From a Horrifying Near-Death Experience to Success and Significance with World Record Holder Jenn Drummond
Episode Details
Transcript
Join us as we delve into the personal journey of Jenn Drummond as she overcomes financial struggles, infertility, and a near-fatal car accident to find abundance in the face of adversity. But just when it seems like she's on the path to success, a shocking twist leaves her in a difficult situation with no resolution in sight. Will she be able to overcome this new challenge? Tune in to find out!
Today's spotlight shines on Jenn Drummond; a woman of substantial accomplishments and heart. Jenn is an acclaimed motivational keynote speaker, world record holder, author and podcast host. Yet her credentials don't stop there. Jenn is also a resilient mother of seven children and a dedicated owner of a business in the financial service industry. Having faced significant adversity in the form of a life-altering car accident, Jenn emerged stronger than ever and has dedicated her life to personal growth, inspiring others along the way. Her story serves as a powerful beacon of hope and testament to human resilience.
"Happiness is an inside game.”
In this episode, you will be able to:
- Develop resilience, overcoming personal adversity for robust personal growth.
- Uncover authentic abundance, enabling true personal satisfaction.
- Tackle infertility challenges while highlighting life’s unexpected gifts.
- Acknowledge the fragility of life thereby harnessing the potent power of choice.
- Reveal your true self, ensuring your identity stands firm against societal pressures.
- Visit Jenn Drummond's website to learn more about her motivational keynote speaking services and book her for your next event.
- Pre-order Jenn Drummond's upcoming book, set to release in January 2024, to gain valuable insights and inspiration.
- Check out Jenn Drummond's podcast for more motivational content and interviews with inspiring individuals.
- Explore the financial service industry platform that Jenn Drummond white labels for institutions and consider utilizing it for your own business.
- Connect with Jenn Drummond on social media to stay updated on her latest projects and insights.
- Consider attending one of Jenn Drummond's live events or workshops to experience her motivational speaking in person.
- Sign up for Jenn Drummond's newsletter to receive regular updates and exclusive content.
- Follow Jenn Drummond on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for daily inspiration and behind-the-scenes glimpses into her life.
- Join Jenn Drummond's online community to connect with like-minded individuals and gain support on your own journey to abundance.
- Share this podcast episode with friends, family, or colleagues who may benefit from Jenn Drummond's story and insights.
Tools for Personal Growth: Jenn Drummond shared her insights on the role of personal determination in overcoming adversity. She emphasized the importance of commitment to personal goals and the value of creating an environment that encourages personal growth and fun. Utilizing her own experiences, she demonstrated how a positive mindset and persistence could lead to significant personal and professional achievements.
Books and Resources
The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People
Quit-Proof: 7 Strategies to Build Resilience and Achieve Your Life Goals
Connect with Jenn Drummond:
WEBSITE: https://jenndrummond.com/
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-drummond/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/therealjenndrummond
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thejenndrummond
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thejenndrummond
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzI9NbwoOzgANJBd2GJQvrQ
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@thejenndrummond
PODCAST: Seek Your Summit
Connect with us
WEBSITE: https://www.adversity2abundance.com
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChYrpCUlqFYLy4HngRrmU9Q
Leave us a rating or review: https://www.adversity2abundance.com/reviews/new/ or here
Got comments, feedback or suggestions? We’d love to hear it! https://www.adversity2abundance.com/contact/
Connect with Jamie
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-bateman-5359a811/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/batemanjames
Speaker 0
Today, we get a chance to hear from Jen Drummond. Jen is a world record holder. She's a mother of seven. She's a successful, businesswoman. And, in twenty eighteen, she survived what should have been a life ending car accident. And, since then, she has just, just her perspective has really changed, and she just is now able to share with us her view of how valuable and how precious every day is. And, she's just an inspiration to talk to. She's got many stories, mini stories within this episode that she shares that really, kinda show us how she got from adversity to abundance. The car accident was just one. It's certainly a major one, but, she has a book coming out in January, which is called Quitproof. And, you know, she's just figured out how to make herself the best version of herself in order to have really international impact. And this is this is a great, great episode. She's she's very well spoken. Very good with relaying true stories and about about how to, you know, about overcoming adversity and getting to abundance. It's a very inspirational episode. But yet yet very practical as well. This is not one you are gonna wanna miss. Speaker 1
Welcome to the from adversity to abundance podcast. Are you an entrepreneur or aspiring entrepreneur, then this show is for you. Each week, we bring you impactful stories of real people who have overcome painful human adversity to create a life of abundance. A life of abundance. You are not alone in your struggle. Join us and you will experience the power of true stories and gain practical knowledge from founders who have turned poverty into prosperity and weakness into wealth. This podcast will encourage you through your health, relationship, and financial challenges So you can become the hero in your quest for freedom. Take ownership of the life you are destined to live. Turned your adversity into abundance. Speaker 0
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Good. How are you? Speaker 0
I'm doing pretty well. Yeah, it's actually I'm in Maryland. The it's, beautiful weather. Finally fall is right around the corner. So I'm, I'm excited. What's the weather like for you? Speaker 2
Yeah. We are in, like, fall right now. So it's these cold mornings, and it warms up a little bit in the afternoon and returns to cool off. It's kinda my favorite season. Speaker 0
