, so a lot of Japanese millionaires, they have a little shrine in their homes. So it's a mini, miniature design of a house. I have it in my private office and they always pray. for just a minute or two, sort of like a meditation. And this is like an appreciation exercise. So thank you for just, you know, for letting me be alive and thank you for my family's health, thank you for my business. And they all pray for the success and prosperity for their clients and customers. So a lot of billionaires, they pray for customers and clients here. So their happiness. So I think that's probably the common Japanese millionaires attitudes. They pray for their customers and customers, clients, and then their employees. And I'm happy and open for new opportunities. So that's how they pray to their ancestors. and to the eight million gods around us and start their day.

Wow, that's beautiful. Anything else?

In the morning, you know, there are, you know, no identical things because some people skip breakfast, others eat big ones, and I don't see any correlation with health either. People are fine with only one meal. meal a day, people who eat eight meals, small meals a day, they're both perfectly healthy. So I think it's probably up to you how you find your own sort of like a secret, because it's very different and your wife could be different. So you really have to find your own habits and own lifestyle. And if you like it, you can keep going. So I think the only criteria, if you, if it doesn't go, if it does, if you cannot continue, that's not your thing.

Right, right.

Yeah. So don't, please don't force yourself to do it.

Yeah. What about people, what about relationships, the people we choose to be in relationships with, whether it be our intimate partners, our spouses, how important is it for us to be in the right intimate relationships in our life in order to energetically also bring in wealth.

I think partnership is one of the most important ones because if you say you have 100 energy and if she or he has 100 energy, if it's multiplied, it becomes 10,000. But if it's minus, 100 minus 100 is zero. and if you, even if you're 100, if he or she is minus 100, you become minus one, minus 10, 000. So you, it's, I think it's the same with your team. You really have to find a trustworthy person who, who can multiply with you. So I'm very picky about who to pick, very sincere. trustworthy person. So I can, I can get, I can just have my secretary manage all my assets, and then I'm okay. I trust her with all my, all my life. And all my people who are working with me have been working more than 10 years.

Wow.

So I trust them with my life. I hope that they trust me with their life. So I think we have this very strong deep bond. so if that happens, I think miracles keep happening. That's how I do business here.

That's beautiful. Do you think it's easier to build financial abundance when you're in a beautiful, flourishing, intimate relationship or when you're single and alone?

So I don't want to sound judgmental. It's almost like a trip. you know, some trip, it's more fun to be alone.

Yeah.

But if you just bring your friends, like four or five, that's fun. And if you bring your mate, you know, husband and a wife or a girlfriend and boyfriend, that's a different kind of fun. So if life is a trip, do you want to go solo or do you want to do with a couple or do you want to go with a group? So I think the business is the same. So personally speaking, I like my life with a partner and with my trusted friends. And I like, you know, I like reading tours. You know, a trip with Ken Honda is a very popular one. You know, I'm on the bus and just bus guy saying, you know, I bring people to Israel and the US and all kinds of places. It's part of my fun too. But I like my solo trip too. So if you like a solo trip, that's beautiful. And if you like a trip with your partner, that's beautiful too. So it's up to you.

Yeah. And what is the Zen approach to investing? And what type of investments should we be making with our money, do you think?

Yeah, you need three hours for me.

To talk about that.

Because I was with my Zen master, Warren Buffett's Zen master, right?

So.

He said, you should invest in a company with a virtue, with a business code. If the company has a high virtue, they're going to flourish. If the company puts money first, they're going to go down eventually. Interesting. You have to find a company with a high virtue and high self-esteem. So I asked Swahili, so how can I find a company with a virtue? And he said, if you don't have it, you cannot see it. So that's interesting. That was his answer. So find a company that has a great business code and motive, and that company will flourish. But that depends on the management team and the creator of the company. And if that person dies or gets sick, the company kind of goes down. So you really have to see that. That's what Wahid said. But just one tip about investing. These days, just regular people started asking me questions about investing. And I think it's a bad sign. You know, remember a shoeshine boy asked a wealthy businessman, what stock should I buy? And then he went back to his office and sold everything. That happened in 1929. And then the similar things I hear now, very young people in the high school day age They asked me, Ken, how can I start investing? And I think it's a bad sign.

