Leading with Passion: The President of Junior Achievement of SE MA and our “Biggest Fan”!

to me is like you just build that internal fire right like it’s that it’s that fire to succeed it’s that fire to
get where you want to be but it’s also then that fire says like I’m never going
back all right welcome back mortgage daddies take two so good to be here
friend of the Pod friend of the Pod long time fan of the Pod just fired up to be here this is going to be great do you
remember everything you said last time I remember nothing I I I thought about that before I was like you we had a
great episode yeah yeah we we actually went to go back to listen to it but
there was no uh no sound so we had to have you back on for a second shooting I love it which is you know what even
better the second one’s going to be much better I’m I’m a fan of the Pod the first two time you know one time aired
two time appearance it is true fire this has never happened before you you’re special special guest Jeff peler Junior
Achievement day on mortgage daddies I love excited for this I love it so tell us a little bit about yourself what do
you do what’s the background on Jeff buer yeah tell the audience millions of
viewers are watching worldwide we probably have a few more viewers since the last yeah this is great I know I feel like it’s going to work out better
this is much better for you the nine views that we had on our last one seven of them were from yeah the other two are
our daughters those are me I’ve been liking and sharing and love you know I love it I love everything you guys
always do and super excited uh to be here uh and and again part of right why
I’m here is the partnership that we’ve built here in the community and and so for me I’m I’m from here I grew up in
New Bedford uh went to school in North Carolina uh for college and after
college I you know my my sense was always like you know what what do you want to do right how do you build a life
that you’re excited about that you’re fired up about that it’s never like oh it’s Monday tomorrow or you know like
the Sunday scaries maybe you could get like Sunday Shivers but you don’t want it to be like too scary because then
it’s like school I used to hate going to school yeah right cuz then you’re like you’re literally like I do not even want
whatever’s happening tomorrow like I wish it wasn’t happening right like yeah right and so I just I I never wanted
that and so like my my thing was always like what what do what do I want to do how do I think I might be able to do
anything valuable for me that was always like giving back right getting involved even if I had like no or limited skills
at anything I’m like how do I give back how do I get involved um and that was just how kind of my career past started
I I got involved with an organization called uh Executives La borders which started out a Harvard Business School in
Boston uh I on a whim was able to connect with their CEO Bob Goodwin an
amazing mentor and friend to me I started off as a volunteer right before I was about to leave to Honduras for
volunteer engagement I I shared with him like Hey I’m quitting my job and coming to work for you like there was no
position they weren’t hire like I was like I will like find a way to fundraise or like don’t even pay me but I’m just going to like show up like you have to
take me cuz I’m just going to show up like I’m just I’m leaving like I’m leaving my job when I get back from Honduras like I’m just going to work for
you I think I’ll be good at this I want to try it I’m passionate about it so went went off to Honduras for three
months came back ended up working with the executives on borders for a couple years did a ton of work in Haiti uh
really spent a good amount of time uh over a couple years in Haiti with doing a lot of work in Honduras and then uh
came back here just wanted to kind of get involved started joining some boards starting volunteering I was a volunteer
for Junior Achievement actually teaching a class at Keith Middle School uh in New Bedford I got on the board at ja which
is where I first I mean really kind of met met Vern and and Vern had been a a board member for a while there and so
got to know the team got to know the mission and then uh you know just about eight eight years later been been
running ja and so love it every day I mean I’m probably going to take some heat for this by a lot of our nonprofits
that watch us and we’ve had and I’ve been uh a part of a lot of nonprofits Craig does a lot of work in the
community but uh Junior Achievement has been one of the uh nonprofits with a
mission statement that I really get behind year over-year uh I’ve been associated with Junior Achievement I
just thought of that when you said that you know I’ve already this is the third president we’ve had at Junior Achievement since I’ve been there from
Joe pesi to Caroline now yourself and I was just thinking I’m like it’s
I started with the bank in ‘I think I started volunteering in
mandatory at the bank you were allowed to get paid to go volunteer in a classroom so I was like check like going
to school right like I get to go have fun for an hour and hang out with a bunch of kids whatever I’m a child anyway still at years old but I’ve
been on that board now it’s got to be years at least years and
uh as even my time gets reduced and uh you know I don’t have much time to do
that I still feel really strongly about the mission and the things that J achievement does I think it’s important
to teach financial literacy into our classrooms just to touch upon some of that stuff is you know tell us a little
bit about Junior Achievement the day in day out right everybody here is financial literacy but do they really understand what exactly Junior
Achievement does Maybe cover the age groups because that’s one of the things that I’m I’m pretty passionate about yeah yeah and so so and again like we’re
so lucky to have board members like you and leaders like you and look where the organization’s gone in those years
and I am going to take those comments on camera as a renewal of your board terms too and so like look what we’re going to
do like look look what we’re going to do together the next five years it’s going to be great and so this is documented this is wonderful um so Junior
Achievement of Southern Massachusetts right we are a part of the Junior Achievement universe so it’s actually
started in Springfield Massachusetts uh by a man named the name horse Moses and
