Ep 21: From Felony to $2M: The Alstin Vanderford Story

Austin Vanderford grew up in a one-stoplight town in Rockwell, North Carolina. Single mom, abusive father, a broken femur in eighth grade, a best friend killed in a car accident at 16, a felony charge, and a year of house arrest. By every measure, the odds were stacked against him.

Today he runs the fastest growing agency at one of the fastest growing insurance organizations in the country, going from $800K to over $2 million in a single year.

In this episode of The Drive, Craig Harvey sits down with "Beast Mode" Austin Vanderford to talk about how every hard thing that happened to him ended up shaping the man and leader he is now. They get into his rocky childhood, the trauma he carried through his twenties, how his wife Kate saved his life (her words, sort of), how a felony became the wake-up call he didn't know he needed, and what made him walk away from a $325,000 car sales career to start over in insurance.

Topics covered:

• Growing up without a father and what it does to a kid
• Breaking your femur in 8th grade and learning to walk again
• Losing your best friend at 16
• House arrest, a felony, and owning it completely
• Getting into ECU, NC State, and Campbell University by telling the truth
• Why he left $325K on the table to bet on himself
• How he built a $2M agency by only hiring former athletes, salespeople, and military
• The role faith, Kate, and Dusty Todd played in turning it all around
• Revenue, relevance, and leadership as his core drivers

If you've ever felt like your past disqualifies you, this one's for you.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You know, we all have a past. I've learned that your past can fertilize or demoralize your future. It's all based on how you deal with it. I don't know about you, but I've learned more about water in the desert than I ever have learned from the ocean. You're going to hear today from a guy. Yes, he's had successes. Yes, he's had uh tremendous accomplishments, but I believe that what you overcome is more powerful than what you achieve. That's the subject today on the drive. All right, welcome back to the drive. Craig Harvey here in the driver's seat with Austin Beast Mode Vanderford. How many people, Austin, call you Austin versus Austin? Um, yeah, I've been called a lot of things, but either one's fine with me, man. Either one. So you are captaining uh the fastest growing ship at one of the fastest growing insurance organizations in the U.S. North American Senior Benefits continues to ring bells and set records. You have been our fastest growing partner and team builder. How the hell does that feel?

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Feels great, man. You know, we grew 350% last year, more than anybody in the company. Um we went from like eight, eight hundred thousand in 2024 to I I I forget like 2.0 million last year. So it's been a blessing, man. It's the growth is real, though.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Well, welcome to the Millionaire Club, brother. Okay. Uh the taxes uh will will you'll feel that, but it's always great when you have to pay more taxes. It it wasn't always like that for you. And we're gonna get into to kind of how you've made and built the company that you've built. But dude, you had a rocky beginning. You you you had a a um a difficult uh genesis, so to speak, early on, 10, 11, 12, 13. We we were we were talking off camera and you were just like, Harvey, my my my my dad was a dick. And um, you know, none of us would wish that on anyone, but to see someone overcome the kind of trauma and abuse and and just ugly that you had to overcome, it it's inspiring. Do you mind do you mind speaking to that?

SPEAKER_01 2:05

No, I don't know. So I grew up in a small little town, Rockwood, North Carolina, um, one stoplight, uh, grew up in a trailer a lot like like you did, right? So oldest of three siblings. And my life has has really been forged from you know my early childhood to about 21 years old. A lot of the lessons I learned through that time made me into the person I am today. So um really four or five different things. Um my father, um, he left us at a young age chasing women. Um you know, was was abusive, uh, mostly mentally, but um I believe there was probably some physical abuse there as well uh with my mom. And and and what that's done for me, though, is is is made me look at life a little bit different, made me into a better husband, better father. So I believe everything in life is is is for you, not to you, you know, and I think that's a problem with our culture today. A lot of people think things are happening to them instead of realizing that if you take this that's happening now and use it for future good, then um you can do a you can do a lot of good in the world with with your past experiences.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