So I think- why is it a bad sign?

Because I feel we are approaching to the end of the capitalism system we've been developing at least for the past 70 years after the Second World War. And it's quickly changing. So, I'm not commenting, I'm not going to comment on what's going on right now, but what the rate of it's going, I think we're going to experience something big fairly soon. So I cannot advise, I mean, that's my personal speaking, I can advise inexperienced investors to come in now because they become usually the victim. of the high over overvalued price of stocks. And the same thing goes with bitcoins.

Right.

So, you know, I cannot advise that all the things that may work for the past two years or five years or 40 years may not work from now. That is something that you really have to watch out, because all the people in North America They have only experienced good times. There was some bad time, but in Japan, we've been struggling after the bubble burst 30 years ago. So we have a better experience of what could happen next. And I think China is going to experience that and so would be the world. So I think we have to be ready for the potential crisis.

Let's say someone has an extra million dollars in the bank. Or let's say you had an extra million dollars personally. How would you distribute that into an investment? Would you keep some of it? Would you invest it back into your business and hiring people? Would you invest some in stocks or real estate or cryptocurrency? What would be your philosophy of how you want to invest that?

Yeah, I did a seminar with a few thousand people a year ago and then a few months ago. But this is a tricky subject because if people watch this a year from now, it could be a different story.

Different, yeah.

Yeah, so I don't want to comment on the detail ones, but I think anybody can do is invest in your friends. You know, take your friends out for dinner and then become closer or just Give something to your clients and customers. So, I think it's a better investment than investing in Bitcoins and gold and all the other things. Because if the next financial crisis happens and then you lose everything, as we.

Said.

Go back to your clients and then ask them to start business again. And if you have done some good favor, say, Give $100 worth of something to 10,000 people. That's $1 million. But they remember you. So there's a better chance of getting your business back in the next age. Actually, that's what I did 20 years ago. I had an extra $1 million. I wanted to try it out, this fun experience. I already heard of this, what yout Give Will Come Back to youo. And I didn't buy that. So, okay, I'll just test it. So, I printed my booklets for about 3,000. I started with 3,000. I ended up giving 2.3 million copies of my free booklets. That cost me about 3 million US dollars.

Wow.

But anyway, so by the time I gave away my booklets for about 100,000 copies, which cost me about 100,000 US dollars, a publisher called me and they want me to write a book. And I did, which the rest is history here. Wow. So I gave away my first million dollar project, right? And look what happened. I sold more than 8 million copies of my physical books and all my seminars and all the other services. So the 2.3 millions I gave away came back so many times back. So if you have an extra $1 million, do good for the society. Do good for your clients. They'll remember you. They trust you. So I had a good reputation. Still I do, because I gave away my physical copies for free, and I paid even the postage. At that time, nobody was doing it. People thought I was crazy. Now I was, because I wanted to do it. I wanted to try this philosophy. Is that really true? What you give will come back? And it wasn't true.

It.

It came back 10 times more. So, you know, it's not equal.

I love that. I love that you. I love that you say to invest in your friends. Because when I 2000, so I guess 14 years ago when I had nothing, literally nothing, I was living on my sister's couch for about a year and a half. I was making, again, a few hundred bucks a month at the beginning. Then I started to make more.

All, I said, I have nothing.

I can't buy anything. I can't do anything for anyone. I can't, you know, really, I felt kind of helpless. And I said, what I'm going to do is I'm going to shift this. All I'm going to do is start investing and learning about other people, seeing what their greatest need is, where they're struggling, where their challenges are, and try to find someone else who can help them. And I was building this incredible network of people. I was using LinkedIn at the time to network. and I would just get on the phone with people and ask them stories about how they overcame their challenges, how they became successful, I would learn about it, and people really enjoyed sharing their story of success or overcoming challenges. And I'd say, well, what's your biggest challenge right now? And they'd say, well, I'm looking to hire this type of person or I need an engineer or copywriter. And I was talking to all these individuals from all walks of life that I was like, I know a great copywriter. I know a great engineer, a great person for social media. I'd connect them, they'd maybe do business or they'd figure out other solutions and they'd always come back, both would then thank me, thank you for that introduction, that connection and they'd want to help me further down the line. And I think when we invest in people, when we invest in friendships like you said, relationships and just reaching out to friends and saying, hey, what are you up to today? How can I support you? What's the biggest need that you have? And trying to be a solution that will pay 5, 10, 20 years down the line.

