A listener wrote asking if she should buy a duplex even though the rent from one unit wouldn’t cover the mortgage. The answer wasn’t found in a spreadsheet, but in a shift of perspective. When one tenant pays your interest and you live in the other side, you’re not losing money, you’re buying your future at a discount.

Leadership doesn’t require a title, permission, or a platform. It begins the moment you decide you’re no longer going to be silent about the things that matter. The strongest leaders aren’t the loudest; they listen more than they talk and speak only when they can improve upon the silence.

The Borough wants you to believe property taxes work like ordering food at a restaurant, but government is not a menu of premium services. The Fair Tax Act exposes this flawed thinking and replaces it with a simple truth: taxes should reflect the real cost of government, not the speculative value of your home.

Heraclitus wrote that a thing rests by changing, meaning that peace comes not from rowing back into the past but from moving with the natural flow of life toward what is next. The good life is here in the present, not behind you and not just beyond the horizon.

Becoming a Backyard Millionaire is not easy, but it is possible. Wealth grows from the steady application of leverage and effort, not from shortcuts or luck. Learn your market, master your strategy, and begin building your future right where you live with what you have. Persistence and patience will change everything.

Most people believe they will write a book someday, when life slows down and time finally becomes available. The truth is, the perfect moment never arrives. Books get written in small bursts of effort, before the rest of the world wakes up or after it goes to sleep. If the story is in you, it does not need perfect conditions. It simply needs a beginning. These are the five secrets that will help you write and publish the book you have been carrying around for years.

Margaret never imagined the government would come for something already hers. The ring on her finger had passed through four generations, surviving wars, recessions, and a century of family memories. But when the borough created a “diamond tax,” reassessed its value, and sent a bill she could not pay, the impossible became real. On a quiet morning in her small kitchen, Mayor Mathis arrived with a velvet pouch and a polite smile. Margaret slipped the ring from her trembling hand and watched a piece of her family history disappear—not lost, not sold, not stolen… but taken.
This is the hidden cost of property taxation: a quiet theft disguised as policy.

Why four homes? That’s the question I hear most often about The Backyard Millionaire Plan. When we first designed the Four Home Formula, each home could be bought for around $250,000—four homes, a million-dollar net worth. But the principle hasn’t changed, even as values have. Four homes spread your leverage, multiply your cash flow, and keep wealth working for you. Anyone can do it—right in their own backyard.

Kenai Peninsula property owners: the current $50,000 Primary Home Exemption ends December 31, 2025. To keep your tax break, you must re-apply for the new $75,000 exemption and file with the Kenai Peninsula Borough by February 15. Don’t assume it’s automatic—submit the updated form and share this with neighbors.

The Fair Tax Act seeks to restore fairness and predictability to Alaska’s property tax system by ending taxation on unrealized gains and protecting homeowners from unpredictable spikes in assessment. It’s a call to align taxation with reality — to ensure Alaskans are taxed on what’s real, not imagined, and to protect the rights and stability of every property owner across the state.

Life rarely offers full visibility. You can only see a few feet ahead, yet that is enough. Chris Story reflects on how faith, doubt, and uncertainty all work together to move you forward, one hundred feet at a time.

Some people seem to draw opportunity to them effortlessly. That is not luck; it is magnetism. In this post, Chris Story reveals how to develop your own Magnate Power of Success by being fully yourself, seeing through the eyes of others, and giving more in use value than you take in cash value. Learn how to attract success instead of chasing it.

As the last leaves turn color, before the frost settles on Kachemak Bay, it’s time to get your home ready for winter. Our Alaska-specific Fall Home Checklist helps Homer homeowners protect their investment, boost energy efficiency, and enjoy a cozy, trouble-free season. From frozen pipes to drafty windows—we’ve got you covered.

Overpricing your home can lead to longer days on market and lower offers. Learn what’s happening in the Homer real estate market—and how to price smart from day one.

“Pappa, can I become a millionaire?” My grandson’s simple question sparked a journey that became my latest book, The Schoolyard Millionaire – The Wheel of Life and Wealth. What started as a personal letter to my grandkids turned into a guide for anyone curious about money, purpose, and living fully.

The market has changed—but that doesn’t mean your home won’t sell. In this post, Chris Story offers practical advice for today’s sellers: drop the pandemic-era pricing mindset, reset your expectations, and remember—there’s still a butt for every seat, if you price it right and stay patient.

If you’re paying property taxes in Alaska, chances are you’ve felt the sting of an arbitrary system. Here’s why the time has come for a Fair Tax Act—and why it matters to every homeowner.

Before you chase an apartment complex, consider this: owning four single-family homes may be your fastest, safest, and most familiar path to becoming a real estate millionaire.