Annc: Murphy Austin, Adam Schoenfeld, LLP, focusing on business law and commercial litigation is proud to support Rob on the Road Region Rising.

More information available at MurphyAustin.com Rob: Coming up on Rob On the Road, The journey of Jim Tabuchi sharing his family's horrifying history during World War Two, forced from their successful business in Stockton into internment camps and the wise words shared that became his family's future.

Jim Tabuchi on his life today, Advice for the next generation and launching the dream of his lifetime.

Narr: And now Rob on the Road exploring Northern California.

Rob: Jim Tabachi joins us now from his home in Elk Grove.

And Jim, it is so great to see you.

Thank you for being here.

Jim: Oh, thank you, Rob.

It's a pleasure to be here.

Rob: Thrilled to have you.

And it was so nice to see you in action on the field with the Sacramento Mandarins when we showcased you on Rob on the Road.

I loved seeing that.

Jim: That was -- mustve been, what, about a dozen years ago?

Rob: It was.

It was.

Jim: Feels like a lifetime.

Rob: And I said that you are Sacramento's best kept secret.

I mean, that.

Jim: You know, that was really interesting.

That was a very warm and nice kick in the butt to me.

Right?

Because -- Yeah, you were absolutely right.

You called it on the spot that the Sacramento Mandarins is a wonderful drum and bugle corps that's been around since the early sixties.

And yeah, we were just a best kept secret within the area.

Um, that prompted me to really change the organization.

So...

So at that time I was the corps director.

The year after that, they... they demoted me.

I call it a demotion to executive director.

So I was in charge of the organization at that point.

And that really prompted me to start thinking about ways to take this wonderful organization that been around for 50 years, right?

And to really spread its wings and to make a bigger contribution and impact throughout the region.

Rob: Wow.

You know, I did mean that as a compliment.

And I'm glad it -- that it was an inspiration because, you know, you... you really do so much more than music in the people's lives who are part of the Mandarins.

I mean that.

Um, and I'm just so glad I got to share that experience with you and that... that it mattered to you as well.

Today you are doing so much.

What matters most to you today, Jim Tabuchi?

Jim: I would say that this is the point in my life where it's all about giving back to the next generations.

Rob: How?

Jim: And... And...

Uh, within my life, for some reason I've come up with these... um, these cycles of 18 years for me.

And I don't know how that came about other than just by observation.

Right?

So I was -- Uh, I did all of my education in 18 years, kindergarten through graduate school.

I was in the corporate world for 18 years.

Uh, was fortunate enough to be able to retire after those 18 years.

Um, and then I really went into a lot of kind of nonprofit work and... and service to the community.

And so all throughout, right?

Through -- all throughout these three stages of 18 years, I've gained a tremendous amount of experience.

And now this next 18, probably my last 18 will be complete pletely devoted towards giving back to the next generations and helping them to have full and successful lives.

Rob: And specifically about what?

Jim: Really the keys to a successful life.

And to me, there are several different categories.

I mean, first of all, you have to have a vision for what your life could become and then look into healthy and productive relationships.

Um, certainly education and working on your career is part of it.

Um.

But fundamentally, I think another area is wealth building and wealth building to become financially independent.

Right?

And that was something that was gifted to me when I was young in terms of how to save and invest and to, you know, work my way through to become not wealthy but financially independent, which meant that I could step out of the rat race and kind of the corporate world that I was on, right, to then give back and to fully immerse myself into giving back.

And I think it's through that... through that financial independence that we have the opportunity to really become what we strive to be and to achieve that life vision that we're after.

Rob: It's a big deal because it is among the top stressors today in people's lives, and that is money, finance, debt - Rob: all of it.

Jim: It is...

It is - And if you look at, you know, one of the top reasons why why couples have arguments or... or eventually separate.

One of the things is money.

Rob: One of the top reasons.

Jim: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Rob: You hear how it is a tremendous difference if you start with a little when you're young and how it grows over time.

But what if you haven't started for... for an age group -- For many age groups that are watching right now, I know this is a quick question and it's hard to answer, but is it ever too late?

Jim: It's never too late.

Right?

The more that you save and invest, the better.