some Senators at the time uh in so ja was founded in massachusett now
it’s all over the globe all over the world and then all across the country as well and so we at Junior Achievement of
Southern Massachusetts uh we’re the local chapter so we’re our own Standalone cnonprofit but we’re
we’re part of this kind of Universe of global impact as well and so we cover uh
all of Bristol County uh all of the cape in the island uh in Islands now and then
parts of Plymouth County as well so we’ve got a big footprint we’re headquartered right here uh in downtown
New Bedford and then as remember was saying I mean what’s what’s kind of neat is our mission is really just to empower
young people to go ahead and achieve their goals right and so that’s uh that’s what we do now we do that work in
a variety of ways we work all the way starting in Pre kindergarten classrooms all across the region all the way now
through up to working with young people uh that are as old as years old and and so that whole span from prek really
to the to the beginnings of of your career uh all across that geographical footprint it just working to inspire and
prepare young people to be successful so we go into Local Schools uh and so the team at Milestone Mortgage Solutions is
always the best such an amazing supporter of Junior Achievement so you had team members uh in Atlanta’s charter
school about three weeks ago as part of one of our ja days there so we actually kind of like take over a school for the
day it’s kind of like a reverse field trip right so we come in it’s super fun each each grade program everything from
K to has its own specific curriculum program but it’s designed for Business Leaders
like the team of Milestone to come in and volunteer uh in and teach that curriculum right so it’s curriculum is
activities it’s really Hands-On and engaging but it’s built you know for leaders to come in because then you
don’t just do the curriculum you share your own stories and experiences as well right Rachel Rachel’s in that classroom
not just sharing hey here’s the third grade curriculum here’s these different financial literacy different techniques we’re learning but you know hey I I work
at a company Milestone Mortgage Solutions right we’re out here in the community this is what this really looks like in the real world so it’s kind of
that cool blend between uh curriculum and like what’s happening in the real world like remember being in school it’s
always like oh but like why does this matter kind gets them excited a little bit about the relevance of it yeah and
and you just connect it back to your local community so we’re we’re in local schools uh we we do a huge program for
high school students the JA Titan business challenge which Vern was just a founding father of of that program a
Founding Father uh you know uh the th annual Titan challenge this year UMass Dartmouth wild um which is which
is great we again we kind of take over the UMass Dartmouth library for the day it’s usually over yeah super fun I
mean you’ve been there the the team at Milestone has always supported that and been there but we’ll have like high
school students from all across the region they do a business competition all day you get to hear from leaders
like make really neat connections we’ll give out this year I think we give out over $in scholarship awards that
day so we also like you know you leave behind with a a chance to make even like a higher education more uh more feasible
um and then we’ve got the ja company program which is a a really neat program that that Vern was a big piece of
helping us get off the ground too where like high school students start their own businesses so like right now today
high school students at New Bedford High dery uh Whaling City uh Alternative
School in New Bedford to in high school taught in Alternative High School students in all those high schools are
literally building their own businesses through ja like legit like we fund them yeah like we we create a bank
account so Burston Savings Bank partners with us on that we have bank accounts for all those companies there we give
them bucks of seed money and they run their companies right so like real they’re actually like sourcing products
they’re actually having sales if they profit we pay them out so it’s it could it can almost be a a little side hustle
right for them um and and we do our Workforce Development programs now too which Vern was a huge part of and the
the partnership that we’ve made with Chang makers Network which is working with that to year old age group
and getting young people uh into you know if you’ve dropped out of school helping young people get their GED and
highet get back on track uh we help people get jobs and employment we help people get into career training programs
we help connect people with housing and food resources if they need that social safety net and so we also able to work
at that older age group now too in just really you know really impactful ways and even just there you know work with
young people who when we started them they were homeless and now they’re in I mean serious paying jobs and I’m like
what are you what’s your hourly rate like what’s what’s going like you know amazing and so it’s just that kind of
whole ecosystem of impact um but that’s possible because we have so many amazing Partners like Milestone mortgage and
leaders like Vern who’s just been you know a Bedrock of the organization for for more than years now just for the
record Jeff peler loves to thank people and give them praise more than anybody else so if we don’t talk about
everything that I’ve done we’ll be all right on this episode thank you ver that was really nice of you thank you so much that was aesome he’s the most thankful
polite person I’ve ever met in my life I joke around with him all the time you know Jee I think that’s one of the big things that draws you know donors and
people to you uh in regards to change makers I know that that’s one of the new kind of initiatives that you’ve kind of
partnered up with Junior Achievement brought that Under the Umbrella um you know I’ve referred over you know young
adults looking to go into college and you know maybe they don’t have the best Direction at home but that’s one of the
the aspects that change makers can really help them with filling out financial aid paperwork or just kind of