Do we we talk a lot on the drive about how you have mentors that show you the right way or monsters right that show you the wrong way? And so I would just imagine being a father now to two little baby girls. Um your dad showed you how not to parent. Yes. And because of the shit he put you through, it's made you a better father. Yep, despite the agony and the pain and the turmoil and the trauma that you had to go through.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Yeah. Um uh two little girls and and my first little boy, and you know, growing up a boy, you look up to your father. You know, he's the one that you want to be like when you grow up and you want to emulate that. And um not having that was was rough. Um, but but uh God put me through that for a reason, and and that's fine. And there's a lot of people that go through that, you know.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Uh um but you got injured, you got injured too. Like right after that, you went through a a horrendous tell tell our audience this. I mean, this dude, you broke your femur.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Yep, the the largest bone in your body. I broke it in uh eighth grade playing football of all things. So I was a wide receiver, came down, caught a pass. I had a kid hit me here, hit me here, and it popped out the side.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

So I had to learn how to walk again and um had a 12-inch rod from my knee to my hip uh for for years after that, and heck my knee's still screwed up from from from that. So um that that taught me a lot too, though. It taught me about pain, it taught me about work ethic because I couldn't walk. So physical therapy and had to to learn how to walk again. So that was the second thing that happened to me. Well, the third thing was my my best friend who was also my cousin, who I grew up with playing sports with, all that stuff. Um, he passed away when I was 16 in a car accident. And um, you know uh grown men, I wouldn't have grown men now, I was 16 years old, but we don't like to cry, we don't like to show our emotion, that kind of stuff. But when you lose someone, it it hurts, you know, and I th a lot of people have lost to or learned through loss of a of someone as well. So that was rough for me. And then what got me through a lot of those things is I always leaned into sports. So broke my high school record in scoring, uh, actually played college basketball for a year, but on the outside I looked like I was doing well, but on the inside I was still battling.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Dude, that's that's a that's so much trauma. You think about 16 years old to go through the the the abuse of a of a father and and then to to have a devastating injury where you're learning to actually walk again, and then at 16 to lose a best friend and someone close to you in an accident, there's only a few directions to turn. Right? And and if you don't, if you don't have a a strong uh you know, father figure or home presence, it's easy, it's easy to kind of maybe veer in a direction that you wished you hadn't. I'm sure that didn't happen to you.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Oh, it did. Yeah. And I think there's a stat, Craig. I looked it up. It's like something like 70 to 85 percent of juveniles that uh go to jail um are from a single parent household. Wow. And that's that's where I was headed. You know, I um got in a lot of trouble from 16 to 19, and I didn't have that person. I mean, my mom did the best she could. Uh she single mom raising three kids on being a waitress, you know, you can only do so much. You need that father there to to kind of put his foot down with that kid that that kid is is acting out, and I didn't just didn't have that. So um the the last thing that happened to me is I I got in a lot of trouble and it led to a year of house arrest. And a lot of lessons learned from from that year. House arrest. House arrest. Like like you can't leave your house, you're you're locked in. I could leave for school or work or something like that. But other than that, I'm home. Like I'm I'm in my house and not doing much of anything. So learned a lot from that. One of the big lessons is is um So look, I I can't let you off that easy.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

That is that like I mean I mean this isn't a speeding ticket here, okay? You didn't you didn't go uh you didn't moon someone, you didn't go streaking at a funeral, okay, to get this kind of punishment. Is this a misdemeanor? Are we talking felony? What are we talking here?

