THE MOMENT - Howard Higa - Lance E. Lee Podcast Episode #102

The esteemed Higa family was such a significant part of my life in Japan. I am very excited and honored to have Howard Higa as my guest over FaceTime from Honolulu, Hawaii. Howard was born in Wahiawa on Oahu, and when he was 12, his family moved to Japan, where he attended the ASIJ. He went to college in Missouri and then served in the US Navy as a public affairs officer during the Vietnam War aboard the USS Iwo Jima. Although he wanted to pursue a career in folk music, Howard chose to study business in college. Amidst his studies, Howard successfully ran his first company selling stone lanterns. His aspirations led him to the importing/trading business specializing in fur coats and golf gear to candies and macadamia nuts. Among the vast array of companies, Howard shares how he established Honolulu Cellular, one of the first mobile carriers in the US. He is also well known in Hawaii as the owner of The Cab, the biggest taxi company. The Cab provided for many immigrant families, and their children thrived in successful careers. Howard recently had an epiphany while on a TV show and realized his life's purpose; his AH-HA moment. We are all driven towards financial success, but what is it all for? Paying it forward by assisting people in getting their life dreams: at age 78, Howard is finally coming to terms with this blessed calling, or as his Japanese mentor put it, "ikigai."