mentoring them on the next steps and preparing them to go off onto college like a lot of people you know in every
Community Across the Nation they don’t have somebody that’s already done it right these are a lot of kids nowadays
are they going to be the first generation and they’re they’re really scared I think change makers kind of bridges that Gap the best that they
possibly can on you know just kind of helping these kids prepare themselves set the expectation of what that
freshman year looks like and filling out the fincial and reassuring them that they can do this and you know they’re making a good
good move in their life yeah and but I mean so like in in the whole kind of founding basis there right I mean think
think about kind of like from an age perspective right like the needs that you might have for support and the
resources that exist right so like go K to right I mean you you certainly have needs and things but for the most
part right you’re in a school you’re in a school system you’ve got all this universe of support right in every
different way and then you get to that age of like you’re graduating high school or you’ve gotten dislocated from
the school system one way or the other now you have like exponential needs in that whole universe of support in many
cases is dramatically reduced or Falls away entirely and so how do I how do I
apply for a job here and how do I get ready for that from A to Z from resume
writing to getting some credentials that you can even get you know for cheap and online to really bolster yourself uh
clothing you know support with clothing with interview Tech techniques interview skills how to do a zoom interview if you
need internet connections in in in Hardware pieces right not not to mention on the education side right filling out
applications for financial aid for scholarships even like strategizing even before that like hey what do you want to
do and what’s even the right Pathway to get you there right because at sometimes there’s probably better options than
spending grand for an undecided you know right an undecided degree if you’re like oh I actually like you know love
doing this stuff my hands and oh I could I could be a plumber and right start making Grand make more money than
going to school and coming out with, yeah like if that’s what you want to do and so and so it’s just it was for
us kind of you know thinking about the universe of Ja and all the impact that we’re able to create in the school
system also trying to and that’s why I think it works so well together because it’s bringing that same kind of
continuing of of resources and opportunities where that school or or other community structure or family or
or whatever the situation may doesn’t exist so that like in those really critical times for a young person
you can then surge in resources we can get you job ready get your career ready you know enhance your skills uh you know
move your education forward and in some cases too I mean connection to like really vital resources I mean we’ deal
with you know connecting young people to shelters you know in times of of need and food resources and clothing and and
basic needs and and for us you know at ja I think that’s a really you know exciting uh uh space that we can playing
cuz now we can do both right we can be be in the schools and kind of driving impact there but then also be doing this
this really neat I think um transformational out of school work too because now we can really serve that new
for you guys it is yeah yeah so we we’ve just been on that that road about the last year or so uh really bringing the
the work of change makers Network a separate organization that I had founded W within uh within the ja family now
because now you get kind of The Best of Both Worlds if you have like a proven track record a proven brand
uh you know a lot of those capabilities with some of the Innovation that you only get from a startup right that you
only get like if you’re looking at a white piece of paper and saying like this is a problem how do we attack this
sometimes you need that paper to be white to when you start yeah like you need that because that that gives you
that that thought and that space to really you know I think challenge your yourself and and not and also get out of
the day to day right like sometimes and I’m I’m always trying to you know balance this right you’re so focused on
Tactical Day to-day stuff that it can be hard to sit back and be like if I wanted to start this whole thing over right how
how would I go about that what what would I do what would I change and so that was what was neat uh about founding changemakers network but now that
they’re together I I just think it’s it’s kind of a it’s a neat thing for the community and um and and I love ja and
so I’m you know I’m thrilled about how it all worked out I think one of the one of the things that set you apart as a leader not to not to blow up your ego
here but you know you you bring that business sense like almost like an entrepreneur with the passion of being
you know into that nonprofit space along with that deep passion of helping people
grow bring themselves up I I we don’t have that a lot right you don’t find that a lot in the community myself right
like you’re an entrepreneur we need to go make money we need to do this you bring kind of all that together to try
to put it all together to help the community and you know I just think back we had uh Michelle hman on from United
Way it’s amazing to me that I’ve known Michelle number of years years I’m
not even sure I’ve known you you know as long as you’ve been on with Junior Achievement and it it always blows my
mind if I’m sitting in a uh a board meeting with with the group or you’re on a podcast right just we’re we’re passing
in the halls of how many resources are out there yeah they Junior Achievement offers you know United Way She was in
here she was talking about some things that they’re doing what they do it’s incred guys do this it’s incredible how much they it’s for i’ I’ve told her in
the team that so many time too and that particularly with United Way like I am like so like by the time I’ve read about
this amazing initiative you have I can’t even believe there’s now a next new you know rolling it’s incredible yeah and
how Nimble that you know the organizations like United Way or uh junior that have been around for so long
how Nimble they are right like you know coming from us running a company we’re
