Jacob Hagerman on Overcoming Adversity & Achieving Success // The Jacqueline Elliott Show - Ep008

Foreign. Welcome to the Jacqueline Elliott show. Today we have a very, very special guest. He's very dear to me, very important man, I should say, Jacob Hagerman.

Come on.

He actually works with us now, but he has an incredible, incredible story. He has gone through so much and he's here with us as one of our top coaches. So I'm very excited about this one. Jacob, welcome to the show.

I think number one. Thank you for having me. It's almost like it's been a long time in the making.

It feels long to you, but you're.

Only 23 years old. 23, turn 24 real soon.

Oh my gosh, you're gonna be an old man.

Already dressed like it.

Already dressed like it. By the way, he is the best dressed the Elliott group for sure. I do have to say that now, Jacob, you do have an incredible story and you're only 23 years old. And the reason why this is so intriguing, you know, to so many people, you come up and you shake their hands and you're just like, you're like an eight, you have an 80 year old soul. And it's amazing because you're so mature, you do so much, you do very well for yourself. But you know, just share with us a little bit about your story because you did come from a very painful childhood. How did it all start?

Well, so I was born and raised northwest Indiana. And I mean, I'll say it was nothing short of a, you know, of just, you know, what you'd expect when you're living in, I would say extreme poverty. You know, my father and what does.

That mean, extreme poverty?

Oh, like there's no food. Sometimes you're living out of food banks. Like you're, you're hoping and praying that they give you a little bit of extra, like you're eating, right, rice and you know, brown sugar and syrup twice, twice a day because it's just such a sticky meal that'll kill the hunger pangs.

And so that's all mixed together, right?

Mixed together. Rice, brown sugar and then syrup. And you just, you put it all together, it's like a poor man's food because like the food banks at the time would give a bunch of rye syrups, peanut butters and stuff like that. And so like we would just make, make what you got. And so pops was drug addict, alcoholic, a little bit abusive, kind of a, you know, the ordeal of that. And you know, the beginning of my life when at the very, very beginning of my life it was, it was, we had very nice house like, it was great. And then you just. You seen the decline. It was very rapid. And then we probably lived in 10 homes, 12 homes throughout childhood, because they would, you know, not pay the bills, you know, not pay mortgage. There'd be times where we didn't have electricity, times we have running water. Like, my mom caught a felony because my pops blamed it on her because he climbed the telephone tower, wired it up, wired it to the house, and then that way we can have electricity.

Wow, that's mean.

And then the feds found out. And then I remember. I remember this vividly. I was talking to my brother about this not too long ago. I was sleeping on the couch right in front of the tv. And then. So there's the TV behind this big ass tube tv. And then the front door was right here. And I've just lost one of my teeth. And so I had my teeth under the pillow. I'm expecting the tooth pair to, you know, tooth fairy to come through. No, it was the feds. And, wow. They come in, they take my mom in handcuffs. I. I remember just like, looking under the pillow, still seeing the tooth, and I was like, I was more bummed about the tooth still being there than, like, watching my mom get taken away in handcuffs because, like, you're so young, you don't.

But your dad is the one that did it. And your mom took the hit, huh?

Yeah, well, he had two felonies in California, and so he was a. Let's just say he wasn't the. The greatest dude growing up. He definitely served some time, but that's not here nor there, you know, And. Yeah, and then the last little bit towards the end, you know, we started. He started getting back on track. You know, we had a couple crazy neighbors. I remember I was like 10 years old in the US Marshals battering ram. The front. Front door, like, the front door to the house. And like at an AR15, stuck in my face, telling me to get face down because the neighbor was like, spun this crazy story. She was like a crackhead. And they look at my father's past record and they go up. Yep, he could probably do that. And then. So they brought the US Marshals and everything like that, hauled them off to jail. He sat there for like 30 days. Next thing you know, they find out that she totally lied. And so they're like, oh, sorry. And then they release him back. And then two years later, that's when he gets murdered. And so it was just like he was starting to come back to where, like, you know, he dropped the drugs dropped, a lot of alcohol, gets murdered, and then we're back at, like, rock bottom. There's a rock bottom, then there's below that. So then that's what brought us to Arkansas and ultimately led me to the car business, to finding you.

Incredible. I mean, if you think you had a story of your childhood, like, I. I look at mine and I'm like, my goodness. You know, I have some heartaches. I had some things that I went through that I learned that made me really tough growing up. But then I listened to your story, and I'm like, it's incredible. You saw your father get murdered?

Yes, ma'.

