Jennifer Hammond’s Path to Small Pleasures and Business Success

Pamela Bardhi
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the underdog podcast today I have an incredible Rockstar guest here with me, Jennifer, how are you?

Jennifer Hammond
I’m so excited to be here with you.

Pamela Bardhi
Oh my goodness, I am so excited to have you. I remember reading up on you. I was like, this woman is just like out of this world, I can feel her energy. And like, I haven’t even met her yet. Incredible soul. And I just can’t wait to dig into your story. Like, we were just chatting before the call.

I’m like, I’m looking. I’m looking at your photo that got Keywest there. And I’m like, oh, man, I just can’t wait to hear the whole journey. And all the beauty alongside with it. So I’ll start with my first question with you, Jennifer. which is what inspired you to where you are today?

Jennifer Hammond
To what was that?

Pamela Bardhi
Dude, what inspired you on your journey to where you are today?

Jennifer Hammond
Oh, what inspired me? Oh my gosh, I think the interesting part is it’s different things at different times in my life. Like when I grew up in Key West. And in the islands, you know, it’s such a laid back atmosphere. And it’s, it’s really key west is known for Hemingway and Jimmy Buffett and just really laid back things. But my childhood was not. My mother was an alcoholic and a drug addict.

And it was so funny because what inspired me as a child was I remember I wanted to be a lawyer. I wanted to be a child advocacy lawyer. because there were some crazy stuff that my mother did. And every time I get thrown into the system, I was like, wait a minute. I’m not the one who should be getting the brunt of this. I mean, my mother was investigated for being an unfit mother several times.

So when she would get like, my younger sister was adopted. And she and my, my mother was a little bit. I’m trying to underplay it, she was violent. one of the times my sister would stand up to her. I wasn’t always the one that as a child. my sister would be one of the people who inspired me as a child. because she would stand up to my mother. And I would go and hide, I was like, No way, when it’s getting violent.

I’m in a closet or under a bed, and my sister would stand up to her. And so my mother punished her over and over and over again. And one of the final times was, she was like, That’s it. Because my sister would just talk about it. she would tell teachers, and if she had a bruise on her, she would talk about it. so my mother said, That’s it, you were adopted, you weren’t supposed to be in this family anyway. we’re gonna give you away. then she went to an aunt’s house.

And the aunt was declared unfit. And then she bounced around foster home to foster home to foster home to foster home. So my sister inspired me, she’s younger than me. she inspired me when I was younger. because I was like, I can’t believe she was brave enough. Because here I am, you know, I, my mom, I’m an her child of a birth child. but I still wasn’t brave enough to stand up to her.

So I realised, every one of us has to find that I would almost want to say that season of life. that chapter in your life, and what’s going to inspire you. And I remember, like, back then this is so many years ago, it was 1980s. we didn’t have email, we didn’t have cell phones. So communication was a very different thing back then. I remember I had wrote letters to my sister trying to find her.

And it was very difficult. finally, we reconnected, you know, in the last, like, 10 years. one thing I found that breaks my heart is that not only did she never get any of my letters. she said, she used to write me all the time. And I never got I didn’t even know that I never got any of her letter. So as much as she was inspiring me. she was completely absent all the way through my teenage years.

And it inspired me that I felt like there ought to be a law. we should change things, we should do things differently. which really helped me not quit. When I was told I was stupid. And when I was told I could never go to college, and I could never go on. You know, I had here’s an another one. You might. I don’t know if you would relate to this or not.

But I remember in high school, there was a counsellor and my mom sat down with a counsellor. they were talking about like, it was like eighth grade. and I was going into ninth grade and they’re still trying to decide whether I would go into the college prep courses. Was it somebody who was ever going to go to college? Or was I going to go into the medium courses or into the stupid courses?

And they said absolutely the stupid courses you know. she’s not even medium like she’s not even average. She’s going to the stupid classes. my mom was definitely saying the stupid classes. And she said she knows she’s never been one to really excel in anything. I remember just being like, huh, never excelling.