not even that Nimble right like I remember that that blank piece of paper yeah you you want to change something you change it on time now you have to
think about people yeah you guys are running big organizations that affect a lot of people you have kids
at the Titan challenge how many how many uh kids do you guys go through a classroom in a given year right how many
in a given year anywhere you know five students is what will be in front of you know over the course of a year so
it’s just amazing the amount of you know good that you know all the nonprofits are doing just on the south coast here
and the special leaders it takes to run these nonprofits and just the passion
behind it just it’s overwhelming some sometimes to see you how passionate you are talking about change makers and
Junior Achievement just seeing where it’s come from since you you kind of taking it over from you know not just
the financial side of it but like the growth of the different programs and how it’s evolved right I mean I remember uh
you know doing the bowling thing right we got some good nights on the Bowling thing I’m not sure je wants to talk about some of those nights those are
yeah those are got to raise money some those those are good nights those are good nights changing up some of those
and you know evolving into the Titan challenge evolving into some of the other different you know uh events that
you guys are doing do you have anything on the horizon that’s pretty uh pretty exciting coming up anything new you want to share well yeah I mean so we we’ve
got two big things one one is of course is the the JA Titan business Challenge and and we’re really trying to to build
that out even further this year it’s the th year we’ve done it uh we’re expecting a huge crowd uh we even have
Rachel from the team on our on our committee now nice for the for the Titan Challenge and so we’re trying to really
you know bring in some new people bring in some new volunteers bring in some new speakers new
sponsors um and and just kind of keep you know keep growing that um be because
the other the other big thing we have too in in the spring every year is we do a pitch competition uh at UMass dment as
well for the ja company program right which is super cool all these students from all across the region are building
these companies they come in uh they pitch in front of judges uh there’s a chance that some of our local companies
could even end up uh in Atlanta for the uh for the national uh competition and
and so just like a bunch of like cool stuff and as Vern was saying like for the organization because of leaders and
partners like you all it has been that growth in that Trend but the mindset for us is always very like business you know
like like a business mindset and and an entrepreneurial mindset like internally to grow right because I just think of of
you both and what you’ve built here and I don’t think that’s something like in school that they really teach or even
tell you like it’s an option you know like when when I was going through school I didn’t know really what I wanted to do necessarily I was like ah
you know my dad’s an engineer maybe I want to go do that I like math okay maybe go do something like that but then
wasn’t really super into it when I was finishing up high school so I kind of just fell into the EMS first responder
thing became a paramedic became a firefighter and then you know I kind of fell into this with ver I’m like like
this is what I was really meant to do like how come I never you know even thought about doing something like this
you know earlier in my career because I don’t know you think business some people think like sales and then people
think like car like there’s so many other avenues and there’s so much money to be made in ways that you know you
don’t have to necessarily be the smartest person in your school to be very successful in sales and I think you
know getting that message out to some of these kids and kind of showing them Hey listen there’s a lot of options in
business that you can make a lot of money have a very successful career and maybe you know not have to go to college
a certain way not have to a bazillion dollars going to college you don’t have to be a lawyer you don’t have to go do this there’s a lot of money there’s a
lot of opportunity out there for people that you know I never really realized when when I was that age and then I got
put into something I’m like this is really what I was meant to do because this fit my personality you know this fit what I like to do and it was a
little bit of a blend of everything where that that was never like told to us you know it was like do you want to be a lawyer do you want to be a doctor
do you want to be a nurse or do you want to be like an engineer it’s like those are your options pretty much and there was no like business side of it you know
I went to darath high and there was a there was like an entrepreneur class I remember kids kind of running a similar
program I wasn’t in it but I remember kind of kids running a similar thing where they all you know came up with stuff or they sold some stuff but I
think it’s great that you guys are doing that in a lot of the schools and kind of getting that out there to these kids that probably don’t necessarily have
those options yeah and and like you said too and I and I love how you said this too Craig I mean so much of that does come down to the mindset piece too right
and like and I think about the Journey like okay the the ja Journey it’s been amazing and and and Vern’s been there
before me and and and still now right we’re on this really neat kind of two decade Journey but I think about the journey that Milestone Mortgage
Solutions has been on which I’ve been lucky enough to have like a front row seat to it from the beginnings
beginnings beginnings I you know I remember some of that and like in what you both have done and what the team
here has done like that mindset like I love how you said it of like you don’t even have to necessarily be the best in the world at something but do you want
it more than anybody else right is that is that hunger there is that like do you want it more are you are you willing to
kind of Imagine something that doesn’t exist yet that’s out there further and and faster than where you are right now
and then just be willing to just pay that price to get there I mean I I’m a True Believer that there’s so many