Definitely. And the game gets easier once you get the ball gets going, you know, you have more power to help and then people will appreciate you more. So the game will be easy and easy. Once you go above the line, you will, you cannot lose because, don't you, don't you, wouldn't you agree? Absolutely, absolutely. Once you, you are over a certain level, It's just a win-win-win-win game.

Absolutely.

Because there's no loser in happy people's world.

Yeah, and I'm a big believer. I think about this a lot myself. I'm like, if I lost everything, what would I do? I would just reach out to my friends as well and figure out, or I'd say, Hey, I'm happy to coach people. I'm happy to do something else and just be of service if I need to and trade my my talents or my service for the money. And thankfully, I have a great network. I have great relationships because just like you, Ken, you've been adding value to the world for two decades now, a lot longer than me. But I've been doing my show and doing other free things for, I don't know, 12, 13 years, just trying to help people without expecting, without charging anything. You know, the podcast is free. The YouTube channel is free. It's just, hey, it's this free value from someone like yourself. And if it helps you make a little bit more money or helps you find more happiness or helps you get out of that toxic relationship, then awesome. Hopefully they remember that and they want to pay it forward or buy something from me in the future if it makes sense. But either way, it's being a ripple effect like you said. And the more we can do that with our friends, that'll ripple through their communities and the world, which I think is a beautiful philosophy. I've got a few final questions for you, Ken. This has been really inspiring and I hope when I'm in Japan we can connect and you can share with me more of these philosophies in person.

Yes, yeah, I'll just guide you through Kyoto. And by the way, you have more than a few extra rooms here. You know, I have a big place.

Perfect, me and my girlfriend, perfect, me and my girlfriend will come for sure.

With a sushi.

I'm in. I'm excited. I've always wanted Japanese sushi. We've got pretty good sushi here in Los Angeles, but I'm assuming Japan is another level.

The authentic sushi places here.

Ooh, I'm in. I want the fish like squirming. Yeah. Is there any other final lessons that you would share from your mentor that we should be thinking about as we go into the next moment of our life after this. interview.

So one thing I learned from my mentor, Wah Hee, is that he focused on receiving well, both good and bad, because we tend to, we want to receive only the good things. And so, like, if, if we pray, God, please give me good things, not bad things. But good things could be bad things, and bad things could be good things. You never know. The worst thing that happened to you could turn out to be the best thing in your life five years later.

True.

So you have to be a master of receiving well. So I try not to judge things on the surface. you know, I cannot really judge what's inside from the gift wrap. It might be wrapped well, but I don't know what's inside. So I try not to judge when something comes into my life. I try not to judge if it's good or bad. I receive it well.

Wow.

You never know because it could be bad, it could be good. So I let go of my judgment. Is this good? Is this bad? Is this a good decision? Is this a bad decision? I've learned how to trust myself and how to trust my intuition. So even though the things that may not go as I want it, I think if it's my destiny, the door will open. That's my philosophy. So when you feel stuck, don't worry about it. just, you know, deep, get a few deep breaths and just figure out which door will open for you and your best friend or somebody will open doors for you. It's usually the people.

And.

Incredibly oftentimes a stranger or people.

Who.

Don'T know much about you could offer you money, the opportunity, a new guest room, or whatever that is. So just, I think the world is so generous, full of love. So trust life will take good care of you, especially in hard times.