Absolutely. You kinda get all four seasons in twenty four hours. Speaker 2
One day. Yes. Exactly. Speaker 0
So for the listener out there, Jen, you're a motivator key note speaker, a world record holder, an author. We just talked about that. We'll get into that more in a bit. You have your book coming out in January. Twenty twenty four, and you're a podcast host as well. Give the listener a little bit more context, you know, who are you and what are you up to today? Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I am a mom of seven. I just set a world record in mountaineering, which was a big deal. I own a business in the financial service industry that white labels a platform for institutions. And right now, just doing the best I can to live my best life. Speaker 0
So you don't have anything going on. Got it. Speaker 2
No. It's pretty boring over here. It's pretty boring. Yeah. Speaker 0
I I am the oldest of seven kids, and I have no idea how my mom did it. So, how both my parents did it, but particularly my mom, if I'm being honest. Right? Right. Yeah. So, man, that is a lot to unpack. I I can't wait to get into into later on in the show more of what you're up to today. But before we get there, let's jump back into your backstory. I know, you know, you had you've had some serious adversity that you've dealt with and just to just to set the stage a little bit for for our listener, you know, entrepreneur, budding entrepreneur out there. The intent of this show is to inspire people and to let people know that We all go through hard times, and life is not always rainbows and unicorns and butterflies, and there will be adversity in this life. Whether we whether it's through our own doing or not, but it's really a matter of how do we respond to that adversity. And get to, quote, unquote, abundance. We don't pretend that we're never gonna have a hard day again. Right? But the fact is if we can listen to your story, Jen, and learn from your story about how you were able to overcome some real serious adversity, that can inspire the rest of us to do the same, in our own, the version, of our own story if you will. So let's let's jump back where do you wanna start? Speaker 2
Yeah. So, you know, I grew up in a middle class family in Michigan. I remember at a young age that maybe the only time I heard my parents fight was over money. So I was diehard determined to not have finance be a problem in my life. So I went into finance. Right? Like, I'm like, I'm gonna learn money. I'm gonna master money. I'm gonna make money. Like money's not gonna be a thing. And I think, like, many of us who have money as the pursuit, you make up this number in your head, And then all of a sudden, you hit that number and you expect it to feel different than what it does. So you're like, well, then I'll double that down. So then you double down that number. And you're like, well, I'm gonna double it again. And then at some point, you realize, like, this strategy isn't working. Like, this Speaker 0
is Play in the wrong game. Right? Speaker 2
Relay in the wrong game. A thousand percent. And so I realized, okay, happiness is an inside game, and this, like, doubling down isn't gonna do anything except make me crazy. So I got lucky, I guess, in that standpoint, where I was unlucky at a younger age is, you know, you're born female. And I feel like I was, like, I should be able to have kids. No problem. Right? Like, how many years do we spend trying not to have kids? And then when you try to have kids, you're like, wait a minute. This is a problem. Right. I just lived with a lot of shame and guilt. Like, why can't I have babies naturally? What going on? Why is my body not working? It's the one thing it's designed to do. And so then I, got fertility assistance. None of that worked for a while. Until all of a sudden, one day, they came up with a magic chemical cocktail that turned me into a hen And they got a whole bunch of eggs, which then became a whole bunch of embryos, which then became seven children. So speaking of abundance, Speaker 0
Wow. Speaker 2
Yeah. I believed that embryos were life. I had a choice to either use them, donate them, or destroy them. I didn't wanna donate them and wonder if I had a little human running around somewhere the rest of my life. It took me so long to get my first child that destroying embryos felt like, no. This is not good karma. I can't do this. And the doctor said I'd get three or four. And seven children later, we are out of embryos. Speaker 0
Wow. That is wild. Yeah. That is adversity to abundance story right there for sure. Speaker 2
Yes. Yes. Speaker 0
Man, that is so okay. So, you know, give us some a little bit more context as to you know, when this was and and what Speaker 2
what your Speaker 0
life was before and after. What did what did things look like? Speaker 2
Right. So, you know, I took this course in college that was the last one available because I was trying to graduate, and it was called healing, dying, and thriving. And I'm like, oh my god. This is gonna be the worst course ever. It ended up being my favorite course of college, because we got to interview people that were in hospice. And talk to them about like, okay. What would you do differently in life? Or now that you're at the end, like, where are you at? And I would say the overwhelming response that I got from the people that I interviewed was just do you, honey, like just do you. The world's gonna try to get you to do a thousand different versions of what they think it should be. You need to shut that all out and just be authentic to yourself. Speaker 0
Love that. Speaker 2
Yeah. I do. I love it. And so I started a career in finance did really well with it. Started having the kids. I hired myself out of a job in finance. I started being a full time mom. I moved the kids to Park City, Utah in twenty fifteen because we wanted an outdoor lifestyle and just spending more time, year round outside with activities to do. Right now, my children age sixteen to ten. So I'm in the massive teens and tweens. It's been busy. But it was interesting. I was doing the mom thing because that was, like, what I should want to do in air quotes. And it was. Like, I enjoyed it, but I wasn't fulfilled at a level that I thought it would bring. Especially as your kids get older, they're start being in school. And then all of a sudden, you're sitting there waiting for them to come home. Right? Like, I I'm like, I don't think You know? And so then a car accident happened. Like, I feel like the world was whispering to me. Like, hey, there's more. There's other things you can do, but I wasn't really listening or paying attention. And then I got into a horrific car crash in twenty eighteen. That should have taken my life and didn't. And that actually really opened me up to life. Because right after the accident, maybe three or four weeks later, A girlfriend of mine was running on a trail, and it was wet out. She slipped, hit her head on a rock and never came home. So I have this sequence of events of her crazy death, my crazy, like, life, like, how did I live and she not? And you know, that stuff. And I finally came to the term that we do not get to choose when we die, but we sure get to choose how we live. And every day we have a choice in how we're living. And that yeah. So my year of twenty nineteen was Why am I alive? What am I here for? What excites me? Who's Jen Drummond? Right? Like, what's Speaker 0