better ways to go about it to build a successful life and career than just going to college necessarily when you
don’t know what you want to do yeah you know if there’s there’s perfectly good reasons as to why you should go to college if you want to do certain things
but if you’re not sure yeah you know go get into some type of a job that you have some interest in get you know even
you don’t need to make a lot of money when you’re years old coming out of college get under something see if you like it give it a try get mentored by
somebody before you know it you’re making way more money than the kids that you went to college that went to college and have all these bills and you you
know you did I mean look at me I mean I I never went to college I never spent a single day in college I got to a
position in my life where I make more money in a month than I ever made in a year as a fire fighter and I never thought that would happen you know you
get stuck in just such a tunnel vision I was like and everybody at the fire station it was well either you’re going
to do this or you’re going to go do a trade you know it’s one or the other kind of like this mindset like you’re going to go swing a hammer or you’re
going to go work on an ambulance that’s like a second job I’m like I want to do something different yeah you know I want something that’s a little more
challenging because I hit these goals that I had you know coming out of high school to go to EMT school go to
paramedic school become a firefighter and then I’m like all right I’m bored now yeah you know and it took me a
little bit to realize that because you have these goals you don’t really realize it but I’m like if I could have started this even earlier or maybe it
was something different and he set back and like there’s so many kids that I think would be in a position where if
they would have just jumped out into it right away instead they kind of waste years you know and waste money too you
know my I just going to do something like life experience right like very important blank piece of paper I’m going
to quit my job I’m going to Guatemala I’m going to Honduras I’m going to go do these things you’re going to get that life experience right that’s something
you can’t take away Craig would not be he’s probably going to be mad at me for saying this he would not be who he is
today or how successful he is today without going through the pain of and at
the time it wasn’t pain EMS firefighter because I feel like the people who just get into I can only talk about the
mortgage business right I haven’t really had a lot of other experiences in the in the workplace the people who just come
into it and it’s like their first or second job and they really didn’t get vested and beat on in another career or
another job they they make a little bit of money and they think this is normal and then they fizzle out right because
they they miss that working hours shifts nonstop going home to a family
dealing with that another -hour shift right like that real hustle bustle getting the [ __ ] kicked out of you and
then you come into a position where I don’t have to swing a hammer I’m not you know doing a lot of real manual somebody
up that weighs lb and then it’s like you want me to work hours in an office with air conditioning and you’re
going to pay me like he my toes used to be frozen in the
winter we running running calls I mean it’s wild and how lucky I look at it that way like how lucky am I to be able
to come into air conditioning heat things we take for granted but you didn’t see the path that I took between
and when I got into this of number of different jobs working here
working there like that’s not for me oh my God that overnight manual labor stuff not for me dabbled in banking you know
before I got into Mortgage business but the retail career I had like a twoyear stin in
retail up until that point I did not have like I didn’t know anything about retail right I just walk by the people
at the grocery store or the CVS’s of the world or people at the mall now I walk by and I’m like thank you for being here
like thank you like restaurants because of my first job I overtip at every restaurant like I don’t care what the
bill is I’m not gonna get into it but I they’re getting more than % like that’s % because there’s there’s no
way I could do their job yeah like I look at it and I’m like you guys you guys are the true heroes here right like
those guys work in retail on Thanksgiving Day Christmas it’s wild to
me and then they I remember being in that situation and I was already like an adult when I had to get into retail cuz
I was getting into the mortgage business so there’s that period of time where you’re like uh I have a family and bills I have to have two jobs so I’m working
hours at each one of these and then now I think it’s helped groom who we are today it’s like I’m not going
back to that right like I’m not working hours so give me the my hours in the air conditioning and heat and
behind a desk talking to people on helping them achieve the American dream
of home ownership I think the life experience side of it helps people mature too quicker you know I I always
felt like I didn’t go into call I didn’t go into college right away at all actually but uh you know so I wasn’t
around those year old kids for very long I got out of high school and I started working with high s s
s y old guys and girls all the time and that’s what I continued so you know my life experiences or the conversations
I had or the people I dealing with were much much different when I hit or when I started here when I hit
that point the people that I have been around and the experience I had would have been or % way different than if
I would have went to college started some entry-level job with a bunch of entry-level kids and you know I I just
feel like I would have never matured to the person that I was or had those life experiences which helped me in this in
in this career way more than probably what it would have been if it was the other way yeah and it’s and and the
thing I love too about like like both of those stories and it’s shared for me as well to me is like you just build that
internal fire right like it’s that it’s that fire to succeeded it’s that fire to
get where you want to be but it’s also then that fire of says like I’m never going back right like I’m never going
like and you can’t be scared to take that chance you have to like there’s too many people I think the culture if you
