 Thank you for joining me on Think Tech Hawaii. I am Shonda Park, your host for Money Talks. I am a business owner and investor passionate about helping people understand how money works. I am a mother of three wonderful children and my net worth was close to zero dollars when I became a single mom about 10 years ago. Education has helped me build a strong financial foundation creating a network in the millions. Today I have the pleasure of interviewing my daughter, Shana Park, who has followed in my footsteps going from zero to millions. She is a young entrepreneur and one of my business partners and she will be sharing her experiences on how travel is the best investment in her opinion. Welcome to the show Shana. Thank you for having me mom. Thank you for being on the show for your very first time. Please share a little bit more about yourself for the viewers today. Okay great. I am 22 years old and I am a full-time entrepreneur in the financial industry. After I graduated high school back in 2018 I moved to Oregon to attend college at Western Oregon University and I still currently reside in Oregon. I got interested in the financial industry back in 2019 and also got a job at a local food truck in the town that I live in now and a little over a year ago I quit my job and went full-time in my business. And how is that going for you? It's going fantastic. I have so much time freedom, the ability to travel and overall it's been incredible. Wonderful so let's talk about your travels and how in your opinion travel is the best investment. Okay yes so being a young entrepreneur I have the opportunity to travel at least once a month and in my opinion I believe travel is the best investment because of all the new experiences that are created when I get to see all these new places and there are so many different cultures, the way of living and each place that I travel to I learn something new but also realize that we all have something in common and we are all on this beautiful journey called life. Yes we are and I know that you just returned from Egypt. Did you ever imagine that that would be a place that you would travel to? Yes I did just return from Egypt about a week ago and Egypt was absolutely incredible. I always wanted to travel to Egypt but didn't know when how and why I would go. And so why did you go? I went for business and it was a qualifying trip so I was able to go with you of course and amongst really great big powerful leaders of our business. Yes and as for me Egypt was never on my bucket list so I was actually really surprised you know for a young woman like yourself that Egypt was always a place that you wanted to travel to so I'm glad that at a very young age you were able to cross this off your bucket list so will you please share about the places that you traveled in Egypt and your experiences there? Yes so I started off or we started off our trip in Egypt in Luxor and we got to cruise down the Nile River all the way to Oswan and then ended our trip in Cairo so we flew to Cairo and I think my favorite place we visited in Egypt was Cairo. There are over 22 million people in that city alone and the great pyramids of Egypt are also located in Cairo so to me the fact that it's this great busy city you can also see the pyramids and you know when I seen pictures of the great pyramids of Egypt before I imagined you would have to drive hours and it's in the middle of nowhere but from maybe a good balcony view you can witness it right there and the pyramids are huge. And you mentioned the Nile River cruise so how many days did you get to do that cruise? I did the cruise for four days and breathtaking sights all throughout the whole cruise whether if we were docked somewhere and we got to experience the city or while we were cruising down the Nile each time I got on the boat or off the boat it was a new experience. And you said you started in Luxor? Yes, we did start in Luxor. What do you know about the photos there? Yes so in Luxor it's actually that middle photo the middle shot and that was our first tour that we got to experience so as soon as we got off the tour bus I already knew that Egyptians and the history of Egypt is phenomenal because these statues were built such a long time ago and it's standing right in front of me so tall so big standing strong it was breathtaking and truly you know once in a lifetime experience and the photo to the left is me pointing out one of the three great pyramids of Giza and when I first seen it in person it's huge super super huge and I feel like I got to experience and witness a part of history when I touched the great pyramid and the last photo it's just me capturing the moment of being free and enjoying life. Yes you look very free and beautiful in that photo. And you want to share a little bit about these? Yes of course. It was one of these in Oswan because I know you said you went from Luxor to Oswan. Luxor I believe the photo the middle photo on the bottom is in Oswan but the two other photos are in Cairo correct me if I'm wrong but for me at least when I think of Egypt I think of of course the pyramids and camels and I feel like through seeing pictures of Egypt of course it's the great monuments that you see but also photos of people riding a camel so the fact that I got to experience my first camel ride in front of the great pyramids with my best friend which is you mom there's a moment that I will never get to experience and feel again and I'm so grateful that I got to go and experience that moment with you. And the other photos too very very historical places I'm pretty sure you read about these in the history books too of Abu Simbel and wow the fact that it was built thousands of years ago and it's still standing strong and when you walk into these great monuments there's colors too that are still restored and not restored but still intact vibrant and intact in its original form yes yeah yes it was an amazing sight and I'm so glad that I got to experience this with you too quality time and very precious mommy daughter moment that was a very fun camel ride too yeah I didn't realize it was going to be a very scary lift so that was fun and share about this photo here this is our gala dinner yes wow so on the last night in Egypt we had a gala dinner and we our dinner was taken place maybe 200 feet away from the great spring and to have dinner in front of one of the seven wonders of the world what it took my breath away each moment there I had to tell anyone who was behind me to pinch me because this isn't something you experience every day in your life that's why it's called one of the seven wonders of the world so to experience having a gala dinner there and enjoying great food