Am. And you have such an incredible personality. You're, like one of the most grateful people that I know, and you just have a different perspective in life. Why do you think that people, when they have something traumatizing like that, you know, they get sheltered and they get. They get into this. Like, man, this happened to me. It's more of a victim mentality type of thing, which is something that's massively hard. Right? How can you look? Or what would you say to those people that have, like, hard lives that they can't get through to them? And why. What did you do at your age to be where you were?

Well, so at that time, I had to grow up and, you know, be the man of the house, take care of my mom. And I think the thing that pulled me out of it was, like, it happened so sudden, and you're just like, you're shell shocked, and then you have to move on. Like, you. Like, there's. You're running out of money.

You're the only boy, too, in your family, right?

So I have an older brother. He's my half brother. Same mom, different dad. And he already had his family kind of started. He's five years older than me. So, like, he had his. His girl. Like, she was just pregnant with his daughter Audrey, and so he's living with her. And so at that time, like, we moved to Arkansas to restart life, do everything like that. Like, I think what pulled me out of being able to just like, sit there and sulk about it and be, like, a victim to it is I had a responsibility to rise up to. And it was like, well, there's nobody else going to do it. And so the responsibility was just, you know, not sulk about it, not be depressed about it. You know, just figure out a way to get the family out of, you know, the storm that we're in. And so I just looked at it like, hey, It's a silver lining. Like, I moved to Arkansas, my life got, you know, monumentally better. It's just. It's crazy. And I had a new set of goals. Like, back in Indiana, I really didn't have much going for me. Like, I knew a lot of people that were getting killed or dying from drugs, overdosing, like, doing dumb stuff. And I was just. I was just happy that I wasn't there anymore. And so I always, like, in the darkest of clouds, if you look for a little bit of a silver lining like you, you'll find one. It may take a little bit of time, it may take a month, it may take a year, may take 10 years, but as long as you look for it, like, you're not going to get consumed in the darkness of the situation. And so I just set myself up to not think about the past, but be a better man and be a better father, be a better, you know, son, you know, be a better, you know, husband. One, day, two, the people that I was going to be around. And so I didn't want to carry that with me. I just wanted to be somebody completely else.

So do you think if you would have stayed in that place? Because I think a lot of times when people go through certain traumas, they stay in the same place and they probably don't have those goals or aspirations or just a new set of lenses that they're stuck in that and they're caught reliving that. You think that's what helped you? Is that something I would suggest for.

People to look for Extreme. Extreme changes happen in, you know, extreme, like, environment changes. And so going from Indiana to Arkansas, like, it's not too far, but, like, it's a totally different world right out there. And so, like, I didn't know anybody. So, like, I. At that point I looked at it, I was like, nobody, like, nobody's going to feel bad for me. Nobody has any guilt for me. Nobody's coming up to me like, oh, my God, I'm so sorry. Yeah, nobody's like, oh, that's the kid whose dad got killed. Like, none of that stuff. And so I had the. The blessing of just starting new, right? And the environment change was everything because I had new people to run with. A lot of those people that I did get a chance to run with were good people, and they weren't doing the same dumb. And so I just got myself completely out of it. You know, big shout out to my mom for. For making that happen. I don't know how she did, but she Made it happen. And so that's was. That's what allowed me to not sulk on it and just like, be around the same people, around the same house, around the same, you know, because it happened right in front of her house.

Right?

Like, the house that we were building it, like, actually living there and building it at the same time was kind of ghetto the way we were doing it. But it happened, like, literally right out, like right across the driveway. Just literally 15 paces past the driveway, down the road. And so it's like, I mean, as you're a kid, you're walking to school, the bus stops over there. You look to your right. Oh, yeah, that's where it happened. Let me go to school. I don't think I would have been half the person I am the day if I stayed there.

Yeah, it makes sense. It makes sense. Sometimes you need to make an extreme change in order to, you know, just recreate your identity. Now, since you're young, you know, you, you said you started in the car business and you started, you know, making money for your family. I'm assuming, what kind of opportunities? Line that up or how did, how did you do that? Because I know you did very well selling cars.

Well, are you talking about what got me into the car business?

Yeah, what got you into the car business and what made you successful in the car business?

Well, number one, we needed money.

Okay, so you got in out of necessity.

Out of complete necessity. And it was one of those ordeals where I was like, what's going to make money the fastest? You know, the old get rich quick scheme. And I was like, sales. And so for me, it was just like, okay, cool, I'm gonna get into sales and I'm gonna figure it out. I seen an add on, indeed, applied, go there, you know, talk to the general manager. I'm like, hey, dude, like, I need this. Like, come on, hire me. And I get hired. I go through the training class, rock out. And I was like, okay, cool. Like, you sell your first car, you're like, it's to somebody. Like, I think it's funny. Like, everybody remembers their first cardio. Like, mine was to a guy that looked like he couldn't finance yesterday's hot dog. And he pulled up in a busted up Chevy Cavalier. Next thing you know, 10 minutes later, we're pulling credit. The guy's like a 780. Nobody wanted to talk to the guy. And I was like, dude, let me just talk to somebody.