have a good job like what what’s a good job you know a union contractor is a great job it’s a good job but that is
that what everybody wants to do or you know a fire department is a great job for some people but is that what you
want to do forever is that your passion there was plenty of people that there was like they would talk about it and
they were passionate like I’m passionate about this yeah and they would talk about it and they’d be so excited they want to do trainings and I’m
like this ain’t for me like I like it you know it’s like it’s cool I like it
but it’s like I don’t love it I never my brother loves it he’s the one who got me into it he loves it it’s all he talks
about oh it’s all who ever wants to talk about all of his friends like that I’m like I just never fit in with that crew
yeah like I you know I thought it would and I thought when when I went to a full-time Department it’d be a little bit different nope same thing I’m like
you guys like I I just a different mindset right it’s it it’s perfect for other people like my brother Works uh
he’s he works in the Union uh build an airplane parts right awesome like he loves it that just I I could never see
myself after going through it like I feel like you have to go through it even if it’s only for days I like to tell
tell everybody give it days if you don’t like it move on don’t be scared to blow it up I feel like no one knows themselves
until they’re in their late s early s before they really find something they’re passionate about like I I joke
around my son all the time like in a perfect world right like if I could blink my eyes and have him grow into you
know what I think but what I think is nothing it’s like if I could do it all over again and I was passionate about it
which I wouldn’t be would be an accountant right like I look at my accountant and she’s amazing and I look
at other accountants I know a lot of accountants I’m like these guys really get their teeth kicked in like months a year and if they play their cards right like
they could pretty much be on vacation their phones not ringing /um but then like is that going to
make him happy probably not right like he’s honestly maybe firefighter or something right like I could see him
doing stuff like that for me though I went through those life and I finally found something I was like wait I get
paid to do this yeah I aroundc that’s the metric right there I get paid to do this when you find something that your
you’re talking about it those Sunday scares when you don’t have that yep then you’re doing something that you actually
like like I don’t have that anymore I’m not terrified to go to bed Sunday night because I’m afraid that I don’t want to
wake up on Monday to go to work because it’s miserable and that’s what I thought in high school because actually this is
a good point in high school I did not want to go to be an engineer because I hated so much getting up every single
day to go sit at a desk in high school it was miserable to me I hated it I wanted to move I didn’t like sitting
still I I was like I need to do something that is more you know up and about something I’m not sure I was like
I kicked myself I should have went to voke I should have done something with the trade I didn’t this is where I am what am I going to do so I didn’t go to
be an engineer and then I went into being a firefighter and did that and then I’m like oh well you know what this
isn’t really necessarily what I think I’m like super passionate about and then when I found this I’m like I I don’t
have that I don’t have that terrified feeling about going to bed on a Sunday because I have to go to work I want to
get to work I’m excited to get to work because I love what I do I’m not in a rush to go home I mean there’s times
where I am in a rush to go home but I’m not you know I’m not dying to get out of here I’m not watching the clock the day goes by so fast and I never thought in
high school that I cuz we kind of have a desk job people would say you know I mean we’re not not doing anything
physical here but I never physique I I don’t have a muscle on this body but in
high school this job I would have been terrified to even try because of that yeah you know I think like getting up
and talking to people about that would be a good like story in A Life Lesson to kind of explain to them because High
School like set me back I feel like because I was just I wasn’t super into it and I think there’s a lot of kids
yeah I think there’s a lot of kids that are like that you know like I was a really hard worker I would rather go work all day long but High School just
put like this really bad taste in my mouth about in some sort of a business desk job because I’m like you know I I
don’t want to wear a suit all day and I don’t want to you know sit at a desk all day and just be miserable and you watch the shows and you know you’re just
watching those cubicle guys and they’re like watching the clock times call day
how much time can we waste on the water cool it’s like it’s not really like that you know at least not here and I don’t
know what it’s like at other places but I can tell you it’s not like that here and I think a lot of people need to understand that I look at it this way if
I didn’t have kids I was just thinking about this when he was saying this if I didn’t have kids I wouldn’t know what
day of the week it is yeah right because I would probably end up here or at work or doing something on my laptop at home
on Saturday and Sunday I still bust it out but I don’t know if I know what day it is like I don’t sit there and I’m
like I can’t wait for the weekend like I don’t remember the last time I’m like can’t wait for this weekend it just
needs to get here because like on Saturday and Sunday I’m still okay to work like if if I need it to work I have
no problem jumping on and working it’s two years I spent in retail yeah
but that’s but that’s I was like I got a day off on Thursday it was like Friday the following week the week before I’m
like I can’t wait for next Thursday it’s like Days seven days away and you’re like just praying to get there yeah CU
you need that it’s that passion and and it’s also like what you were both saying too I think everybody you know if you’re
like if you’re thoughtful and can kind of get there because it’s tough and everyone goes through Peaks and valleys and and ups and downs to get there but