my Who am I? Right. Speaker 2
Who am I? Speaker 0
What's my opinion? Speaker 2
I didn't even know. Like, I like, we people would ask me, like, what do you want for dinner? I was so used to eating leftover chicken nuggets and someone else's plate. Like, I don't know. I never even thought about what I want for dinner. Don't even know what my favorite color is anymore. I have no clue who I am because I lost my identity in this role that I was playing that's only one facet of who I am as an individual. Speaker 0
Right. And it's and it's somewhat of a temporary, not that you're not always a mom, but Oh, Speaker 2
it is temporary. Yeah. Speaker 0
Yeah. It it it's not good. Yeah. Absolutely. It evolves. So set set the stage with regard to the accident a little bit. I'm not sure how how, you know, much you wanna go into that. But but, you know, I know it was a very serious accident. So if you don't mind, just kind of what happened and and how did you come out of that situation and a little little bit more context for us? Speaker 2
Yeah. For sure. So I was I mean, this is like to get into the real nitty gritty details. I was driving to a nearby town to get a new driver's license because I had lost my driver's license by skiing. And on the way to this town, a song came on the radio, and I had done, like, a meditation retreat two months prior. In that meditation retreat, there was a song that played. I'm like, man, if this song when I die, I want this song to play at my funeral. Like, this song is just so significant to me. And so I'm dry it would play showed up randomly on my playlist. And it started playing. I'm like, oh, man, I haven't told anybody that I want this song to play at my funeral. I need to make sure, like, why write this down somewhere. And I drive on my way back home. I get into a car accident, like, almost where that song started on my playlist, which is just bizarre to me. And the minute I saw my passenger side colliding with the trailer of this semi truck. I remember bargaining with death. Like, please don't I'm not ready. I'm not ready. And, like, I got it down. I don't know if you call it down or whatever, woo woo. I knew I wasn't gonna die. Like, like, at that moment, I knew I wasn't gonna die. And so the car's flipping end over end. So I'm going forward somersaults. And I remember being inside the car holding on to the steering wheel, saying, okay. I need to relax. I need to breathe. I need to keep my fingers on the steering wheel, my head under head rest. And I remember saying, okay, I have enough momentum I'm gonna roll again. I have enough momentum I'm gonna roll again. And I so I rolled three times, and then the car started doing these sideways turns, and then it eventually stopped in the median. And I remember thinking, like, okay, now I'm gonna get hit. Like, this is where it's good because of Hollywood. Like, Hollywood's trained us for accidents. Never over. Speaker 0
Right. Speaker 2
And instead, an individual comes running to the car and peels back the, windshield And he's like, are you okay? Are you okay? And I remember thinking, I don't even know if I'm okay. And I don't wanna look. Like, I'm, like, my body feels warm or whatever. At me, and I closed my eyes, and I wiggled my fingers and toes. And I remember saying I can feel my fingers and toes. I can feel my fingers and toes. Like, I'm okay. Yeah. Yeah. That's okay. Well, I'm just gonna keep talking to you until the ambulance comes. So the ambulance came. They took me to the hospital just to confirm nothing was wrong. Yeah. And I was released a few hours later. Wow home. Like, saw my kids. And I just remember thinking, like, that's like, they were I almost had seven orphans. Like, this isn't sanity. Speaker 0
Wow. Speaker 2
And, yeah, and that just I mean, everything. I remember the next day, like, so it's December nineteen, and my kids are fighting. And normally, I'd be, like, stop fighting, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Sure. You know, and I just remember in that moment sitting there and awe that I have two kids that are so passionate about whatever they're passionate about, and they're trying to vince, their other person that they love to feel the same way they do about x, y, or z thing. And I just remember thinking, like, Life is freaking magic. Are you kidding me? Like, this is so cool. Speaker 0
That's awesome. I mean, that's incredible that your perspective was changed so quickly about how precious life is. So so you were, like, physically totally fine from, I mean, no no issues. Speaker 2
Well, we thought I was. So I was physically fine. And then about a couple weeks later, I kept spiking a fever. So I'd go to the hospital because it'd be like a hundred and five. And they're like, okay. No. It spikes again come back. We couldn't figure it out. And finally, the third time I started getting red spotches, on my skin. And what had happened is the the seat belt, I cut my breast implant. But I had this gummy bear style breast implants, so it didn't have a flat tire per se that you would if you had, like, liquid. Speaker 0
Okay. Speaker 2
And so the joke is I got a new lease on life, a new car, a new boots from this accident. Like, what more can you ask for at my age? It was perfect. Speaker 0
Win win win. Speaker 2
When win win. Speaker 0
Wow. I mean, so that, yeah, we had your story. I mean, this is just part of your story reminds me of we had Clint Fiori on the show a while back, and he had a plane crash. And he was one he was the only person he was flying a small cessna. And crashed the plane, and and I think he was around he was around twenty years old at the time. And just I remember him saying that just everything after that was he just not that he never has a bad day or never can get sucked into the same concerns or anxiety that we all deal with, but the rest of his life, he sees as kind of gravy and this amazing blessing. Yeah. It was Speaker 2