SPEAKER_01 7:37

Yes, it was a felony. Felony. Wow. Okay, yeah. It went through a lot, man. And and um it was all my fault. I mean, I I was a an idiot where you know, just doing things I shouldn't have been doing, partying a lot. Um, but yeah, a lot of lessons from that. One of the biggest ones, man, is is you find out who your friends are when you you're not the person that's going out there and hanging out with them and and they're not coming to see you. So I only had probably four or five people um from my past that came around that year. And that was hard for me, going from being the life of the party to someone sitting there sometimes by myself. And and so so yeah, man, that and like I said, it the everything that happened to me is my was my fault. It it was sure and and God put that in my life for a reason, and I know that now, but at that time I couldn't see it.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Well, deliverance begins with confession, right? Ownership and and and and taking that internal introspection of saying, I'm here because of decisions I made versus someone else did it to me. Um that's an accelerant and that's a springboard for change. Obviously, post one year of um house arrest, dear God, I didn't know. Our first felon, folks, our first felon on the drive. And by the way, our I'm not anymore. I'm not anymore. It's all it's all explosion. Uh well my point is that that that here here this just shows you what you can become. This just shows you what you could overcome, damn it. Okay. And by God, have you not come a long way? And and we're gonna get into that. Uh, but you transitioned and and you went to college. So despite all of that shit, and we've talked a lot about manure, yeah, right? How manure makes you the man you are.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

M-A-N-U-R-E, right? That's what it spells, and it's accurate. We've all gone through it, those that that have kind of rose from it and not let it uh just just stink up their whole uh you know future, so to speak. It does fertilize or demoralize. It fertilized you and grew you, and it grew you to college. You went to ECU. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

A pirate. So I actually before that, while while being on house arrest, I went and got an associate's degree. Really? And um then I went and begged ECU and met sat down with someone in admissions and told them the whole story and kind of begged and pleaded, hey, you know, I I I did this well, and and and luckily it worked. So they let me in and and I would like to be able to say I was I was a changed man at that time, but I wasn't. I I still partied, I still um you know had some demons at that time too that I was working through. And but what really changed my life was was was meeting my wife, man. And um she through everything has has been probably the the most important decision I've made, other than finding Christ. Like that that's always number one. But um And what's your wife's she gave me Kate? Kate. So Kate and Christ. Yeah, Kate and Christ. Yeah, she gave me structure though, man. She ever since I met her, she wanted to be a nurse anesthetist. And yeah, I I probably said it wrong. Would you call me? I know. Yeah. So she wanted to put people to sleep for a living. How about that? Okay, okay, all right, and that's why I don't act up because she could put me to sleep permanently, and I'm not I'm gonna, you know, not do that. So wise man. Wise man, yeah, sir. But I watched her go through nursing school and she was so driven and so focused. I mean, she still had fun, but she was she knew what she wanted and and she was she was going for it. So it taught me a lot. She's the one that taught me my work ethic, she's the one that taught me, you know, um doing what you say and and being a man of your word and all that stuff, which a father should have taught me that, but it came from my wife. So, and she gave me structure as well. So, you know, uh having somewhere to come home to every day and and and somebody that I could count on to be there all the time.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

You told me you have a master's degree. I do. I mean, bro, like not only are you a felon, a former felon, you're probably the smartest. We've never had a master's degree, we've never had anybody with a master's degree on the drive, okay? We got idiots like John Rocker on here, okay? We got morons like Dusty Todd. We we we got we got all kind of you know riffraff and and and and you know, great men, okay, but but not uh not the intellect of an Austin Vant. You really have a master's degree?

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Yeah. So after ECU, um I knew my goal was to be a physical therapist. So, but I didn't have the GPA from before Kate to be able to do that. So I signed up for the master's degree at NC State in physiology and um went and talked to them the same way I did at ECU, like, hey, this is what happened. Um I'm a I'm a good person. Uh you know, I thought I was at least. Um, and they let me in. And the cool thing about the way NC State set up their physiology program was uh it was competitive. So everyone was competing in certain classes against each other. So I didn't have to make a hundred or ninety-five, I just had to beat everybody else, you know. And um the cool thing is I made a 4.0. Um, I out, you know, I beat a bunch of people that uh are now doctors or PAs or PTs or any of those things.