to me it’s also like the notion of like choosing your Arena like choosing your Arena like what what what is your Arena
and I I love the I did the um I I did the commencement speak at uh spe at
Bishop Sting’s graduation this last year and I and I referenced this piece in that cuz I love it and I think about this all the time Teddy Roosevelt man in
the arena yeah so that’s huge to me and has been incredibly influential CU to me
that’s what it’s all about cuz one you’re you’re picking your Arena whatever it is and knowing that if there
was people in here everyone’s going to pick their own thing and that’s amazing that’s what makes us a a country a society right is everyone’s doing
their own thing but then it’s about we’re just chatting about like try like the it’s try
and and like you should want to be there with sweat and dust in your face and you fail and you fail and you fail but you
just keep getting back in the arena right yeah that’s you’re not The Spectator you’re not The Spectator it’s easy to judge and to you know to kind of
cast uh opinions or or assertions from the sidelines or the stands but if you’re in that fight like whatever your
fight is whatever your arena is I just think that’s how you get to that place where um you just you know you have that
fire you want to do it you love to do it and that’s also where I think you brings out the best of you right the best
version of you right because then like you’re really using like your talents your interests you know you’re you’re
bringing all of that to the table because even stuff like Craig I mean like something about you like your amazing Network in your network and in
your relationships which wouldn’t grow if you didn’t deliver for people right but you do and so your network grows and
grows and grows and and Vernon you know is is like the master at this with with his Network I sit next to you no which
I’m luy to be a part of A J your achievement I’m lucky to be I’m lucky to be a part of is like is like your
networks but it’s also learning the value of of things like that and like I I would take a network in relationships
that are tested and you on than anything more than right more than anything colle
I think the most valuable thing in any business is your network yeah right and
who you associate yourself with right they I don’t know the exact same but it’s like hey you you want to be the
millionaire hang out with five millionaires yep you know who you hang out with who you associate with who you look up to who you take advice from um
that’s why you know that would be the biggest advice if I could go back to being years old coming out of high
school is that exact thing is like go find people that you actually want to be
like and go hang out with them yeah because you get so caught in the weeds of who you’re with like I remember when
I was I didn’t go to college all my friends went to college I felt like so Left Behind after like I didn’t think
about it until they all left and then they were all gone I’m like I don’t even really have anybody to hang out with anymore you know I don’t have anybody to
go play golf with I don’t have anything to do so it’s like what am I going to do it took me a little bit I was in this
weird transition where I didn’t have my EMT yet I was waiting to actually turn to go get it so I couldn’t even get
it right away and then once I got it I got like obsessed with work and fell into that because there was nothing else
but it’s like if I could have taken that and went in a different direction I’m like where could I have be now you know
you don’t realize that and getting around the right people if I never met you I wouldn’t be sitting here you know I wouldn’t have been at a different
lender nobody was calling me you know I mean I wasn’t getting recruited back then but you get yourself around the
right people and the opportunities open up if you put the hard work in it’s like those two things the network and the
hard work is super important wild I was reading something the other day which I know it’s hard for you to believe I was
reading something wasn’t a pod it wasn’t mortgage Daddy’s episode um no I
already saw that one I’ve been I’ve been watching yeah our number one fan fan of the pod the Podge it’s uh you know it
just talks about how important that Network really is and what you get out of it and what you
put into it so and it kind of hit me now I’ve gotten to the point I think like
you know as you mature and you you age you can look at somebody because you’ve already gone through it you’ve been
mentored you’ve mentored people I can now look at somebody two years into the mortgage business and be like I already
know exactly where that one’s going to end up on year three four five success wise dropwise obviously there’s that
tangible like hey some they could fly off the side of the the rails here but for the most part you know I do a lot of
coaching now and I’m like this person’s going to hit million next year this one’s going to hit million this one’s going to struggle with these type of
aspects and it’s good that they have somebody coaching them mentoring them
because I think a lot of places especially call office jobs or professional business jobs there are no
coaching there’s no mentors it’s like here ‘s The Playbook go figure it out let me know how you make out right they
don’t ever get to open up the network like how hard is it to break into that Network I mean you run a nonprofit you
have to put yourself in a lot of different networks it’s hard to be put into a network and you know I’ve I’ve
been lucky and fortunate enough to be put into certain seats and different networks and I I joke around with Craig
all the time you know we have a you know an investor we do you know couple investors we do a lot of work with and they invite us out to you know private
events and now you’re meeting some of the best people in your industry or other Industries Nationwide yeah it’s
almost like you know when they they they send you away to uh ja USA I mean tell us a little bit about that I mean I know
you just came back from Washington DC the same deal yeah yeah was sitting in that room is like going to college for
two years you were there for a week it’s a yeah it’s it’s a it’s a PhD and what what whatever your you know what
whatever your thing is it’s a PhD and so just with J USA was just in Washington DC uh you know meeting with a a group of
leaders nationally doing some strategizing for you know impact in and then a couple weeks before that I