Ever I was just trying to survive. Like, it wasn’t even something I was thinking about. like, how could I excel? How could I be great in something? And the counsellor said a phrase that I remember, I was so innocent. even though I had drugs around me and violence. and all this other chaos around me, I still was so innocent. I didn’t know what this phrase meant.

And the counsellor said, Oh, she’ll probably be barefoot and pregnant before she’s 18. And I remember I was the kid sitting there going, why do people get barefoot? Why did they debate? Is it an island thing? They walk around barefoot when they’re pregnant? Not understanding at all what that phrase meant. But I remember also thinking. Well, why would I be pregnant? I mean, I wasn’t dating anyone.

And I thought, why don’t you get pregnant after you’re married. like I was so oblivious to but all I knew was they thought I was dumb. then I was never even going to graduate from high school. And for me, so when you ask that, what inspired me? Well, in this first season of life, when I was in Key West. the thing that inspired my sister is she inspired me to stand up to my mom.

And that was, you know, that was, that could be very violent. And to doing, but I did it. then when I was in high school, after there was a point where I ended up moving out of my mom’s house. And I finally said, Wait a minute even though I’m not college prep, I would like to figure out. how could I go to college one day, and of course. I didn’t fully understand how much it was gonna cost.

But that’s another whole story about student loan debt. But what I ended up with was I started finding out about community colleges. Because again, I had a new counsellor by the time I was in my senior year. and I found out in my senior year, that I could go to the college. the community college in Key West.

if I could do certain things, like certain classes and prerequisites and stuff. they would take, I mean, with all due respect anyone. and I was like, Okay, if they’ll take me, I’m willing to work hard. And, then we had this tragedy happened in my senior year.

And there was this guy, he was, he had gone to Key West High School. it was his high school. And he had gotten to be superintendent for the entire county. which included part of Miami, the whole Florida Keys. But his dream when he retired, was to go back to Key West. and to be principal of his own high school.

And so the first day of his job, as you know, retired, but getting to take on to be principal. I get arrested the first day of school. At the first day of school, I’m escorted out at lunchtime, in handcuffs. And so I made an impression on the principal. A little more impressive, shall we say? But the tragedy was, at Spring Break. he had a heart attack, and he died.

And he was such a neat principal, he was the kind of principal who would kind of hang out. and he would talk to us, and he would come sit with us at lunch and try to get feedback. he really cared. He wasn’t somebody just sat in his office. So I’ll never forget him.

You know, it was one of those like, oh, wow, there’s so there could be a counsellor who cares? Like not like the first one who said I was barefoot and pregnant. and would always be too stupid to really be anything in life. then it was funny, then all sudden, I end up with a totally different counsellor in my senior year. And he’s so funny. I’ll never forget him. He came in.

Because after I found out after the principle died. and I had gotten to the point where I was just like, why am I? Why am I graduating from high school? And I kind of get I was thinking about when you said. what inspired me with that principle inspired me to just go do what I want. And at the time, I had gotten on to the dancing drill team in high school. I was like, I’m a dancer.

And I’m relatively good at this. I can dance in these high heeled boots. and we, you know, performed in parades. we were number one in the state of Florida for all the high schools, Florida’s a big state. I was like, all of this stuff. so that was the one little niche that I was good at.

So I was like, You know what, maybe I should, and I had worked in a law firm during the day. It was one of the things I did all summer long. And then I used to go after school, I worked for this law firm, a real estate law firm. And I’ll never forget him.

He said, Do you want me to hire a private investigator and let’s see if we can find your dad. I was like, How much is that gonna cost me and Well, he said, I think we can get it done. You know, really? We can absorb the cost. I was like, okay. so he found my dad and my dad was in Las Vegas. So I’m like,

Las Vegas has dancers. Now again, I’m so so I want to say ignorant, unknowing. I didn’t know what I was saying. But at the time, I was like, I could go and be a show girl. That would be exciting. And I didn’t know sure Girls were topless or any of the other. not so great things about being a show girl.