Um, however, it's... it's much better to start early, right?

To start in your late teens or your early twenties, because then you get the whole compounding effect.

And it's... it's that... that miracle, manmade miracle of that compounding effect.

Rob: And you're not talking about much.

It might feel like, trust me, it feels like a lot at that age.

But if you start at 18 with $100 a month - Jim: Yes.

Rob: you can have $1,000,000 by the age of 65.

Jim: That's exactly the right answer.

And unfortunately, it's not taught very much in school or at home.

Rob: Yeah, I never learned that in school.

That I remember...

I think I would remember that.

Jim: I never learned that in school.

I learned it from my parents and my grandparents.

And I was really fortunate that they... they had that... that foresight.

Rob: You learned a lot from your parents and your grandparents.

And I just have to say that I am so proud of them.

I am so proud of you and I am so emotionally moved by their story.

And I'm also moved in a way that calls me to action.

Tell me about the story of your grandparents and what they went through in the forties, World War Two.

Just walk me through that... that time that has been imprinted on your soul.

Rob: Um, there really are two stories, two very different stories.

One from my mother's side, one from my father's side.

Um, I'll talk about my father's side first, right?

Um, my grandfather came over, he was a 16 year old boy, came over on the ship all by himself.

He was... was told by his father to bring over some barrels of soy sauce from Japan.

And he was supposed to sell them and take the money and return back to Japan.

Well, the first thing that happened was those barrels of soy sauce were stolen from him.

And so they were taken.

He was disgraced.

He couldn't go back to Japan.

So he decided that he was going to work here.

But he worked, you know, washing dishes.

He made it to San Francisco, he was washing dishes and all of that.

And he... he ended up meeting this man who had a dream of coming to Sacramento and starting up a dry goods store.

So I think he followed them... followed this... this family and actually moved to Sacramento, worked in Sacramento, Japantown, which was here, which is just a vibrant and amazing place at the time, and then was tasked with starting up a branch of... of this dry goods store in Stockton.

So he did that and which eventually became Tabuchis department store, which was a tremendous success as well.

Rob: Very successful.

Jim: Very, very successful.

Yeah.

Um, to the point where I have a tax record of theirs and this is about, I think 1935 was the tax return and they had made a net profit, reported net profit of $8,000 in 1935.

Now, to put that in perspective, Rob: Thats a big deal... Jim: you could buy a brand new house for $5,000 at that time and a brand new beautiful car for about $700, so that means they could have bought a brand new house and five new cars with the money that they made.

Rob: In one year.

Jim: In one year.

Rob: And now think about what people make in a year and how much a house and a car -- So they were very successful.

Jim: Yeah.

So that was probably upper middle class at that point right?

Um, and then World War Two came about, came crashing down on their heads at that point where they had all of their possessions taken away.

They lost their... their job, they lost the store, all of those things and ultimately their freedom.

Right?

The biggest thing was their freedom.

They were in Stockton at the time.

They had just a couple of weeks to sell all of the goods at the store and were cheated out of things at that point.

And physically, this is kind of interesting.

Physically, they moved from their house about a half mile down to the sto -- to the Sacramento County or San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, where they were interned and evacuated and incarcerated at this assembly center.

Rob: My Gosh.

Jim: So they went from there, really beautiful home.

You know, again, upper middle class home to a fairground, which was basically horse stables at that point.

Rob: I think you just need to pause for a second.

That's a lot is -- I want people to really hear that, because that's not that long ago.

Jim: What is it... a little over 80 years ago.

Yeah.

And then they, you know, were taken to the to the internment camp in... in Arkansas, of all places.

Right?

Uh, and spent two and a half years there.

The interesting story that I had from that, though, is my father told me that his father, my grandfather, sat my father down while there in this internment camp, surrounded by barbed wire.

Right?

And told my father wars only last for three years.

And so he said, get ready because we're going to get out of here and we're going to make this story even bigger and better.

How did he know that?

How did he know the war is last for three years?

But he was right.

Even amongst all of that.

Right?

You know, dirt... dirt ground everywhere, barbed wire, guns facing inward.

He had that optimism and that foresight to say, we're going to get out of here and we're going to make things even better.