and dancing and really living in that moment was incredible yes I agree it was very breathtaking and it almost seemed like a dream being there not only were we at the seven wonders of the world one of the eight ancient seven wonders of the world but to have a gala dinner there as well I mean just to top everything off yes top everything off of an incredible trip that we yes exactly and so you mentioned that you knew you wanted to travel to Egypt you just didn't know how you didn't know when you didn't know why however your business brought you there so you want to share about this group photo here in front of the pyramid yes so like I mentioned earlier this was a qualifying trip so I got to experience Egypt amongst the largest and you know biggest builders in my business and to go on tours with them and seeing how much knowledge they have really brought a new perspective into my life and you probably can't see her in the shop but she's in the front row her name is Alicia Nguyen and she shared at our meeting that we had in Egypt that it's crazy that Egyptians they spend their whole lives planning for their death and their afterlife but our generation our my generation is all in Yolo and living in the moment so to take a piece of history from Egypt and to tie it into my life that's what travel is all about learning about different cultures and how to change my way of thinking and my life through these new experiences yeah that's absolutely true and Egypt is not the only continent that you've you've been on this year right what other continent have you been on this year and when I got to go to Europe just back in May and got to go to Spain and Portugal yeah so share a little bit about these photos here in Portugal and Spain. This top left photo might be one of my favorite photos because this group right here are all of my friends in the business but they are all located in different parts in the state so the lady to the left of me or the girl to the left of me she is located in Hawaii and then the three people on the right of me are in California so the fact that this business that I am in I guess to connect with all these people online through zoom and create all these friendships but get to meet up in a different country is or a different continent is crazy to me so that was our first night in Portugal and to the right top right is our Ohana office that we Hawaii people going all the way to Portugal and experiencing the Portuguese food and all the wonderful history that Portugal has to offer and then of course experiencing another trip with my mom yes of course and you said connecting with your friends which is wonderful so it's not just old people in your business there's actually many other young entrepreneurs all over the United States that you connect with yes yeah you have more of Portugal and Spain that you want to share about oh yes of course just like how I mentioned earlier too that each place you visit there's so much history so did Spain and I just want to say every other block there was a castle so to know that in Egypt they're known for pyramids and Spain the castle whenever I see a picture of Spain I remember that moment that I was in and that's another reason why travel is so great because you get to capture all these memories that become moments and that are deeply held in your heart or my heart my heart too okay and I see that this is a picture that you have of the sorae that we had that you want to share about where this picture was captured this picture to the left was captured at a bulls fighting arena in Portugal and once in a lifetime experience again of course I've seen youtube videos but never in my life did I imagine that I would be having a dinner in the middle of the arena it wasn't on the stands or in the seats but the whole middle section where the bulls fight is where our dinner was set up so to experience another dinner in a great place that I never imagined I'd be you know able to visit let alone have a dinner in and to have um dance the whole night away it was marvelous a very marvelous experience so gala dinner at the pyramids of Giza and a sorae dinner in a bull fighting ring in Portugal and these are not something that uh anyone traveling there would be able to experience right it's it's very unique to to the company yes definitely I feel like the business that I am in offers all these great amazing places um once in a lifetime experiences and our CEO had mentioned that the next gala dinner will probably be in space and I wouldn't put it past my business that we would have a gala dinner in space yes me too because how would they top that off right exactly yeah and I know that you have traveled to many countries so would you mind um sharing which countries that you've traveled to yes so I have been to Thailand Canada Japan Mexico Portugal Spain and now Egypt that's a lot for a 22 year old yes it is and I feel very honored and privileged to have been to all these amazing and great places yes and not only countries I know that you have traveled to many cities um all across the US so about how many cities have you traveled to I have to say I have been to over 30 cities in the US yes what are your top two or three favorites definitely New Orleans like I had mentioned earlier too each place that you visit to whether it's a different continent or in the States each place has its own history so New Orleans the feel and walking in the French quarters and the food it was absolutely incredible but I also do love Anaheim California because it's known for Disneyland and California Adventure Park so two polar opposites but definitely very memorable and great experiences that were created there yeah what about big cities like um Vegas and New York did you enjoy cities uh such as such as those I did enjoy uh New York and Vegas however I feel like the smaller places too are a little bit more intimate um more history behind it and I I think too it's because I went on tours in New Orleans maybe that's why I like it so much in California I got to go on rides yeah so tell me about this picture here where are you at what city are you at in this picture I am in Fort Worth Texas and it was actually our company's big convention that happened once a year and I was able to bring a very big team of mine to Texas so they're not all in this picture but it was over a dozen of them that came and different parts of the states too so my team from Hawaii I also have a team um now building in Alaska in Oregon and Vegas and we all got to connect at this convention so explain how is it that you get to travel to all these incredible places and travel as frequently as you do I get to travel as frequently as they do and to all these