But I didn’t really know much about New York. like, maybe I probably if I’d known more about New York. or maybe I would have aspired to New York. but at the time, all I wanted to do was get out of Key West. and get away from the toxic place where my mom was.

so I decided, I don’t want to graduate from high school. I found out that my dad’s in Las Vegas, and so I’m gonna just turn up on his doorstep and see. if he wants to know me, and oh, my goodness, the print the counsellor he came in. and he’s like, I need to talk to you because I was literally leaving. like the next day to get on a Greyhound bus. and go 52 hours across the United States from Key West to Las Vegas.

And he said, so there’s something I gotta talk to you about. And I was like, oh, what kind of thing? Do you have to talk to me about any, and he shut the door. Now? I did have a couple of things in my younger pass, that were not good. So I didn’t really trust men. I didn’t really trust the door being shot.

And I remember looking at a kind of scary moment of like, oh, no, oh, no. How am I going to get out? Can I get out a window? What can I do? And he said, I have to shut the door. because I’m doing something that could cost me my job. And of course, this is making me feel even worse. like, Oh, dear God, what is he going to do? he said, so there’s a committee that’s been meeting.

he said, you know, Tommy Roberts died over spring break. and his wife has gotten together with a committee. they have decided on a scholarship for college, and they’d like to give it to you. But if you quit high school, they can’t give it to you. I was like, why would anybody give it to me? at that point, I was a solid B student. I didn’t have any A’s. I didn’t have any C’s, I was B, I was all B.

so I had my what had been said to me many times as I was just average. And I was like, Okay, I’m just average, why would anybody I didn’t do well on the LSAT. I didn’t do well on any standardised tests. I was Why would anybody give me a scholarship.

And the counsellor said that his wife said, that principal used to come home and talk about me and say. if somebody would just give that kid a chance, boy, she might be something great in this world. And so his wife, it was like one of her last things that she said. I want to make sure that somebody gives Jennifer a chance. even though I don’t check any of the boxes, so to speak. I wasn’t in the advanced classes.

I was in the stupid classes. I wasn’t, you know. And so what they did is they gave me two years at the community college and Qs. which gave me an incredible start. And anyway, it was a long, long way to ground about that. It changed my life, because I was like, Whoa, number one, someone I didn’t even know.

I mean, other than I was arrested the first day of school. and the reason probably want to know, the reason I was arrested is because my mother. my mother had kicked me out of the house. She had thrown all my stuff out on the front yard this summer before.

And then that day, she decided that I was a runaway and I needed to be arrested. because I was a truant, and I hadn’t lived there for months and months and months. And she knew where it worked. She could come to my room, the real estate law firm. she never came to the law firm.

But she just wanted this dramatic thing. And she wanted me arrested. I never been arrested before. of course, everybody thought I’d done something bad. My mom was a drug addict. So they just assumed I was into drugs, and I wasn’t into drugs.

Anyway, long story short, my childhood I was inspired by my sister. first I was inspired definitely by Tommy Roberts by this man who died. but made sure his legacy was to give me this scholarship. obviously to his wife and the committee. So I had to stay in finished high school. And someone I didn’t know believed in me.

And I think that the funniest part about that. is that there’s probably people that if you’re listening right now. there’s probably people that believe in you that are observing you. And they probably know you could do more than you probably believe yourself.

You could do but just keep on believing that it is going to work out. and there is going to be a rainbow no matter how dark the storm. stormy days are of whatever season in life that you’re in.

Pamela Bardhi
Absolutely. Oh my goodness, Jennifer, holy cow. What an introduction. Your story is incredibly powerful. Thank you so much for sharing that. And I mean, whoa, I’m like, there’s so many things that I want to get into. It’s like, unbelievable, unbelievable, because looking at you. right and where you’re at now in life.