was in Colorado Springs uh out at J USA as well with kind of like a a leadership
accelerator uh coaching training program you know that we have nationally and before that in Boston with folks too so
it’s that you know it is that in whatever your Arena or your field it is that Network and that networking and the
other thing is too though and Craig I mean you you were kind of mentioned this too I think it’s it’s that Network it’s that hard work but then also that
becomes your name right so to me it’s always like a notion of of a name and I will say this about
Vern because he’s been one of my you know he’s been yeah he’s one one of my closer friends and and and and also like
supporters and like just has my back uh you know always and so like with Vern’s
name right like if he says something to me like it’s just gold because Vern said that you know what I mean Vern did this
Vern said that and and you build that you know you you build that and so I think ultimately to me it becomes like even having that that pride of whatever
your craft is in your name and so like you know for you like when you send something I see your name there’s just a
there’s a full without even reading your message meaning right there’s just a fundamental expectation of what this is
because it’s coming from you right and I actually remember you actually telling me that about Craig a million years ago
like the first time I ever met you like I remember I was like oh Craig this guy’s like total Superstar totally amazing and he’s going to be like
dominating this and this was like years ago this was right right right when you both started this so that to me is you know I also uh every single day just try
to think about like what am I going to be putting my name on today um and and what do I want that to mean you know in
a bunch of different ways and so um I know we don’t have that much time left but I’m very curious because we had so
couple of these questions that uh Wendy put together for us and I do not know any of this so I’m actually going to
learn something here about Jeff I don’t know what the questions are so this might be for somebody else this could have been an old card that was left here
I don’t think so but what is your I am looking right at Wendy as you’re reading so we we’ll see uh you know what is your
special connection to the Ronald McDonald House tell us about that uh so so that is kind of in part
just goes back to kind of like my you know my history and kind of why I’ve chosen my Arena so I was born really
premature I I had my last rights given to me I my lungs collapsed uh extremely
premature when when I when I ultimately came home from women’s and infants which again we’re so lucky around right one of
the greatest maternity hospitals on the planet so I was born there and then
ultimately transferred to fall when I came home from that hospital I was like the smallest baby to ever go home but at
that time back you know back back in the in and so and so for me that that’s
kind of part of my story and notion knowing that I’ve always every day that I remember living I’ve already had my
last rights given to me right and knowing that like everybody my presence
here to me is like a gift and so how do you want to pay that forward right how
what do you want to do with that gift is it just for you is it is it meant to be you know to do things bigger than than
your own aims and Ambitions and uh and things that you want to do and so to me Ronald McDonald House all those kinds of
of organizations are are really it’s why I’m involved with South Coast Health here locally you know just really
important to me because I know how fortunate I am that I was born here that my story was only possible here um and
and so that that always kind of is is a driver for me and something that’s just really important to me too that’s
awesome well one more thing before we wrap this up is uh I’m going to give you a little promo you don’t know I’m going
to make you do this but give us the date the location uh how they can go on and
support the Titan challenge because that’s a big thing for me obviously being one of the original people to want
go to the first one um you know how do they be when is it how do they become a
uh a supporter a Mentor that day to uh to assist the kids yeah well thank you it’s going to it’s going to be a really
great day so March th uh we’ll be at UMass Dartmouth uh
Wendy’s alma mater will be there uh on campus and so we’ll have over high
school students from all across the region anybody wants to learn more about what we do at ja overall wants to learn
more about Titan challenge you can sign up to be a volunteer Mentor coach that day you can just fully get engaged with
us get our newsletters get connected uh best place our website so uh
www.jasn.org uh is our website that’s kind of our OneStop shop the best place
to see what we have going on but we’d love you know we looking to bring on new sponsors new volunteers get more folks
engaged in this year’s uh J Titan business Challenge and so it’s coming up fast about a days or so but uh March
th uh at UMass armouth it’ll be fun email Jeff get some sponsorships going on there you get your name out there get
your business out there all at the same time helping the Community Helping the kids no it’ll be fun and and thank you again I I do just want to be on the
record here I’m a longtime fan of the Pod I’m a friend of the Pod I am
omnipresent on the Pod social media channels as a Liker and a sharer and so I am honored thank you both again you
know for for having me on uh and and just thank you both again I mean for your friendship your partnership for
everything that you do I love I love this podcast you guys are a great company you do things the right way
you’re so phenomenally involved in the community including the reindeer run coming up on Thursday which is you know
which is going to be awesome and I and I love the podcast and the thought leadership you know that you all have for this too so well we’re growing
mortgage daddy so hopefully you can uh subscribe to our page on uh our Spotify Channel mortgage daddies and soon to be
coming on to Apple so I’m going to put that out there into the world so Sarah can have a uh an aneurysm on you know
pushing her to do more keep keep getting better but I love it you you guys it’s straight to the Moon with with mortgage
Daddy cell great I appreciate it thank you guys always thanks brother thank you