Saturday – October 27, 2029
It’s a calm autumn day with a light breeze in the air and clear skies. As I sit on the porch, the view to my left shows a forest with the vibrant colors of changing leaves and birds soaring in the air. To my right is a tennis court that looks like it was prepared for the first match at Wimbledon. Further down displays an area where horses run free. Straight ahead is the backyard with the type of pool you would see out of a high-end resort. Beyond that a field that seems to go on forever with the backdrop like something out of Montana with the mountains, a flowing river, lakes and trees that gave me a feeling of serenity that felt almost heavenly.
I’m on the 150+ acre estate of one of the most successful men I’ve ever met. Now when I say success, it’s not simply finances. What he has accomplished, the impact he makes on a daily basis, the lives he is helping to change will positively impact generations to come, and more importantly, one’s that may never of had a chance.
Dan stepped out with some water and tea. He was wearing a simple red hoodie and jeans which I wasn’t necessarily expecting which he must have read on my face.
“I like to be comfortable.”
First I asked, “What drives you to create the success that you do?”
Dan smiled and leaned back in his chair as if looking off into the distant to relive the memory….
“I recall the first time I was introduced to what Operation Underground Railroad was doing. I wasn’t even aware such a thing existed. Truth is I was ignorant to what was really going on in this world and I knew I had to do something to help fight this pure evil. That day, God put it in my heart that I was meant to aid and fight in this cause, but I didn’t know exactly how. As much as I would love to be in the trenches with those guys, I honestly don’t know if I could ever restrain myself once I came face to face with the ones hurting those children……………….but I knew I had to do something.”
And so, he did. He started by simply becoming an abolitionist and donating monthly to O.U.R. It started out as $50, then $100. This would steadily increase over the years, but he knew he had to do more.
Then God spoke to him.
“I was watching X-men one day with my son. As the movie progressed, it hit me and I wondered, what happens with these victims once they are rescued? Sure, some of them have families to go back to but what about the ones that don’t? At the same time, even the ones that do, would need something in place to help them deal with the trauma that they have been through and help to put them into a position where they can recover, heal, and hopefully live a full and meaningful life. I’m sure they had something in place but my thought was to give them amenities that would put them in the best position to create a successful and meaningful life.”
This is when he came up with the idea to fund and build multiple recovery and learning centers to not only help heal these people but also give them guidance and an education to put them in a position to go out into the world and make an impact accomplishing whatever it is that they would like to do with their lives.
“I knew it was going to take a lot of money to get just the first one in place. The truth is, I didn’t want these people to have to worry about anything when it came to them healing and recovering. We are all God’s children and we all deserve a chance to become what He intended for us to become. Unfortunately, sometimes we are put into situations that can be too much to overcome without the proper help, so this was essentially what I wanted to provide for these victims.”
His first couple of attempts in business did not go as he had hoped but he learned lessons in those failures and kept the mindset that these are the things he needs to go through to ultimately gain the success he desired. His biggest mistake was putting his focus on too many things at once and no matter how many times he was told to focus on one thing, for some reason he hesitated to take that lesson.
He mentions to me that the switch flipped when one of his mentors told him “Dan, whatever I do, if it doesn’t bring me peace, I’m not interested.” That was when he realized it was time to truly analyze what he was attempting to accomplish, eliminate the noise, distractions and unpeaceful things and start to focus on one thing that brought him peace and do it until he became exceptionally great at it.
This same mentor was the one that also introduced him to making money through notes in real estate. It started with one note, then 2…a purchase here, a wholesale deal there and what he found was not only did this bring him peace, but it played to his natural strengths with skills he excelled at. As of today, he has done over 13,000 deals helping fund and build over 100 centers as well as 100 orphanages throughout the country. When I showed my amazement at the volume of what he has accomplished, he smiled and said,
“That’s about half of what my mentor has done.”
This statement was made with the complacent confidence of a man knowing there is a lot more that can be accomplished to make a bigger impact, build more centers, and help a lot more people in this world. The expression on his face left no doubt that he would accomplish it.
As we wrapped up the interview, he walked me back to my car and left me with this:
“I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me to help share my story and bring awareness to what we want to accomplish. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to sit down with my beautiful wife and create some plans as we have a bit of travel ahead of us for 18 months starting January 1, 2030.”
His plans….to travel to multiple countries, spending time connecting with people and finding locations where he can fund more of what he calls, Kingdom Miracle Centers.
I recall playing Father Serra in third grade, Dan. He was responsible for creating many missions in California. You sound like a future Father Serra. Thanks for sharing your vision! 🙂
Dan, thank you.