Right like, and then to tell your backstory like this is the reason why it’s started this podcast. because nobody would ever think that you’ve been through this though. there’s no way Jennifer’s too happy. He’s just smiling. She’s so successful, there’s no way that she, somebody ever doubted her. Do you know what I mean? Like that kind of stuff.

And like, here you are authentically, like pouring your soul out. I’m so grateful for that. Because this is really genuinely going to help someone. despite your background, or how you grew up, or whatever. that you chose not to let that define you. But instead, empower you find those cheerleaders in your life. and empower you during that those moments.

I mean, your sister being one of them. The first one, the first half. And then the second one, being your principals wife. like how incredible somebody you didn’t even know was paying attention. had the ability to change your life.

Like that’s the kind of stuff that blows my mind. like these people that speak into you, I think make all the difference in the entire world. Because if it wasn’t for them, maybe that statistic could have gone the way that they expected.

Jennifer Hammond
Exactly. I mean, I could have ended up I was thinking about if I had gone to Las Vegas. as innocent as it was not understanding what was kind of expected. or what kind of like a showgirl has.

Or if I had just stayed in the keys and ended up in drugs. if I had ended up or barefoot and pregnant. all those things I could have had happen.

Pamela Bardhi
Right? And then they spoke into you. And then they changed everything, which is absolutely incredible. Oh my gosh. So I mean, I always love asking this question. I’m interested to know what you wanted to be when you were a kid. I mean, I think I would say dancer based on what you what you imagined. But as as a kid, like, what did you want to be when you grew up.

Jennifer Hammond
So as a little kid, I always wanted to be a dancer. And part of that actually goes back even further. When I was really young, I had a hard time walking. my legs were kind of deformed. They, they went in, they kind of turned in. And so my mom had gotten me into ballet lessons when I was pretty young.

And so I had kind of instilled when I was little. because I love the idea of being able to throw your body around in all these different ways. and being able to I just also felt like no one’s watching. just being able to fully experience your own version of art.

Like I know, musicians feel that and such. So I always wanted to be a dancer. But again, like I said, when I was in high school. and I had all sudden I’m before a judge and I’d been arrested. The first day of my senior year, I was like, Okay, I need to go to law school. I don’t know how I’m gonna get there.

But I want to be a child advocacy lawyer. because this stuff is garbage. And, most people don’t know it. Like, who was going to listen to this teenager. my mom was saying that I was a brat and that I was a drug addict. I’m like, I haven’t checked a jug. And you’re the only person who’s given the alcohol or marijuana or anything.

It’s been from you, my mom, not from like someone at school. and I thought, gosh, I can’t believe she’s just, she’s my mom. And she’s tricking me. And I mean, there’s so many stories of betrayal.

that again, when it starts with your mom, it’s so hard. So anyway, so a dancer when I first was was a little girl. and then I wanted to be a child advocacy law lawyer. And that changed again.

Pamela Bardhi
And that you changed again, oh my goodness, real estate. Real estate.

Jennifer Hammond
Well, the funny thing is I went on for my two year degree. And then I got a scholarship, partial scholarship for my four year degree. And that was for legal administration, which can also be done as a pre law degree. But then I had a little trouble again, with those whole stupid standardised tests.

No law school would take me I had three different law schools. I applied to and they all rejected me. So I went on for a master’s degree. And I got a Master’s in Public Administration. my dream was to go work on Capitol Hill and I got to do it. And I was there for only six months. then I was like, Okay, this place is so corrupt.

And I couldn’t do it. I was awful. I’m, I just couldn’t do it. And that’s how I ended up. I was like, after a few tears, I decided, okay. it’s definitely time for me to find a real estate and feel. find some kind of career that I can help people. Because I want a career that can really help people.

And since they’re not gonna let me go to law school. how could I help people? And one of them was I thought, well, people become very wealthy with real estate. so I was like, what if I really learned real estate. I could help people buy homes, as well as be real estate investors. that fired me up and now it’s been 27 years and I love real estate.

