ORLANDO, Fla. – Before Doug Lawson was a Rivera Beach council member, a mentor, a business owner or an entrepreneur at all, he was born into a family of determined Jamaican immigrants.
This week on “Black Men Sundays,” host Corie Murray interviews Lawson, catching up on the good that decades of being a dreamer can bestow.
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In addition to the many titles Lawson has since made for himself, he’s also successfully established generational wealth. The thing is, he said, such a thing is possible without real estate, but not probable.
“Every type of millionaire, billionaire and anyone that’s had wealth has owned land because money comes and goes, it’s the fact that the only thing we’re not making more of is land, so if you actually can hold a piece of that here in the States, anywhere in this country or anywhere in this world, there’s no more that’s being created in the world, so it’s the only type of resource, only type of equity, only type of asset that we can literally invest into that’s not going to go anywhere because you can go up and down, the market will crash every seven to 10 years, so you know with real estate it gives you an opportunity to hold on to something and still be able to sustain while you pay the debt off,” Lawson said.
As a successful first-generation U.S. citizen, the term “American Dream” was used frequently during the conversation, referencing both the backdrop and the goal of Lawson’s endeavors.
“The true definition of the American Dream, me growing up, was to not be in the streets at the age of 15-16. The American Dream was to not be killed, shot or dead like some of my friends that I grew up with,” Lawson said. “Me personally, I found the American Dream when I was able to stabilize my household, build an amazing relationship with my daughter, find my beautiful wife and be able to continue to teach literacy to the community, teach servant leadership as an elected official, and I’m continuing to build this American Dream for myself because it’s in what your mind has, it’s in your personal heart and what you believe in.”
Black Men Sundays talks about building generational wealth. Check out every episode in the media player below.