From There to Here

Hello DG Family,

My story begins in a small farming community in north-west Indiana. During my formative years I was raised in a lower-middle class home. I had a standard midwestern public school education with no bells and whistles. While we had no excessive material items, we did have the necessities. I am very grateful for this. I am grateful for having both the necessities and for not having the extras. The reason I say this is that the humble environment of my youth taught me the profound importance of caring people and quality relationships in life. With this foundation I began to look beyond my "backyard", so to speak, for new experiences and the opportunity to meet people that share my views on positive interaction. I went through some trial and error during that time regarding the nature of people, but I learned some very valuable lessons. I decided it was time to move beyond what I knew in Indiana and see what world had to offer.

I come from a family tradition of military service. My grandfather, father, uncles, and cousins have all served. My father was a U.S. Marine and my brother had just joined. I decided that if I was going to take my first step out of my Indiana "backyard" it might as well be a big step. Well, that was eight years and a few times around the world ago. I have been to some amazing places and met some very interesting people along the way. The one thing that has had the most profound effect on me during my travels is, despite all of the differences of the many cultures of the world, people are fundamentally the same. We all have families, and we all possess the innate drive to connect with and care for other people.

It is this human connection that has been the primary motivator for me to embark upon this new adventure in creative real estate investing. I have noticed that real estate is a people business. It is all about the people you work and build relationships with. I knew that behind all the strategies and technical information there had to be a culture of people that really cared about each other and actively helped each other in their REI journeys. It was that one late night I saw Dean's infomercial on television when I knew I had found the people I was looking for.

So, here I am. I am what the DG family calls a "newbie". I will wear that title proudly, and hopefully pass it on to another as I progress from student to teacher. Thank you for reading my story. I look forward to talking to you all soon.

Shawn