SPEAKER_00 12:56

So um, dude, I have to pause here because one of the traits of the greats, let me say it again. One of the traits of the greats is that competitive spirit, is that competitive gene. I don't know where uh it comes from. I don't know if God kisses you with it, if it's something you develop, if if some of us were uh picked on as kids or or made fun of, but to have that ability to compete, I've always said, you know, competition drives compensation. It drives your ability to make more because you wanted more. And I have no doubt that, again, you being the competitive sum bitch that you are, uh have translated that into insurance. But it it it it it wasn't it wasn't just a leap to insurance yet. No, because you you again, you got your master's, right? The next step is what?

SPEAKER_01 13:46

Doctor, and actually got into physical therapy school at Campbell University, went and told them the same thing I told ECU and NC State, and they let me in. It was one of the best days of my life outside of you know Mary and Kate and all that, having my kids and that kind of stuff. And um, but what happened? I got into the car business to buy some time to make some extra money before going back to physical therapy school. We uprooted our whole life, we moved to a different apartment closer to Campbell. Um, and five days before the school started, they kicked me out. Shut up. And they rescinded the offer. They said, uh, hey, look, you know, uh, we're thankful for you coming in, but um, we don't have any clinical spots that'll probably take you.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

So I know that I know the word rescind from the insurance industry, where when an insurance company rescinds a policy, they go back into the medical records of the client and they claim that the client was dishonest or not completely forthright on the application. And as a result, the 10, 15, 25, 50,000 policy is it's like it didn't exist. So that that that kind of recension is is that what this some bitch does.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So um, just out of nowhere, uh, it was my actually my last day at the car business. I'd already put my two weeks' notice in. And um he uh he calls me and I'm out on the car lot and he says, Hey man, we're not gonna let you in. And I had to go back in there and say, Hey, look, looks like I'm staying here selling some cars uh a little bit longer. So after that, I just went all in on car shows.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

You did great, though. I I remember uh hearing about you and and 20, 30 cars a month. Dude, there's 30 days in a in a month. So you're selling a car a day. Yep. So you're kicking some serious ass. You obviously making some money. Why not why not just plant your flag and stay there?

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Yeah. So I was there, I was there seven years and did really well. You know, like you said, was selling 20, 30 cars a month. Then I got promoted to floor manager and then finance manager and then sales manager, kind of working my way up the ladder. And um uh made $325,000 my last year in in the business.

SPEAKER_00 15:54

I had a boy.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

But what changed my life was coming home, and it was after the birth of my second little blonde-haired blue-eyed girl, and my wife hitting me with, I feel like a single mom. And you know, I grew up with a single mom. So I wasn't, you know, my kids are the most important thing to me. So I was not gonna let my kids be at be raised without their dad. Um, so started looking around at that point. But what I really started doing is doing the math. So, you know, I made $325,000 a year. I worked 50 hours a week and 50 to 55, uh uh 55 hours a week, most likely. And I worked 50 weeks out of the year. So I did the math on that. It was about $116 an hour that I was making. And a lot of people say you're an idiot for leaving stuff like that. Well, maybe, but the way I saw it is I was succeeding at business, but I was failing at being a husband and a father. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

So you're winning the wrong game. Yep. It's funny, dude, looking back, the my first, you know, my best year at my first company was 350, 360, something like that. I thought it was it might as well have been three million because I'd never seen money like that, never in a million years. But again, I was they were taking more than they were providing. And what we've learned at our organization, looking back, by the way, 325, that's low now. Looking back, you're you're you're knocking on the door to a million bucks, man. You're making three times that, uh, and you're gonna continue to trend north. Um, it's just amazing to have a vehicle that can give you both the money and the time. Not that you don't still work hard, not that we're not uh accessible and available when our team needs us, but to have the time and the resources, dude. Well, that's one of the reasons I came here.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

So I started looking around at what else I could do. And I called Dusty and I uh looking at his Facebook and his Instagram and all that stuff, I saw that he was traveling the world and spending all this time with his boys. And um I'm like, what how the what are you doing? And he said, I'm in insurance. And I said, he said, I'm making a million dollars a year. And I'm like, how does that even make sense? And he says, Austin, when you sell a car, you only get paid on that car once. But when I sell an insurance policy, I get paid residually. And then he said, on top of that, whenever you want to build your own agency, we allow you to do that whenever you're ready as well. So um I jumped in, man, and it's been one of the best decisions I ever made.

