Radically Different Backgrounds

“Although Matt and Sandee were both building successful businesses as singles before they met, they came from radically different backgrounds. “I was average in everything I did,” says Matt, who was born and raised in Hawaii. “I just did what everybody else was doing. I played a number of sports, but I also got involved with some of the wrong things like drugs and alcohol.”

By the time Matt reached college he already felt beaten down by the system. He could see that people all around him weren’t making it financially no matter what they had chosen for a career. He saw couples getting married and having to move back in with their parents because of the high cost of living in Hawaii. Others were getting more and more into debt, and everyone was always complaining about money. “Partying, drugs, and alcohol were my way of escaping reality,” he explains.

Heart to Heart

Two weeks before he saw the Independent Business Plan, Matt sat down and had a heart to heart talk with his mom. “What should I do with my life, Mom?” he asked. “It’s going nowhere. Jobs aren’t paying and I don’t know where I’m headed.” For the first time his mother didn’t have an answer for him. Two weeks later, when Matt saw the Business Plan, he got excited even though he didn’t understand it very well. He jumped right in and started doing the steps necessary to build it. The absolute unwavering conviction of his upline mentor was so strong that Matt began to change and grow and apply what he learned. “I took a lot of nos,” he remembers. “My friends and family didn’t really take me seriously until I hit the Ruby level and started getting monthly bonus checks for $10,000. That’s when my business really started to grow because people figured that if a twenty-two-year-old bartender who had never finished college could do it, then they could do it too.”

Self-Sufficient

Sandee, on the other hand, had always been self-sufficient financially from a very young age. She was twelve when she got her first job and by the time she turned nineteen, a bank had offered her a position as assistant manager. “Things were going great for me,” she recalls. “I was on my own, debt-free except for the mortgage on my condominium, and I was making a lot more money than any of my friends.” When Sandee made the decision to move from California to Honolulu, things began to go downhill. She took a huge cut in pay and at the same time found that the cost of living in Hawaii was much higher. At one point she even sold her car to pay off debt. For the first time in her life, Sandee was financially broke. “I was very depressed and extremely stressed out,” she admits, “but right at that time I saw the Independent Business Ownership Plan and immediately got excited. I saw this business as a way to supplement my income at work and eventually retire at a young age. It was wonderful to be around positive people and to see everyone shooting for a common goal.”

Celebrating Differences

Sandee and Matt met at a Free Enterprise Day function in California and four months later they were married. At the time, Matt was a Ruby and Sandee was a 4,000 Pin. They struggled initially in their marriage but they have learned to celebrate their differences and even laugh about the early times as husband and wife. Together they quickly went on to Emerald, and Diamond. They know the power of sharing the same vision. One of the greatest joys for them was when they were recognized on stage and heard the words, “Welcome to Diamond Club.”

Unfailing Desire

The World Wide Group support organization provided the teaching and support they needed to achieve their success. Their unfailing desire gave them the energy to work hard, the will to change and overcome their challenges, and to be the people they needed to be.

The Tsurudas have been retired from their traditional jobs for many years now. “When we tell people that, they can’t believe it,” laughs Sandee. “They can’t imagine what a young couple would do all day without normal jobs. For Matt and me, our freedom means choices.”

Love Is Spelled: T-I-M-E

“More importantly, our freedom allows us to be full-time parents—both Mommy and Daddy, to our three girls! In our opinion, being able to raise our own children, instead of having someone else do it, is one of the greatest blessings this business has given us. Our kids spell love T-I-M-E. Our lifestyle is great! The financial legacy we’ve been able to create will be passed down from generation to generation. That is peace of mind! Because of a dream, our upline’s help, and the World Wide support, we know that the best is yet to come!” Sandee believes that for her the greatest blessing of being free will come one day when she sees her children facing something difficult in their own lives and watching them make the right decisions because of the foundation of values she and Matt were able to instill in them.

Perseverance

Recently Matt ran in the Honolulu Marathon, which he says is one of the top ten experiences in his life. He sees many parallels to building their business. Not always are we prepared or properly trained to be successful as we begin: “We all have seeds of doubt at times that we need to persevere through. There is always a wall that we hit and must break through and at times we may stop and feel sorry for ourselves but we must choose to pick ourselves up and keep moving, even if it’s slow at times and we then finish the race that we began. The true victory comes when we look back and say ‘I finished the race.’”

His advice to all is to finish your own race to Diamond and join the most exclusive club in the world. Going Diamond for Matt and Sandee has meant their own freedom, associating with people they admire and respect, and having a cause to fight for. They love having the ability to help others and give of their time and money. Diamond and beyond is the best plan for one of the most rewarding lifestyles in the world!