I've had this before.

And, you know, got. Got the deal. And I was like, cool. Like, so in. In, you know, an hour And a half, two hours, I made 500 bucks. Like, that's crazy.

Yeah.

And I was like, okay, well, how many times in a day can I do that again?

Yeah.

And that's what just forced me to want to make more, make more, make more. And then it gets to the point where you have to have time in the paint, and then you can decrease that by learning from somebody who's already had the time playing the game. So that's how I found you. And Andy started investing with you guys and coming to the trainings, and it was just like sticking your mouth on a fire hydrant, cracking it open, and then retaining as much of it as possible, and then putting it out into the. The world that you're playing in. And it's crazy, but it miraculously works when you actually apply it and believe that it's gonna work. And then made some good money. And then I got the phone call.

So as a young guy who starts making money in business, I mean, we see it a lot. You know, you have a lot of the younger. And we attract a lot of the younger crowds because they're. They're trying to prove themselves. They're trying to turn, you know, decades into days and learn fast. And people have been to where they want to go, but a lot of times, I see a lot of the younger crowd, like, they still have their friends, and they want to go out, and they want to drink and they want to go, you know, do some certain things. What kept you focused? What kept you going toward the right thing?

Well, once again, the environment. Like, when we moved. When I moved out to Oklahoma, like, I got out of Arkansas, I left all my old friends behind. Like. Like, my mom, like, she was like, what the hell are you doing? Like, oh, my goodness, you have such a good career in the car business set up for you. And because I was going to be literally a couple weeks away from going into finance, managing that, and, I mean, those guys make great money in the business.

I was the finance director.

I was 19 at the time.

Yeah.

And so it's like my mom was, like, freaking out. She's like, I can't believe you do this. You're throwing away your life, like, all the stuff. So I stopped talking to her. My friends were like, dude, what are you doing? Like, they were like, I. They remember, like, when I told them that I'm gonna come work for you, they're like, bro, what is it you're gonna do? And I was, like, trying to explain It. And then they just were like, yeah, that sounds like that's. That's a scam. And I was like, all right, cool. You're cut off. You're cut off. You're cut off. Came out to Oklahoma, and I had just the very small core team because, I mean, there was not very many of us at the very beginning. We're in a 700 square foot conference room, and we're all.

Seven eighty. Okay, you gotta count those 80.

Well, the 80 of the conference room were for the little mini fridge that we had. The mini fridge. And then the one desk that was in there, the old white desk with the computer screen and then the logo in the background. That whole area took up the rest of the 80, and it was completely unusable to the rest of us.

Hey, you know, when we used to have events, you know, we used to cram those people in there, but we would get our computers and put them in the trunks of our cars to have our events. You remember that?

I remember having the event in Andy's living room.

Well, yeah, we actually lost power because we were in Oklahoma, and there was a very big, big storm the day before. Everything was all over the place and lost power. So we had to move everybody to the house. Do you remember those days?

The salmon pants? Do you remember the salmon pants?

No. What does that mean? The what?

The salmon colored pants.

Oh, salmon. See your Arkansas accent. I didn't even. The salmon. Salmon.

Funny story. For everybody, for everybody who's listening. I don't know which camera to look. I'm looking at this one. I was in the front row.

Oh, God.

Right in the middle.

It was terrible.

It's July. It's okay.

I don't think anybody could hear what Andy was saying during that seminar.

I'm fixing to get to something funny. Okay. Like this. This is gonna make. Because I didn't hear a damn word he said at the very beginning.

Nobody did.

It's July. It's Oklahoma. Power's out. It's humid. It's hot as hell. I'm in the middle front row. Andy, you know, is going commando and. Salmon pants.

Salmon pants, yes.

And I remember just, like, him, like, writing on the whiteboard, and he's, like, staring there like, do you remember Big Tane? I do remember Big Tane. I still have. I still have the thing. He gave Andy the Vince Lombardi. But we're getting off the. Off the topic here.

Yes.

And I remember sitting there, and I'm just like. I literally cannot focus right now. Like, every part of me Is sweating. And then Andy just turns around and goes, all right, it. We're going to my house. And then everybody loads it up in the trucks and we finish the rest of the day in the living room, like, sitting right there. I still have. I still have photos of it, but what.

What does that have to do with the salmon colored pants clues?