SPEAKER_00 18:25

It's crazy because so many uh NESB, not just agents, but partners. You know, we set up an organization like a law firm where you can make partner have been ECU pirates, right? Yeah. Uh Josh Cheryl was there. Uh uh Garrett Holyfield was there. Even Andrew Everhart. You came here knowing Andrew was here. Well, he was about the reason I didn't join. Okay, I'm I'm joking. I'm joking. Lionheart. Shout out to my boy. Um it it look, it really is amazing. Dusty. Dusty went to ECU. You went to ECU. So if you're looking to recruit, just go to the campus of ECU. Yeah. Uh, and and and there's somebody there that could probably do what it is that we do. But the truth is anybody can do what we do, brother. Yeah. I mean, if you've got a will, uh, we're gonna show you the way. And uh, you know, you gotta bring the why, you you've got to bring the reason, you've got to bring the determination to get up and do it every day. Um, but but again, you got off to a fast start, but you you were telling me off camera that you were like, Harvey, despite my fast start, I almost quit. Yeah.

unknown 19:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

So sales, sales skills are transferable. I don't care if you're selling roofs or you know, solar or cars or whatever. If you can sell one thing, what you realize is sales is all about people and it's about how we make people feel. I always say you you try to make the customer like you more than like what you're trying to sell them. So I got off to a hot start, um, made a lot of money my first two months, but my third month, um, I about quit. And the reason why is, you know, I'd felt like I'd been the coach at the car dealership for a long time. Um, and now I felt like I was going back to like a kicker or a free safety or something like that, just another cog in the wheel, you know. And um, I took a uh big loss in income when I started, but I did at that time I didn't see I had to take one step back to take five steps forward.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

It was a calculated risk. I remember Dusty calling me about you and saying, bro, we've got a guy that can really, really do some things. He's got the skill level, he's got the ability. Will he apply himself? Will he love what it is that we do? I I don't know yet, but he checks every stinking box. And the mayor was right again. Um so Dusty kind of kind of gets your headset right, right? He kind of gave you that friend day, so to speak. Just you know, told you what's what's that old scripture, faithful of the wounds of a friend. I think there's a proverb that says that. In other words, a friend will stab you in the face, I'll tell you the truth. Yeah, and so he did some of that, and and it kind of got you on a on a on a kind of a plane, uh, a trajectory, so to speak, that uh has taken you pretty damn far.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Yeah. So that that third month I called him and I said, It was after the worst week I've had in insurance. And uh we all go through uh sales slumps. And I went through mine and and I called him and I said, Hey man, I need a friend's day. I I don't need a coach day, I need a friend's day. And he came up there and and and we did a little coaching and a little, you know, getting my head back on right. And um it's it's been all north since that one.

SPEAKER_00 21:35

I think everybody in in this business, there's a uh an event, it's a sometimes it's a conference, sometimes it's a hire, sometimes it's um sometimes it's something negative, believe it or not, that just kind of wakes us up, that makes us get serious about this. What was it? I talk about that kernel popping, you know. That kernel pops in in the microwave. When when do you think you popped?