a line in the sand. It was like, every day after that was a bonus day. Speaker 0
Yeah. Speaker 2
And it like, my mind went from I don't care what people think of me anymore to How do I like, what happens if this is my last day? Like, what are the things that I wanna do, experience, become, or, like, you lose the, You're not embarrassed. Like, you're, like, I mean, you appreciate other people's opinions, but they no longer affect you. Mhmm. You're like, okay. Well, that's your choice. Day, I'm gonna die and I wanna, like, be a beginner. I wanna learn this. I wanna try this. If I look like an idiot doing it, whatever I got the experience. Like, it all suddenly becomes about the experience instead of the result. Speaker 0
Yeah. That's interesting. And I and I think this is a fine a difficult line for everyone to to for a lot of us to to walk is, you know, you have on one one extreme people who say, like, you know, just do you and and don't And I agree with that, but, you know, don't worry about what other people think. Well, if you take that too far, it's like, okay, then you're not you're not actually loving other people. You don't you're you're literally just self absorbed and consumed with just being, you know, not caring with other, you know, how you can serve and impact other people, which I don't think is good. Right? But then on the other hand, if you're running around being a complete people pleaser, like you said, you never identify who you are and you don't have priorities and and in the end, you're probably not gonna live out your best life. So Yeah. How do you how do you walk that line, I guess? You know, because Yeah. I have Speaker 2
a story to go with that, actually. That's probably appropriate for right now. When I, I mean, I still own the investment service company, and we do charitable contributions and do different things along that line. And know, I'm like, okay, we're doing good things. We're making an impact and blah blah blah blah blah. Speaker 0
Yeah. Speaker 2
When I stepped into this mountaineering piece, because of a series of events that kind of, like, got me to this space. And in general, mountaineering is considered a pretty selfish sport. I would say people ask me outside. Right? And I'm like, you know, it's I feel alive when I'm on the mountain. I feel my So if I feel like appreciated of nature and all these things and blah blah blah blah blah, well, one of the mountains that I went to summit teammate passed away on the, like, in an avalanche, another one had an injury from frostbite, and I had the choice to continue up the mountain or to come back down. And when I was asked, I'm like, no, I'm going back down to take care of my team. And so I took care of my team and then the summit window closed. So I came back to the United dates. My kids came home from camp a couple days later, and they're like, hey, mom, did you summit? Did you summit? I said, no, I didn't, but I had success. Like, what do you mean? Like, you know, who we are as people is more important than what we achieve. And I didn't get to summit the mountain. It'll always be there. But I did get to show up as a teammate and take care of people during a hard time. And for that, I'm proud of myself because I had the choice to do differently, and I'm glad I showed the way that I did. Speaker 0
Yeah. Speaker 2
Now was I, like, grateful for the failure or the lack of the summit? No. Like, for the next nine months, I'm, like, reading in my head, what can we do different? How do I go back? What do I make safe? All these different questions? And it was hard to go back because There's a certain bliss or ignorance that you don't have when you go to a place the first time. Right? You you you just have nothing to you have nowhere to place it. Everything, you're like, okay. Well, this is what it is. Now I know what I'm getting into. I'm like, oh my god. I gotta go back to this place. Like, are you kidding me? This is like it was hard. Like, I to get my motivation up, and I couldn't figure it out. And I had the failure before. And so that was haunting me and all these different things. And then about four weeks before I left, I got a phone call from somebody that said, hey, listen. I heard you're going to Pakistan to try k two again. There's a female from Pakistan. That would love to be able to try to climb her country's prize peak. She'd be the first one. She has no financial resources. She doesn't have the gear. Blah blah blah blah blah. And all of a sudden, like, this, moment came. Like, this is why I failed. I would have never been able to be a part of this story, if I didn't fail this first time. So I grabbed gear and all the different things. I came to Pakistan, and I summited And then thirty minutes later, the first Pakistani female stood on top of her country's prized peak. And to me, I have twin daughters. I know how important it is for them to see people that look like them in places. Because it gives them permission to dream of that possibility. Like, I'm thinking, like, how many Muslim little girls throughout this world? Now get to see somebody that looks like them on top of one of the deadliest mountains in the world. Speaker 0
Wow. That is fantastic. Speaker 2
You know, and it's just one of those things where There is a balance. Like, you need to do you. Speaker 0
Yeah. Absolutely. Speaker 2
And by doing you, you still have to be aware of how you're showing up or how you're impacting or ways that you can make a difference. And I just remember thinking, like, I could have donated all the money in the world that my other company has generated, and it would not have the impact that this story did. And so it's just it allows me permission, and I hope you hearing this gives you permission to say, let me do me And in that pursuit, let me elevate others. Speaker 0
That's a that's a fantastic story and a fantastic explanation of of, exactly how to walk that, that line. It's, yeah, it is it is complicated. You know, it's not just a clear cut answer, but that is a fantastic way of, yeah, you weren't happy that you failed the first time. It's very difficult to see the perspective that you'd ended up gaining over time and with hindsight. But you're able to see that, that that, quote, unquote, failure was actually part of your ended up being part of your success story, and and really more than that, your impact story, internationally, and that that's just awesome. Yeah. Speaker 2