Pamela Bardhi
Oh my gosh, I absolutely love that. And I share the same passion with you on real estate as well. Like I absolutely I mean, it transforms generations . What it can do for you the wealth vehicle that it is is just so powerful regardless. if you just haven’t just as your primary residence.

forget if you actually start investing and start getting into all of that stuff. but it’s it’s remarkable, but I want to back it up for one sec. because you said a couple things that were super important. And I hate to bring it back to this. I know that there’s people struggling out there with this at this point in time. Jennifer, what, how? How did you distance yourself from toxic family members?

And how did you maintain this like non stop mentality moving forward. because most people in situations like this begin to feel like the victim. and they can’t get themselves out. it seems like you were able to push forward in ways that were just remarkable. So I would love to hear that a little bit. Because I know there’s gonna be some nuggets in there and help a lot of people.

Jennifer Hammond
As I say, and I’ll give you a really quick story as you’re asking that question that came to mind. I remember I was in so I’d finished my two year degree. and then I’ve gone off to the University of West Florida in Pensacola. which for anyone who knows Pensacola Pensacola is about as far from a different culture than Key West it is.

For people who know Alabama is right above it. they call it La lower Alabama, it is a very strange. different place where women are often to be seen and not heard. And QoS is just like anything goes from the nude beaches to the artists. to do all sorts of crazy stuff to the drug addicts to being 11 or 12 years old.

and sitting at a bar Keywest is this crazy. you just can’t believe that it exists. it’s still in it is part of the United States. But when I went to Pensacola, I was in there. of course, I had two jobs, sometimes three jobs. But I had two jobs. And I was going to school full time. I was going to college full time and I had a full load of all these classes.

And I was really getting stuck on some of the study. And I don’t remember why but my mom had called me. I hadn’t talked to her in a while. I picked up the phone again, with the idea that most people have. that your mom will comfort you. that your mom will be like those warm chocolate chip cookies just fresh out of the oven.

she’s got to be lovely and helpful and supportive. And she said, You are so effing stupid. I can’t believe you think you’re actually going to graduate. you’re not even going to pass this course. you don’t have what it takes. I mean, she just shredded me.

And I can still remember being us all the books have spread out all over my bed. while I’m studying and tries to study for this test. And I had the phone in my hand. I literally just hung up on her. I just started to cry, And I that by that point, I had gotten in touch with my dad.

And I knew he lived in Vegas, but I called him and he answered the phone. And I couldn’t speak because I was so upset and so invalidated. that I am so afraid that I was going to become exactly what she said. that I really was stupid and that I really wasn’t going to be able to do this. I was really quiet. my dad said
do you talk to your mother recently? I remember I all I could get out was

and he said, Well, whatever she said, it’s not true. That remember, I still now I could laugh about it. But at the time I was like, like I could just barely get anything out. And he said so. You know, you have beautiful beaches around there. Maybe you go for a walk. He goes, but I think you are amazing. you’re brilliant and he said a whole bunch of just he goes and I bet you’re really you’re beautiful today.

You know, you look gorgeous. Now, of course we’re on the phone. He can’t see me. And I I just cried. I couldn’t say a word. I just cried and cried and cried. And he said, maybe it’s time that you don’t answer the phone when she calls. Maybe it’s time. And it’s funny because I had to have that experience where she really sucker punched me when I was feeling super vulnerable. I was super afraid I was gonna fail this test. And the test was like one of those tests where it’s like 80% of my grade.

And if I failed it, it was going to cost me a lot of money. I was going to have to repeat the class. It was one of the core classes. It was just it was an I had already graduated from my two year degree. which again was so incredible. When I finished my two year degree and Keywest I ended up going been voted to be the speaker at commencement. Now I was a shy girl who did not want to be the speaker at commencement.

yet, I knew this was an honour and I knew I had to do it. my mother had come to that. so she already knew I graduated with a two year degree. as stupid as I was, I have actually graduated from high school. And as stupid as I was, I graduated with a two year degree. now as I was there at the university, she’s still just pounding in my head how stupid I am.