SPEAKER_01 21:56

Uh that happened to me for when I found my first great. Great agent, okay, and and somebody that could be a running mate for me or partner in the business. And that guy's name was Justin Crump. And he had that happened the start of my second year in insurance. And when I found him, I had somebody that was like me, that was a former athlete that could go out and talk to people and build relationships. And what that allowed me to do is find, you know, realize what type of person that I wanted to partner with. I think when we start building our agency, we kind of just hire everyone. And like you said, if they fog a mirror, you'll hire them. And I did that when I started. But what he allowed me to do is narrow down the person, the type of person that I was looking for in this business.

SPEAKER_00 22:42

And I want to be very clear. Your income, and we're not, you're not trying to brag, but I do want to be honest because I think authenticity, if I'm going to listen to somebody, I want to know, you know, from from from whence do you speak? From what perch are you talking to me? And so here you are, grew up in a lot of um situations and and uh just experiences that that we uh would would not call favorable, but you found a way to overcome what it was that was a disadvantage. Malcolm Gladwell calls it desirable disadvantages because it's that uphill, which you know, we talked about our kids may not have that uphill, so we're gonna have to maybe create some hills for them. And so here you go, you're building this thing, you you you meet Crump, things start to roll. And what I love about what you've done, again, fastest growing agency at one of the fastest growing insurance organizations in the United States, you were so singular and focused. You were so deliberate in whom you were after. All right. Speak to that because there's power in your purpose, not just using this shotgun, you know, yeah, just attempting to hit whatever it might be. Dude, this was a 30-06 that you had a clean sight on and knew exactly who you were after. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:01

So six months after Crump partnered with me, I actually um partnered with two other guys, Robbie O'Neill and Hobbes Johnson. And Hobbes played baseball for the Brewers and and uh Robbie played D1 baseball as well. And what that allowed me to do is say, okay, now I have the framework of what I want to build. So now I'm only gonna hire three types of people former athletes, former salespeople, and former military. And and why? Because they have the things that we're looking for. They have discipline. They learn that through, you know, those three backgrounds. They have social skills, they can form relationships with people. If you've been ever been in a locker room, you have to form relationships. So, um, social skills, and then they have the work ethic to be successful too. So I and I think that's why we've grown so fast, Craig, is is we know who we are, uh, we know what we stand for, and we know what kind of type of person we're trying to attract. And we've been able to put together a really, really solid team of people that are like-minded and want to win.

SPEAKER_00 24:59

So specifically, when you're calling, when you're interviewing, when you're looking to to branch out and you find someone, you're you're asking the question, hey, just curious, did did you excel in sports? Were you former military? Have you had uh sales experience and excelled at a previous organization? You're being that blunt and direct. Yeah. I love it. Yep. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 25:19

We know we know who we are. We're not forever. I mean, anybody can come in and do an insurance, but what I've what I've realized is um if the success rate in insurance is 10 to 20 percent, if I can increase that to 40 or 50 percent, like last year, our retention rate was 57 percent. That's unheard of in insurance. You know, you don't keep that that many people. So um we've done that by hiring sevens and above, not and making them tens and not twos and trying to make them fives.

SPEAKER_00 25:47

Well, respectfully, sir, we did that as well because we hired less and kept more versus throwing shit against the wall, like the other three that are companies that uh claim to be um uh I'm not gonna say they're that look, they're frenemies. They're frenemies, okay? They're frenemies. At the same time, we we did not uh want to hire the masses and and and keep the minority. We wanted to be very selective and specific in whom it was that we were gonna invest our time and energy and effort into because there's only so much of that to go around. Let let's talk about drivers and motivators because um I know uh you you've read that great book, Driven. Okay. It's it's uh it's it's great uh insomnia uh uh cure. If you're struggling, if you're struggling with sleeping, okay, go buy the book Driven and it'll put you to sleep. I'm joking around. Um that book changed my life. That book was my life because I I realized that I if I can love someone the wrong way, right? Those five love languages are real. That if it's acts of service, if it's quality time, if it's words of affirmation, physical touch, if I can love my woman or if a woman can love her man the wrong way, then we can lead men or women the wrong way. That if it doesn't work out, it's not their fault, it's fault, it's our fault. We were the ones that did not lead them in the way that they needed to be led. So I found five drivers. I found five things that I felt like really could get the most out of somebody. The first one resonated with both of us. I agree with you. Revenue was your first, right? Yep. Yes, sir. Why?