Right. And, like, and I tell people this when I give speeches and things, you know, we need to wave our flag. It's fun to wave our flag on top of a mountain because it's like, here I am. I succeeded. This is fantastic. Right? But when you wave your flag, throughout your entire pursuits. You're signaling to the world. Here's where I am. Here's what I need. Here's how I can help. And then all of a sudden, the universe gets to glom onto you and the community gets to build around whatever you're doing, and use each other to make more possible. And so where you are, if you're suffering right now from a failure or a setback or an obstacle, waive your flag and understand your climb's not done. Speaker 0
That's great. That's awesome. So, And when was when was this? When did what year was this that you submitted? Speaker 2
So I failed in twenty twenty one, and I submitted in twenty twenty two. Speaker 0
It's awesome. Well, so you didn't, didn't let the pandemic shut you down. Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that was the interesting thing about stepping into this whole quest, right, is I, you know, twenty nineteen was the year of, like, why am I here? Yeah. Twenty twenty, I was turning forty. So I decided I wanted to climb a mountain for my fortieth birthday. So I, you know, I'm like, that's gonna launch my decade. And this is gonna be blah blah blah blah blah. And so I asked friends that were into mountaineering. If you could climb one mountain in the whole world, like anywhere, what mountain would you climb? And the general consensus back was a mountain named Amma Deblam. It's a mountain located in Nepal over by the Himalayas on the track to Everest, It's the Paramount Pitcher's logo, and it meant the mother's necklace. I'm like, oh, this is perfect. Like, I have seven kids. Like, I'm like, this is my fault. So I'm starting to train for Alma DeBlom, and then COVID hits the scene. And now all of a sudden, I'm a homeschool teacher to seven children And I'm not traveling anywhere. Right? Speaker 0
Sure. Speaker 2
And the funny thing is is so I'm doing homeschooling work with one of my sons and crying and complaining about his math. And I'm, like, trying to give him the pep talk. We do hard things. You've got this. Speaker 0
Right. And Speaker 2
he looks at me and he goes, if we do hard things, He goes, why are you climbing a mountain called I'm a dumb blonde instead of a real mountain like Mount Everest? It said sweetheart. Speaker 0
Wow. It's Speaker 2
Emma. DeBlom. Not I'm a Deblonde, but thank you. That's exciting. So you finish your homework. We'll look at Everest. And so he did. And then we did. And then he went to bed, and I remember thinking to myself. Why not everest? Like, if this is the mountain that he thinks is the biggest, baddest, best mountain in the whole world, if I claim it, I give him permission to climb whatever his Everest is. And so then I by the end of the week, I had a coach. Training me for Ahmed Blom and Everest whenever they open, if they should open. And then that coach gave me a book to train to become an uphill athlete because I'm not an uphill I mean, I wasn't really a climber. And in the front of the book, there was a story of a lady who got a Guinness World record for doing something in the Alps. And I just remember, like, calling my coach saying, I could've done that. Like, I could've gotten that Guinness World record. My kids would think I'm cool. They learned how to read on those books. And right now they hate me, and I just wanna be a cool mom. And the coach took it as a challenge. He's like, we'll think of something. I'm like, oh, okay. But no pumpkins, and I'm not speeding in hot dogs. So we'll have to figure that out. And and then he called like, a few weeks later, and he goes, Jen. Jen, I have the perfect record for you. I'm like, okay. What is it? Because I think you should climb the seven second summits. Like, I don't need what are the like, I don't even know what are those? Like, what are you talking about? He's like, well, they're the second highest point on each continent. It's only been done by one male. They're harder than the first seven. So they're respected amongst peers in the mountaineering community. Yeah. Like I said, I haven't been done by a woman and he goes and get this seven continents. Seven mountains, seven kids. It sounds like a jackpot. Speaker 0
Wow. Speaker 2
And so then I started looking at it with my kids. I'm like, Let's look. Let's see. And I'm like, you know what? This should be a cool way to explore the world, to experience myself and make impact. And so I said, yes. And that's how that whole expedition started, and I just got the world record in June of this year. Speaker 0
That is amazing. I mean, congrats to you. That's awesome. Thanks. Speaker 2
Thanks. And I Speaker 0
love the, you know, it's is mountaineering a selfish sport? I mean, I guess, I I mean, any individual sport, I guess, I would say, is is like that, you know, but Yeah. But you've ended up having such now you're such an example and you you could create such an impact. It's it's really not it's no longer about just you. And I don't mean to put down your accomplishments Speaker 2
right. No. No. I don't even think of it as Michael. Like, I literally think that I said, Hey, universe. I'll do this things so that everybody knows what's possible, and it just came through me. Speaker 0
Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. We talk on the show about, you know, it's definitely a common theme as far as just Kind trying to navigate, you know, when to focus on yourself and when to, kind of use be show up as your best self to serve others. And, certainly, there's kind of almost like a rubber band effect where sometimes you've gotta go inward and focus more on yourself get your own stuff together work on becoming the best version of yourself. But at the end of the day, to get through adversity and to get to abundance and to to really live out What I would say, you know, is if what you're called to be or what what we're all meant to be, you've gotta end up focusing on on others and, you know, like you've already done, what's what's my purpose? Who am I here to serve and who am I here to impact? So Briefly, talk about your your financial services companies. What was this is all the the company's kind of going on in the background or or what does that look like? Well, all this stuff. Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, at this point, for sure. Right? So I had hired myself out of a job, and so I run the the numbers and things like that. But when I moved to Utah, that was already in play. Speaker 0
