Danilo Kawasaki shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Danilo, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
Life post-fire has been challenging to say the least. It is hard to cope with such unexpected and tragic event which changes the course of your life. I would be lying if I said life is great and everything will be fine. However, with all that being said, how you deal with these difficult moments define how the rest of your life will be. To answer your question, I haven’t had a normal day since I lost my house and my community, but I am working hard to build a new normal day, one day at a time.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Danilo Kawasaki. I am the co-founder and COO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth Management. Our mission is to democratize financial planning and investment management and help as many individuals and families achieve financial independence and live their best lives.
I was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I came here at the age of 17 to attend college and play tennis. In a true “American Dream” fashion, I’ve been blessed to live an authentic and aspirational life surrounded by family and dear friends.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
Undoubtedly, my mom is my biggest inspiration. She has taught me so many valuable lessons, mostly around good values and positive beliefs that even though she is no longer with us, these lessons continue to be my guide and true north.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering, pain, losses, defeat are some of the best teachers if you are willing to accept them, learn from them, and make changes and adjustments in order to continue to evolve as human beings. Life is easy when everything is going your way. There is nothing wrong with that either, but you can’t expect life to be that easy. Every challenge is an opportunity to rise above and grow as a person, which in my view should be everyone’s goal.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
The financial industry is unfortunately full of opportunists who prey on the lack of knowledge and education of their own clients. They are more interested in making a sale than actually helping people. We, at Gerber Kawasaki, are proud of being true fiduciaries to our clients, meaning we have to do what is in our clients’ best interests at all times. We manage money and build financial plans for our clients the same way we would for our own families. We practice what we preach and are proud to invest alongside our clients.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I live by the motto, “live like you will die tomorrow, plan like you will live forever.” The truth is no one knows how much time we have left. It is hard not to take days for granted, but that is how I try to live my life. Key word here is TRY. I too often catch myself complaining about meaningless things such as traffic, rain, long lines… keeping things in perspective is something I work on every day. As I get older, I am proud to say I have gotten much better at that, but I know this is something I need to continue to work on every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.GerberKawasaki.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gerberkawasaki/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danilokawasaki/
- Twitter: @DaniloKawasaki
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/gerber-kawasaki-wealth-and-investment-management-santa-monica?osq=Gerber+Kawasaki+Wealth+%26+Investment+Management
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Gerberkawasaki