SPEAKER_01 27:18

Yeah, well, and I think all of them, you go through stages in the business where all of them are relevant. Yeah. Right. But the two that really speak to me most is number one is revenue. Okay. And the reason why is I was leaving behind $325,000 a year. I had to get back to replacing that income for my family. So revenue was number one. I I had to replace it. But revenue also goes back to my childhood. You know, I grew up with, you know, mom, you know, I remember cars being repossessed. I remember um going to the gas station, putting $5 in the, you know, in the tank, because that's all we had. Um, so and like I said, my mom did the best she could, and I I I'm so um thankful that I had a uh loving mom that still did all that because a lot of people don't even have that, you know. So being able to look at my kids and say, hey, you're not you're gonna grow up different than I did. You know, you're gonna have all the opportunities that everyone else has, and you're gonna be able to do things that I never, you know, even dreamed of doing. And it's for my wife too. You know, she deserves all that. She's made me a better man. She deserves uh more than I can ever give her.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

So So people just say it's not all about the money. I understand that once you have it. But when you don't have it and when you've grown up without it, it's uh it's embarrassing. You you feel less than. Um and and to me, money, money's a weapon. Yeah, it's a weapon, brother, that you can point in a direction to solve problems, to meet needs, to be able to create solutions where there are questions being asked and no one shows up. But but being able to have the again, the the weapon of wealth, yeah, right, that that is at your disposal. It's um it is it is definitively a blessing.

SPEAKER_01 29:14

Well, it's not all about the money, it's about what the money can provide for you, right? So I come down here and I see um how you get to, you know, pick and choose what you want to do with every day of your life. So money is a weapon to buy back your time. And there's an infinite amount of time, but there's a, you know, that we can always make more money. So uh that's what one of the big reasons I came in this business is is buying my time back, you know, being able to be there at every dance recital, being able to be there at every ball game, all that stuff. That's what matters most to me as a father, husband, you know.

SPEAKER_00 29:47

So I'm I'm I'm damn glad that uh the car business uh was taking more of your time. If, dude, if you ever right now, like think about it, making a million, okay? You need to you need to sit back and really look at, okay, let's say you're still working 50 hours, but now you're working, it's not always having to be gone from those kids. It's not always having to be gone from Kate. It's being able to be around that little boy while at the same time meeting the needs of agents that you're uh pouring into, depositing into, making sure that they're as successful, if not more successful than you. Revenue was your first, but but I love I love the the the second driver. We've talked about it, that that means something to you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:29

And and that's relevance. Right. And I think there's a couple different ways we can we can go with relevance. I I think the first one is being relevant to the people that have decided to join you. I I tell my team uh a lot that it's not their job to make me successful, it's my job to make them successful. I mean, they literally uprooted their whole lives, their careers, everything, and came and joined me in this business. And that means a lot to me. Uh, so being relevant to them, being relevant in their lives, um, being relevant in their success is super important to me. But the second thing is being relevant in this business. You know, I'm I'm still at the start of this, you know, you and and Chad and people like other companies, uh PBD and all these guys, you you're relevant in the insurance space. And I'm still small potatoes compared to to those people. So growing something to where um my something where my family's name's on it, you know, and and and we have something that that builds generational wealth for my family and and that kind of stuff. Um being relevant in the insurance space is just as important as being relevant in the lives of my my agents.