Yeah. Speaker 2
But, you know, that business I mean, that's a story to we all have these stories. Right? And what do you remember? You remember all the mistakes and the things that went wrong or the things that you had to let go of so that what could unfold could unfold. I worked for a company out of college right away. I remember showing up on my first day. Be like, hi. I'm Jen. I'm the new financial advisor. And they're like, oh, Jed. Great. Here you go. Here's a phone and a phone book and, like, go sit over there. I'm like, no, no, no, I'm the financial advisor. I'm not a, like, call center person. Right. Speaker 0
Right. Right. Speaker 2
Actually, it's the same thing. Right. That's it. Those not. So I just remember Funny. Like, in the beginning there, I graduated from college a year early because a friend of mine graduated a year ahead of me and he's like, listen, you're expensive. I'm taking a job at this financial firm. They have another space. You should, like, try to get out of college and go. I'm like, oh, okay. Cool. I'll do it. I didn't, like, do any nothing. Right? It's so naive and stupid. I just remember going to my college, they're like, okay. Well, you need to do these things, but we can get you done summer. If you slam all this stuff in, I'm like, okay. Perfect. And then I remember going to my parents, hey, I'm gonna graduate early. I got this job offer and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, my parents are said, Okay. Listen. If you take this job, you have to stick with it for a year no matter what. Because you're young, And you need to look like, hey, I'm serious blah blah blah blah blah. Speaker 0
Sure. Yep. Speaker 2
I'm like, okay. Fair enough. So I take this job. I show up. And for the first three weeks, I cry every single day. I'm like, I've never heard no so many times in my life ever let alone all in a day. And then I, like, I literally try I was scared of my parents. My kids are not scared of me. I wish they were. So calling them to say, like, I'm quitting my job was not an option. I'd rather die. Right? I called college. Like, is there any more courses I can take, and maybe I can't start this career? Like, no. You graduate. You're done. I'm like, okay. And so I realized, like, this was a cool thing. I realized, okay. I committed to this. Speaker 0
Yeah. Speaker 2
So I'm here for a year. So I can either cry for the next twelve months of my life, or I can figure out how to make this as fun as possible knowing that it's only a year. I love that. Speaker 0
That's that's awesome. Yeah. And just real quickly, that's one of the things I think challenging for people to to navigate is when do you, quote, unquote quit, and and back up and or pivot and change course, or when do you just put your head down and and, you know, move forward. So sounds like, you know, you saw the fact that, okay, a year is not really that long. You can do this you've committed to this, so make the best of it. So how did that year go for you? Speaker 2
Yeah. So the company that I worked for, or was the math of people of my personality, so they'd put your stats on the wall. And so everybody knew where everybody stood. And I was this hyper competitive human. I was like, oh, no. No. No. That human over there is not gonna be ahead of me. That's cute. Right? And so that was helpful. And then also realizing, like, I had like, we were all in it together. So we could either, like, pit ourselves against each other, we could try to have fun together. And then the idea was, okay, we're not spending energy on whether we're gonna do this or not. That's already been decided. Speaker 0
Right. So Speaker 2
now we get to put our energy into how do we make this fun. Speaker 0
Yeah. Speaker 2
And and so, like, anybody who's listening, once you commit to the commitment, Now you have the energy to say, like, okay, this is what I'm doing. How do I make it fun? Because that's what's gonna make the time go by faster than anything else. Speaker 0
Absolutely. Speaker 2
And so we bought, like, stuff. Like, you know those little pop guns that would have, like, a foam ball at the end that was attached to a string? Yes. So when I bought those pop guns where then anytime someone hung up on me, I killed them with my gun. Like, I shot the gun, and then I get the little sponge ball back on. I do next style, shot the gun. And, like, so then at least we were even. He wasn't ahead of me. Right? Speaker 0
Well, and you made it a game. You made it a game? We Speaker 2
made it a game. We gamified everything. Like, everything was a game. And then you realized, like, I mean, I grew up middle class. All of a sudden, I realized, like, if I got ninety seven nos, That means I got three yes's, which means I got one client, which means I made three thousand dollars. So all of a sudden, you started turning these no's into money. You're like, okay. Well, there's money. There's money. There's money. There's money. And then, like, that gave you the momentum to continue. And then we did silly things where it's like, Okay. Whoever lost had to buy pizza for the group, or we bought him mirrors because you could hear a smile over the phone. And, like, all that stuff, Speaker 0
Yeah. Speaker 2
Need me realize when you're doing something, who you are with matters more than the thing you're doing. Right? So Absolutely. Surround yourself with, like, people that can make it fun, like, take off the load, help you out, build you up, like, all that thing. And then, like, you once you start getting momentum, like, start playing off that momentum. I mean, I was the number one first year advisor. I made more money my first year out of college and my parents made combined. Right? And I was like, oh my god. And, like, the nice thing about financial services is that you knew the industry worked. It'd been around. So it wasn't a question whether the industry works. It was a question of whether you worked. And then the reality is is, like, those industries take time Yes. Well, when you are in right? So then it's just like this time game, and most people just extinguish because they don't have the endurance. Well, we were forced to work so many hours. Like, it would not be allowed today. But back then, we were forced to work so many hours. That you did two years of work in one year. Speaker 0
Wow. Speaker 2
So then your success happened fast So then you had this momentum, and then you're like, oh my goodness. This is amazing. And then Speaker 0
it's a hockey stick of success. Speaker 2
Yeah. Speaker 0