Yeah, that's beautiful. Very beautiful. Ken, I've got two final questions for you. But before I get into those questions, I want to highly recommend people check out your book, buy a copy, buy a few copies for your friends. It's called Happy Money: the Japanese Art of Making peace with your money. And a lot of my viewers and listeners, specifically in the North America, who maybe grew up more shy around money or insecure or didn't have the right lessons or teaching from their parents or society about how to just talk about it, how to think about it, how to approach it. I think it would be really helpful for so many people to dive into this message and get your book. I know you have many other books as well on this topic, but I think people should start there. if they go to your website, kenhonda.com, they can see all of your information there. They can get the book there. It's obviously on Amazon and everywhere else. And you're all over social media. Happy Ken Honda. You're like the happy, you're like the happy money Buddha. You know, it's like you got, you're like the happy guy. So I like that. You got the panda, the happy pandas in the background and the video. You got everything here so people can follow you on social media as well. And is there, before I get to the final couple questions, is there anything else we can do to support you today?

Thank you. I'm so happy to share what I know about money and happiness. I'm so excited that I finally get to share my ideas and philosophy that I learned from many great mentors with English-speaking people. I'm working on my English, so I'm just getting there.

You're doing great.

But this is such a fun journey myself. So I learned, I want to learn more about you and I want to more about different cultures. They all fascinate me. So as much as I talk, I want to listen too. So I want to, one day I want to have a chat with you.

Yeah.

Learn about money with one another. So we started a community called Arigato Living Community. so we have 20 different country participants. So if you're interested in learning with these, just Google that Ken Honda Arigato Living Community and we do monthly calls and have a friendly chat like this. And this is the happiest time of my life. So I always appreciate this fun culture exchange. for me.

That's beautiful. That's really cool. We'll make sure to link all those up as well. And make sure you guys check that out. Ken, final two questions. This one's called the three truths. It's a question I ask everyone towards the end of our conversation. It's a hypothetical question. So imagine many years away, it's your last day here on this earth, and you have accomplished all of your goals, all of your dreams, your you've lived the life. But for whatever reason, Ken, you've got to take all of your books and all of your messages and groups and podcasts and interviews and content. It goes with you to another place. So no one has access to your information anymore or your content. But you get to leave behind three lessons with the world. Three things you know to be true that you would share with the world. It can be any lessons. I'm curious, what would be those three truths for you?

Three. Huh, interesting. I think the first one that comes into my mind is life can be more fun. Yeah, that'll be the first one.

Okay.

And also, life is more fun when unexpected events keep happening. so because I really mean it because, you know, life brings me a lot of surprises.

Yeah.

And the third one is, I think probably relationships are everything, is everything. Relationship is everything is what I would say.

It's a beautiful truth, Ken. I want to, before I ask the final question, I want to acknowledge you, Ken, for for being such a great guide for so many of us, specifically over the last two decades, and for all the efforts you're going to continue to do for the rest of your life, for your ability to bring clarity, your ability to bring peace on your stressful topic for a lot of people around money, your ability to simplify things, and your ability to remind people that happiness, joy, love, appreciation, friendships are the most meaningful thing. And those things, when you appreciate them, will bring you other opportunities in your life. So I really acknowledge you for your gift, your creativity and your talents, my friend, that I'm excited to, to connect in person, hopefully in Japan someday in the near future. Um, my, my final question is, what is your definition of greatness?

I think the definition of greatness is knowing who you are. and stay happy with it. I hope that answers the question, did I?

Perfect, that's perfect. Yes. Ken Honda, thank you so much for being here, my friend. I appreciate it.

Thank you so much, Luis. This is such a great interview. You're such a genius interviewer and now I know why people love you and respect you. So, thanks, man. All my love and respect for my new found brother and also the viewers. Thank you so much for spending time with us. I really appreciate every second of you spent the time you spent with us. So thank you. Thank you. Arigatou, arigatou.

Thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's show with all the important links. and also make sure to share this with a friend and subscribe over on Apple podcast as well. I really love hearing feedback from you guys, so share a review over on Apple and let me know what part of this episode resonated with you the most. And if no one's told you lately, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great. Summer's heating up, and your snack game should too.

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