SPEAKER_00 31:42

You know, you you said something to me um as we were preparing for this, that the two people that were the most influential in your life were Christ and Kate. And we've kind of shied away from from the you know, my my father was a pastor. Dude, most of the guy, bro, most of the guys that that um uh beat their chest about God and Christ wound up being the just the biggest assholes. I'm telling you. Like I've seen it, I've witnessed it, I've lived it. A man with an experience, not at the mercy of a man with an opinion. Think what you want. I know, I've watched it. So a lot of people I think used God. They used uh spirituality, Christianity, faith, uh as a forward for them. Um But meeting someone that lives you don't talk a lot. You don't talk a lot. Uh you you you you talk about as uh as much as uh the hair you have on your head. Uh no, no, but you're you're you're you're a you look you're a gentle giant and and and you're a you're a uh uh uh not someone that that is uh is portraying that. However, however, that's a big deal to you. And you said it's a foundational principle, and I've watched your life, bro. Like guys like you make guys like me want to be better. It's a true story, fact, right? And uh it's it's encouraging, it's refreshing um to meet someone. How has that been such an influencer in your life? And how has that shaped the business that uh is is succeeding? You you guys, you said you you you you actually say a prayer at your at your calls. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:13

So every every call we have, um, every Zoom call, we say a prayer afterwards. And I I think that's one of the biggest accelerants to our business. But I I I look back at my past and um, you know, when I was young, I didn't go to church as as much as I do now. Obviously, I go every weekend now. I didn't um I everything that happened in my life was God putting me through something to make me a better human later on. So when my you know my father left, um, what that did for me was actually make me a better hus husband and father. And uh when I broke my femur bone, uh God was putting me through that to to be able to learn about pain and struggle and and work ethic. When my when my uh best friend died, uh he was putting me through that to learn about loss and learn about you know grief and and those things. And then he really saved my life in looking back now when I when I got in trouble. And because if I didn't do that, who knows where I'd be, I'd probably be six feet under. And um, so everything that has happened in my life, if I look back at it, it was God's way of forging me to become a man and a leader that other people would want to follow later on in life.

SPEAKER_00 34:33

Dude, you do it the right way. And uh I'm I'm I'm so dang, not damn happy. I'm damn happy that uh that you're you're wearing this jersey and uh that I've I've been able to kind of be on this uh this this pass path with you and watch you develop. And again, dude, you're only in your infancy, it's gonna get better. Leadership is big to you. Let me get you out here on this because leadership to me, uh the great John Maxwell talks about its influence. It's what's that commercial when E. F. Hutton talks, people listen. Well, when leaders speak, hopefully those that want to learn, those that want to be at a place that the uh the order is at, they they really lean in, they listen, they pay attention. You're building your culture through building leaders and leadership. Speak to that.

SPEAKER_01 35:22

Yeah, so um leadership for me is a lifestyle. And even at the car dealership, I was making money, but I wasn't a leader. Um, I was a I was a worker. Here I get to lead other men and women to become better people, better individuals. And that's forged through daily disciplines. It's forged through five o'clock workouts, it's forged through getting in the Bible in the morning or reading a leadership book or or whatever else it may be. It's forged through being on every conference call, you know, never missing, uh, never coming late to meetings. It's forged through my my guys still feeling like I'm in the trenches with them. So leadership to me is something that, you know, uh, if you're gonna talk about it, be about it. Okay. And then leadership's also about your principles. What do you stand for? You know, as a man, you know, do do these people that follow you know why they're following you? You know, I think if you ask my team what I stand for, they're gonna tell you, God, they're gonna tell you about being a better husband, they're gonna tell you about being a father, and then they're gonna talk to you about my work ethic. And those that's how I want to be remembered in in this business and life is you know, God first, family, and then and then, you know, what I'm doing to build a life for my my family as well.

SPEAKER_00 36:41

One of the greatest partners we have, probably one of the one of the greatest humans that uh NESB is able to call its own. Dude, I got two boys, Caden Jack, Rockford Reese. I hope they're a lot like you. And uh I hope you got a lot out of this episode of The Drive as much as I did. Thank you, Austin Beast Mode, for being our guest today. Thank you, brother.