places because of the business that I am in and I feel very fortunate to be traveling at such a young age and to all these incredible places um because of my business but because I'm also very young I know a lot of people wait and it's on their bucket list to travel when they retire but through knowing what I know now and being an entrepreneur I have the opportunity to travel on my own time while doing what I love the most which is educating people about financial education and I see a book in this picture here yes um so this book was given to um a team member or a client and we went to Alaska to educate and share with people we love and care about the most which is our friends and family or my team member's friends and family so September is actually life insurance awareness month and life insurance is a huge part of how I help people build a strong financial foundation so in that photo we were able to help him start um a solid financial foundation and get him proper protection that's wonderful and you just met him that day correct yes no contact at all never texted but we are able to meet connect and um educate on why it's important and the value of getting life insurance even at a young age yes and how does it feel to just travel across countries travel across the united states and be able to meet with people that you've never met before and be able to help them in such a way that you do I feel very honored and privileged but I also don't take it lightly uh lightly because I know that what I do is important and there is a big need for the help in finances a lot of people um it's not taught a lot in schools and um I think it's very important to share and I love traveling and be able to share the message of finances I know that you're expanding yes I am so not only am I uh have my business in Oregon and Hawaii but I am also expanding to Alaska and Vegas as well so this photo uh really does mean a lot to me because this was my first time in Alaska um I got to bring one of my team members but also through the business and being an entrepreneur I'm able to travel frequently and see my family a lot I think um that's very important to me so my brother is pictured uh to the far left and he's right there and the lady in the green is another team member in our business and I always see her through zoom because I'm in Oregon she's in Alaska but through traveling we're able to see each other physically in person and start up an office in Alaska wow that's really amazing that um you're going to be expanding and open opening an office in Alaska and you see that happening sometime this year yes definitely before the year ends actually yes wow that's wonderful and you know I know that you travel a lot but just to kind of put it to to viewers just in a year this is only September but can you name all the places that you've traveled to just from the beginning of 2022 yes of course so I was in Hawaii in January and then I went to New Orleans I went back to Hawaii I went to California um in April I went to New Mexico May was Portugal in Spain July was Texas um August was back home to Hawaii and Alaska and September was Egypt and then I know also before you flew to Texas you sent for your brother to fly to Oregon and spend a week with you and then fly to Texas together with him yes and that's the great beauty of being an entrepreneur the freedom the time freedom and I think family time is the most important to me so to experience and having him up for a week and flying to a different state together it's these are moments that I'll never get back and you know we can't rebuy time so the fact that I have the time freedom to spend with my younger brother is really truly amazing yeah and I know it's really important to him to that you're able to go back to Hawaii and spend time with him as frequently as you do and to send for him to go to Oregon and if you had a nine to five job a Monday through Friday nine to five that would be time that you would not have with him you know during the week that he's there so yeah yeah and um at the Titan X meeting in Egypt one of the leaders said that travel is the currency of the new industry and he also read an anonymous quote which says travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer so what's your thoughts on that I truly believe travel does make you richer you create or I create new memories I learn about the history of the places that I traveled to I learn about different cultures and I gain you know many new experiences which overall makes me see life from different perspectives so each place that I visit I get to take away something new and you know put it to my lifestyle and how I want to better myself and I don't think I would be able to do that if I just stayed in the same place all the time so Egypt you know taught me about persistence and how powerful the people are there they are very persistent and always working hard but the last day I was there this man told me to smile because life is so short and that simple quote or that simple statement that he told me had such a big impact that I will remember that and his face until you know years from now probably until I die and that's what traveling does makes you richer in the mind makes you richer in experiences and makes me richer overall with life and it definitely makes you appreciate all the things that you have when you travel to places like that right and and having someone in that environment working so hard in a store you know just doing their best to make a sale and telling you to smile and having such a great attitude right and his character and personality I will never forget this person as well he will hold a special place in my heart forever and you know you only get that through experiencing new things so I've never experienced being in an environment like that and having the advice and the power of those words you know really capture my heart like that definitely and one thing that a leader said at the meeting as well is three things that will change your life is the books you read the people you're with and the environment you're in and I can tell by the people that you're with and the environment you're in Shayna that it definitely has made you richer thank you mom thank you again for being on the show for your very first time I hope that you will be back on another show again and aloha everyone thank you for watching and I will see you on the next money talks thank you so much for watching think tech hawaii if you like what we do please like us and click the subscribe button on youtube and the follow button on vimeo you can also follow us on facebook instagram twitter and linked in and donate to us at think tech hawaii dot com mahalo