So it was the optimism that he had which carried out throughout... throughout our family.

Right?

So so that was my father's side.

Let me take you to my mother's side.

Right?

Um, my mother's family first came to the U.S. through Hawaii.

And so right in around 1900, they came in as one of the plantation families.

And so they worked on a plantation, which must have been just horrible conditions.

I kind of imagine it being indentured servants.

So they were brought over, had their... their passage paid for by this farming company that was their plantation owners.

They were put in plantation housing, probably had to buy their goods from the plantation store and their meals and all that.

So they were subjected to having to work off that debt.

Right?

Um they seemingly did it, but they returned back to Japan and then finally made their way to the US.

Right.

And so came over here.

And then they worked in the farms.

Um, and my... my grandfather must have been a good business man himself because he became uh, the leader of that farming group and worked with the farmers, worked with the labor, took care of the labor, housed them.

My grandmother cooked for them and all of that and really, you know, helped... helped agriculture kind of flourish around this area.

They also were interned.

They went to Tule Lake, which is in Northern California.

And they were... they were about ready to kind of throw in the towel to move back to Japan.

And so my... my aunt was... was back in Japan at the time.

And they... they had -- were able to communicate by letter and were getting ready to to move back to Japan when they were told, no, don't come back to Japan.

It's worse here than, you know, even in the U.S..

So through that, um, my... my aunt was still back in Japan during World War Two.

Um.

(exhales) This is... this is very touching and very moving because she actually survived the atomic bomb.

She was in Hiroshima.

She was a 16 year old girl working as a nurse's aide.

Uh, fortunately was in a basement at the time when the bomb went off and was sheltered from the bombs.

She was able to to come out and, of course, see all the devastation around her.

She tells the story of a little girl that she had picked up that was obviously wounded and, you know, severely hurt by the bomb.

She picked her up about an eight year old girl, took her, you know, was carrying her to the cave where they were ordered to go because they thought there was another bomb that could come.

The girl died in her arms.

And so this is what my aunt went through in Japan.

Following that she -- because she was a nurse's aide, was ordered to stay there at the hospital to take care of the sick and the wounded and the dying and to help the families identify the bodies of... of the... the -- these people who had perished.

And only after about a week was allowed to go back to her family.

And so just the sheer terror that she had witnessed lived with her the rest of her life.

She... she eventually made it back to the US.

Lived a long life to the age of 87 here in Lincoln.

Rob: Wow.

Jim: And had five kids of her own.

And so just to think of, you know, everything that my parents and grandparents had gone through in their lives, to me, that -- it does a number of things to me just personally.

Um, it's... it gives me a tremendous amount of appreciation.

It tells me that whatever happens in my life can never be as severe or as trying as what they had gone through.

It gives me optimism that even though my grandfather was in such a bad place and such a bad setting with so much bad that had happened to him, he still had that optimism to move forward.

Um, it gives me a sense of pride that my family could go through so much and to become as successful as... as they have and... and... and so what that says is I have this this firm foundation from my family to... to really strive and to do things that, you know, I might not think possible.

But knowing what they went through and what they've... what they've accomplished, anything's possible.

Rob: I am just I am blown away.

And I knew that story.

But to hear you tell it is just beyond... um, beyond important, because there are so many people alive today that... that don't know any of this.

What do you want people today to know?

Rob: A sense of optimism and a sense of strength.

Jim: I want...

I want everybody to explore their background, Right?

To understand their family situations and... and what has gone on before them that has enabled them to be where they are today.

I think my story is unique in its own perspective -- in its own way, and yet everybody has their own unique story.

And from that they can draw lessons and they can draw strength from what their families have gone through to be where they're at today.

Rob: I love how you just, um, applied that to everyone.

Um.

You know, we have all known and seen, heard, learn that if we forget history, that it can repeat itself.

Jim: Right.

Rob: And that is important.

And you just applied that to an optimistic way for everyone.

I think that your message for everybody watching to learn their family's history, whether they are living or not.

You can learn your family's history is vitally important to your future and to how you live your life today.

Because if we are walking blindly through our days without knowing what our ancestors went through, we are not helping the future generations live their lives and not helping ourselves as well.