I love that. And it's Just keeping it in in perspective. And, yeah, and, you were as you were talking now, I was thinking about, how I when I went back in the day, I I was in the military. I went through basic training and then officer candidate school. Basic training was brutal. I mean, it was, like, it was you know, just not not fun. But then officer candidate school, which theoretically was harder and and was longer instead of nine weeks. It was fourteen weeks. And, you know, this isn't meant to be, you know, a podcast about me, but, man, it's a it was so much more fun and more productive than basic training had been. And that was because of the people, and we decided to work together as a team. And and it was just amazing the difference. Objectively speaking, it should have been harder than basic training, but it just wasn't. And it was just it was so much better because of the people that I was with. And, So, anyway, yeah, that's something I can relate, you know, to your story. So I guess now, So as far as your financial services business now, that's kind of very much in the background. It's not something that you're you're heavily involved with now. Right? Speaker 2
It's really not. It's really not. Like, like, the the nice thing about that and everybody that's listening, if you can build a business that gives you a strong financial foundation. Yeah. You get to have more careers in your life. You get to do different things and explore different ways and all these things. So Right now, I have that financial foundation that allows me to play and to say, like, hey, I wanna get into motivational speaking or I wrote a book about the climbs and wanted to take lessons from the climbs and help people figure out how that applies to their daily life and I just get to have impact another way because I built the foundation. So when you're building a business, maybe it's not your favorite career or your end all be all. But if it gives you a solid foundation to be able to do other things later, we have a whole lifetime to do this stuff, not just, you know, a decade. Speaker 0
Absolutely. You're hitting on several key points that I often, you know, visit, if you will. You know, one is that we don't necessarily you shouldn't necessarily just follow your passion. This is just my opinion. I mean, definitely you should do something you that you're not hating every every single day. But but your passion wasn't making cold calls to pitch people on financial services. Right? And but you did it because you were committed to it. You'd you had committed to it. And because it there was an opportunity there to serve other people, not because it made you happy in the moment. And so you know, but now you're able to really do both. You're kinda combining your passions with serving other people. So it's where that opportunity meets what you love to do, but you've only you're only able to do that because you established that foundation like you said. So how would you earlier, you mentioned, you know, you achieved financial success and you weren't satisfied. What would you say about the importance of financial abundance or, just money as a whole. It, you know Speaker 2
I mean, I I don't mean to sound like a greedy scrooge, but money matters. Speaker 0
And Absolutely. Speaker 2
Yep. I'm with you. Sorry. I believe money matters. It allows you to contribute and support the things you care about. Allows you to have financial flexibility to experience things you desire to experience. And I mean, it it's a way of the universe measuring impact. It's energy. You put energy out. It's the way that you get energy back. And so for me, once you get that baseline covered to whatever that looks like for your south, now you, like, I mean, it's like anything. Right? Like, if you have we're able to go harder, farther, faster, quicker, when we have a solid foundation underneath us. Make that foundation underneath us slippery, then the whole house of cards just feels wobbly all the time. And I know when I'm starting to feel wobbly because my decisions aren't the way that I want them to feel. Mhmm. I'm making decisions that don't like, I like to make I like to have so much money in the bank because that allows me to make decisions that feel good to me all the time. And I'm not, like, trying to Rob Peter to pay Paul or do whatever. So Absolutely. I don't know. I just feel finances are super important. Speaker 0
Yeah. Absolutely. The way I view money is it's extremely important. It's it's not inherently good or evil, but it's super important, and you should not ignore it. And and, you know, people who say, money's not important. Money doesn't bring happiness or whatever, in a lot of ways, I think that's a cop out, you know, and and it's just, an excuse to not not work to you know, make more money and make a bigger impact and be the best version of yourself. So it's definitely important. It shouldn't be the end all be all the end game, but it's it's very important. So I've got some rapid fire questions. Are you ready for those? Speaker 2
Yeah. Let's do it. Speaker 0
Alright, Jen. What is one thing that people misunderstand about you? Speaker 2
Oh, I I have I'm called junk food Jenny. Okay? Like, people, like, I mean, they're like, oh, you're the healthiest human. You're only gonna make we got decisions, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm like, If you do how many sweet teeth I have in this mouth, you'd be shocked. So Speaker 0
That's a good one. What is one of your biggest failures or regrets something we haven't mentioned that you'd love to have a do over with. Speaker 2
I wish, like, I could, you know, I go back to my younger self. And b, hey, everything's okay. Have more fun, relax, read the little, play a little, get in trouble. Like, I was so, like, I was, like, the kid who didn't wanna get in trouble. Tell myself to go get in trouble. Just who cares? Speaker 0
Just be, be a little more forgiving or easier on yourself. Yeah. That's good. So if you could give your eighteen year old self some additional advice besides what you just said, what would that be? Speaker 2
Like, take the semester abroad. Okay. Speaker 0
It was Speaker 2
like a big debate. I wish I would've done the semester abroad earlier. Speaker 0
Just to get more life experience. Speaker 2
Just more life experience. Right? Like, do the gap year. You don't need you know, you can say that now because you have success. But then you're so afraid of not having success. Like, if I knew I would play out this way, I'd be like, take a year, let b, and then go. Speaker 0
Yeah. Absolutely. If you could have coffee with any historical figure, who would that be? Speaker 2
Oh, Harriet Tubman. Speaker 0
Okay. Speaker 2