Command. Going commando. You're. It's.

Everybody could see the Johnson every. You can see the whole outline, the whole head, everything here.

And I'm like. I'm like, Andy's trying to teach me money justification, but I'm just trying.

We had a couple of.

What the hell's going on?

We have a couple of pictures of that training, and interestingly enough, Andy's training up here, but everybody's face was looking at that particular spot for the whole. Every single picture we have. So, yes, it was sweaty. You could see everything. And he was wearing salmon colored pants.

So anyway, it was like the funniest ever.

Maybe that's why you're still here.

No good. No, I was sitting there. I was. I was like. I was like, dude, this is. This is. It's. It was so funny because, like, I'm just like, I'm trying to learn and, you know, I learned so much from that event, but once we got to.

I can't even remember any of that, though.

It's been so long. I just remember just sitting there like, dude, like, I'm literally like, I'm. Because I was wearing a suit then I'm, like, drenched in sweat, and I was like, dude, forget this. I'm out. Like, I'm dying out here. I'm like, praying that, like. Because I remember you'd hand out waters to everybody. Like, you're sitting down. I'm like, I pray to God Jacqueline brings me a water right now.

Oh, my gosh. It was crazy. It was crazy.

But you know what? Like, that's like the. The, like the. The beginning to everything.

But we're so adaptable. It's so crazy because I think the only reason why we made it in business is because we had those things that would all go wrong and we just had to become very adaptable. Oh, yeah. So every time.

We never skip a beat with anything that you do. Like, anytime, something like, like, I'm talking, like, earth shattering, world crushing, business breaking bank. Like, like, literally would bankrupt somebody's soul. News that, like, you guys get hit with, like, you're. You're sitting there and you're like, oh, yeah, no big deal. It's like, yes, Jaclyn. This is a big deal. We'll figure it out. Don't worry. You're like, I'm fucking terrified right now. What's going on? Yep. Don't worry about it. And then you're like, okay, cool. Well, if they're not worried about it, whatever. And then. So, like, you guys have done such a good job of, like, being the auger between, like, showing up and just focusing on strictly business and realizing that everything is good, and then on the other side of that, you know, like, hey, listen, like, the world's on fire. You guys have been, like, literally the auger between the good and the bad of everything that happens on this business and everything that's happened to the team and everything that, you know, that comes in, and it's always. Always gets pushed over to the good side, no matter what happens. And so, like, that's. That's the thing that, like, keeps me grateful. So I'm like. I wake up and I'm like, hey, listen, like, a lot of bad things can happen, and at the end of the day, I already know that we're going to be okay.

Yeah, we're going to be okay.

We're going to be fine.

And no matter how difficult it is, I mean, we've. We've. I talk to people all the time. They're complaining about certain things, and I'm like, man, what if I go back three years and who you were three years ago, and you didn't have these problems, like, you've prayed for these problems, like, you wanted to have this life. Would you give it up tomorrow if you were to go back to what you. Where you are? Absolutely not. So why are you complaining? Why are we not holding the standard? Why are we, you know, drowning in a glass of water here like, you prayed for this shit? Like, let's move on. Let's go.

Well, all I can say is everything I've prayed for has come true, especially here, recently.

Yeah, you've. You've just moved into a really nice house. Your big ball in it, like, it's awesome. But so what is that? What does it take for a guy your age? And I'm like, really any age, right? But, like, you know, you have certain distractions that can come your way. You have certain temptations. You have certain things that. That could probably steer you away from your goals. But what kind of things do you listen to? What. What do you do to kind of keep you motivated, to keep that mind sharp, to keep you wanting to learn for more? Because, I mean, if I were to pick one our company. Like, you're one that will listen to Andy teach something and you could duplicate it and learn it and say it just like him. Like, what is it that, how did you develop that skill?

So this is funny. I, I remember the very first time that you and Andy went over to the vault. And at that time I really didn't know who Patrick B. David was. And so I took this from him. And this is something I still live by, which it like, it's really, because I know you and Andy are, are short runways with massive action. And then at the very end of it, like, there's your goal. So, like, you do a lot in a very short period of time. Like you set up 90 day goals. The one thing that I can really like subscribe my mind to and it makes sense to me and I'm able to like actually build a plan around it where I don't get overwhelmed and I'm able to continually have like the wins is I took this from Patrick by David, and he says, be a long term thinker. Like the person who's thinking 20, 30, 40 years down the road, they're gonna beat out anybody who's thinking, oh, what am I going to do right now? What am I going to do today? What am I going to do this week? What are we going to do this year? What are we going to do in the next five years? And so what I've done is I've gone, okay, in 20 years.