Jim: Yes, you're absolutely right.

And... and I actually view our country.

Right?

So the entire country of the United States.

Right?

I view us as a nation of all stars.

I mean, think about it.

Right?

We're all immigrants.

And so what's common amongst all of us is that somebody in our... in our history, in our ancestors has made that decision to move from the comfort or maybe discomfort of where they lived before.

They've taken the initiative to cross the ocean, to cross the border, whatever it is, to get here.

They have suffered loneliness in most cases.

They have not known the language of where they're coming to.

They've come with a few dollars in their pockets and they've only brought what they could carry with them.

So think about that.

They went through the loneliness.

They stuck it out.

Right?

Of course, everybody thought, “Well, I miss my family in the back home country.

I miss the food, I miss those relationships and the se -- ” and whatever it is.

Right?

But they stuck it out.

They stuck it out to be here.

Right?

So they've endured to be here and then they've gone forward and they've made something with themselves.

And so we're a nation of All-Stars.

What other nation can say that?

And the strength of our country comes from all of these all stars that have... that have come from all throughout the world.

And that will continue to be the strength of who we are.

Rob: Jim, you amaze me.

You amaze me.

May the next 18 years of your life be the best ever.

I know that when you fill them with moments of action, which is what you do, that we've just discussed, that each moment will be the best yet for you and for others.

Jim: So...

So the only way that will happen is for me to continue to find ways to give back.

And I don't...

I don't know exactly how that's going to happen right now.

And that's part of the fun of it, is it's a time of exploration.

So I have this bucket of knowledge and experience and... and the buckets never full...

Right?

But it's time to start... to start giving that knowledge and to... to start empowering the next generations to apply that.

And hopefully I can do that in a big way.

I do have a challenge for myself and I'll share that with you, which is I call it a trillion dollar challenge.

It's a big audacious goal.

The trillion dollar challenge goes like this.

If I can help to impact a million, a million people in this world to become millionaires in their lifetime, do the math a million times a million is $1,000,000,000,000 in wealth.

So if I can do if I can accomplish it and by the way, this will not happen in my lifetime.

If I can get a 20 year old started in doing this so that they can build $1,000,000 in wealth in their lifetime, they'll be 65 when that happens, right?

Roughly.

So it's not going to happen in my lifetime.

I'm going to be long gone by then.

But my trillion dollar challenge is that I would like to at least light that spark for these... for these people to get on that path, to become millionaires and to generate that amount of wealth.

That's the trillion dollar challenge.

It's huge.

I don't know how I'm going to accomplish that at this point, but it's going to have to be probably through social media and getting the word out to a lot of people because I can't...

I can't rely on just the one on one.

Right?

One on one.

If I do that, it's going to take me a million one on ones to make that happen.

I can't even do that in terms of 100 or a thousand.

It's got to be tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people to impact at a time.

Right?

To move that needle, to get to that trillion dollar challenge.

That's my big audacious goal.

Rob: I have a piece of advice.

You need to include your family's story in that trillion dollar goal because when you bring hope into it, surviving all that they've been through, I think there's a through line between your family's experiences and setting others free with their experiences financially by taking that seed of hope and action and making that into their own million dollar mark.

That's a big deal.

Jim: That's fantastic.

Great advice on that.

Rob: Jim, you amaze me.

You always have since I met you, I'm so grateful for your journey and that you shared this time with us today.

Jim: Aw.

I love this Rob, thank you so much.

Thank you for your friendship.

Thank you for your inspiration.

You've given me words of wisdom at perfect times in my life, Rob: And vice versa.

Jim: And I... and I hope that we'll just be able to continue that kind of interchange.

And... and I appreciate and I love our friendship so much.

Rob: I do -- love ours, too.

Thank you, Jim Tabuchi, joining us live from Elk Grove.

I so appreciate you.

Jim: Likewise.

Thank you so much.

♪♪♪ Thanks for joining us.

You can watch when you want.

At RobOnTheRoad.Org Annc: Murphy Austin, Adam Schoenfeld, LLP, focusing on business law and commercial litigation is proud to support Rob on the Road Region Rising.

More information available at MurphyAustin.com