I did a report on her, like, third grade. And she did so much for, like, slavery and taking that risk of her life to, like, free people and just I wanna know what it was like to be that human. Speaker 0
Yeah. Absolutely. We haven't had that answer. That's a great one. If you were given ten million dollars tomorrow, Jen, what would you do with it? No strings attached. Speaker 2
Invest it? Yeah. Yeah. What would you what Speaker 0
would you invest in? Speaker 2
I would, you know, diversify the portfolio I'd have real estate. I'd have regular stock. I'd have private equity and then use the proceeds to make more possible. Speaker 0
Awesome. I love that. With your business and, you know, what what the things you have going on on the professional side right now, what's the challenge that you're facing? Speaker 2
Oh, this buck. I thought my challenge was writing the book. No. I have the book. The challenge is marketing the book and getting the book out there. So Yeah. That's just, like, it's a new formula that I don't know and been a challenge figuring it out. Speaker 0
Yeah. So talk about the book a little bit. What's the the name of the book and when is the when's it coming out? Speaker 2
Yeah. So the book is called quit proof. Seven strategies to build resilience and achieve your life goals. It takes lessons from the mountain and then applies them to your everyday life and business and personal. I love it. Like, I'm so excited about sharing it with people, but I didn't realize that just because I'm a big reader, doesn't mean the universe is full of a bunch of readers. So it comes out January twenty four. It can be pre ordered now, and then we give a bunch of freebies with it. But, yeah, just interesting how You can put so much energy into something and realize maybe, you know, there's a few people that care outside of my mom, but maybe not as many as you thought. Speaker 0
Well, I mean, you have a podcast too. Yeah. What's what's the name of your podcast? Speaker 2
My podcast is called seek your summit, and it interviews people that I've had six that are now on that phase of significance and just walking through that story and then how they've gotten to the other side and what that looks like for them now. Speaker 0
It's awesome. Yeah, I I can I can relate on a, you know, in a lot of ways? As far as just you do all this work and you and the and there's there's this grand know, you'll experience this in January probably on some level, I would guess. I mean, I hope that, you know, that everybody rushes up get the book. Don't get me wrong, but you put all this work into this launch, and then it's like, now what? Speaker 2
Alright. Now you're like, and now it's done. Oh, okay. Speaker 0
I actually just to give you some I heard this this isn't necessarily a hundred percent factual, but I heard this on a podcast the other day about, non fiction books and that it takes six years for them to peak in sales on average. So Okay. Speaker 2
Yeah. America. I'm in. Speaker 0
So time is on your side, but it I definitely looks like you're doing it the right way and putting in the, you know, taking a professional approach and doing it, doing it well. So I'm I'm excited to get a copy of the book by by the book and read it. That'll be awesome. Speaking of books, what is another book that you could recommend for our listener? Speaker 2
You know, I mean, it's a classic. Right? The seven habits of highly effective people. Speaker 0
Absolutely. Great book. Speaker 2
Great book. Yes. And now they have versions for adolescents and different things, and it's just been helpful. Speaker 0
Awesome. What is one question that I haven't asked you, Jen, that you wish I had? Speaker 2
What do you like best about your life today? I think that's like, we're always asking questions of, like, what's the future like or what's the past like. And I have teenagers And the thing I always try to ask him was, like, what do you like best about your life today? So it gets them aware of their present situation and not always worried about applying to colleges and all these next steps. Speaker 0
That's great. So what do you like best about your life today? Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That I'm here. Like, on this podcast. And I have a fan we have a weekend coming up that I get to spend time with my family. And so I'm just grateful for today. Speaker 0
Absolutely. I love it. No. I I know I get caught in always looked into the next thing, and then, you know, eventually looking back to see what what went well, what went wrong, you know, but Not really appreciating the the present moment enough. So that's great advice. What else? What's what besides the book and your podcast? What else do you have on the on the horizon? Speaker 2
Yeah. Come to the website. So jen drummond dot com. I run these little challenges every quarter because it holds me accountable for different aspects of my life. The one coming up and October is a parenting connection challenge. I have an attention challenge in January. An Everest challenge in April where we climb Everest from the comfort of our home. And then a leadership challenge in July. And again, those are just things that I do for myself when I made them available so other people can participate. Speaker 0
Yeah. So do you have a I know you serve a lot of different types of people. Is there, like, an ideal sort of avatar or client that you've really truly like to serve the most? Speaker 2
Yeah. Like, me five years ago. Right? Like, that that's quite I like people who are ambitious outgoing driven that need permission to slow down and, like, enjoy what they have instead of always being in the pursuit. So that kinda seems to be the audience that I resonate with because I can see myself in them. And it reminds me of one, how far I've come, and two, like, hey, if I can do it, you can do it. Speaker 0
Love it. I know a lot of entrepreneurs get caught in that They need they need a reminder that it's okay to slow down and Speaker 2
Yeah. Right. I mean, it's because we don't like that feeling. It's just too wobbly. We're like, we like momentum. Speaker 0
Yeah. Absolutely. Awesome, Jen. So jen drummond dot com, Jen with two n's. Anything else we we should cover before we hop off? Speaker 2
No. I just appreciate today. Thank you so much for your time, and thank you audience for listening in. Speaker 0
Absolutely. But, Jen, thank you so much for your time. This has been great. And to the listener out there, thank you for your spending your most valuable resource with us, and that is your time. Thanks, everyone. Take care. Speaker 3
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