And when my dad said, maybe it’s time you don’t pick up the phone for her anymore. And I realised, you know what, you’re right. My mother isn’t the warm chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven. She’s not that, and I think is one of the hardest things. especially when the family member is somebody who should be trusted. or who you have an idea that they’re the person who is going to lift you up and support you.

of course, they’ll say things they might say things like. I’m just trying to protect you so that you don’t embarrass yourself. or embarrass the family, or fall on your face. and regret that you even went out there. there’s just so many things that she would say. that we’re so invalidating, and my dad was it it was funny, because he was very awkward.

And he had been around most of my life, and he didn’t know what to say. But many times, many, many times, but there were some times like that particular phone call. where I still get choked up thinking about. he didn’t know that all I needed at that moment was just to know that I was okay. And that in he’s like, even if you fail. so what he’s like, guess what, you get to do it again.

And you’re gonna pass it next time and it like it released. The the stress of it. In fact, I got it now you made me think that I gotta tell you one more really quick story. So I was totally freaking out. Like, probably the next semester, I’m getting close to exams, and I’m so freaking out. My dad had gone to law school. he went to a prestigious law school. And he did great and whenever. And so he said, I got a secret, I got a secret.

I’m gonna mail it to you. And I’m like, no, no, can you tell me on the phone? Like, don’t mail it to me? He goes, No, no, I’m going to mail it to you the secret of how to pass all your exams. So of course, I’m studying and I’m up all night, doing all these all nighters. I’m drinking all the stupid coffee and every kind of caffeine you can imagine. And I’m waiting every day at the mailbox to get this, you know, the secret.

And I swear, oh my gosh, I should have kept this eye open. He sends me this, this envelope, and I open it and it’s a card. And I don’t know if you know farside the cartoon. But it’s a cartoon. the one of the far side care characters is on the front, and he’s in a classroom. it says in the middle of the final exam. he pulls out and even he reaches into his trench coat. you see him and it’s really creepy. Look at trench coat.

He reaches into his trench coat and pulls out an even bigger brain. Okay, I wanted to kill my dad at that moment. I was like, But I realised his point is don’t take it so seriously. Like, so what if you fail it? Fail it just like falling down. You know? So what if you fail. and I couldn’t like because my mother had always put so much pressure on me. I was trying to be perfect. And I don’t know if you can rephrase. It felt like I’m dancing as fast as I can.

But sometimes you have to cut someone out of your life. And my mom was somebody I had to cut on my life for many, many years. Because she was so toxic. so invalidating. And I just needed to do that and quick other one to answer you. because other people who might listen to this think, Oh, that was your mom. But what if it’s your brother? Well, unfortunately, there was a time in my life where my brother had gone through.

He not only was a drug addict. but he had decided he had gotten deep into the really hard ones. he was he did heroin and crack cocaine. and he started stealing from me like he would come in. if there was money around, he’d steal a steal jewellery, so all sorts of stuff. And he had come in and there were several times where he was like. you needed to live on my couch and so you come live with me.

one time I had something horrific happen, and that’s another story. but he said to me, I need you to give me money. And I said no, I’m not gonna give you any money. he said well that I’m gonna commit suicide Oh my gosh. That’s a pretty tough one. Because now I’m like, I How do you so how? But I could see he was higher than a kite from his eyes. And how do you say it was one of the toughest sentences I ever had to get out of my. And there’s a whole lot more to that story. But he had gone through so much.

And I just could not believe that he was standing in front of me. he had told me he was clean and it wasn’t clean. And he lied to me again, which happens a lot with drug addicts. But when it’s your brother. he’s my older brother, and there are plenty of times where my older brother has been the original question. you asked me what inspires me.

My brother had been that inspiration. he was my brother who protected me from my mother, protected me from bullies, protected me many times. So to be standing, I remember exactly where I was standing in Washington, DC by this it was by this marina. And I just looked at him. Because there was a time I lived on a houseboat in Washington DC. which I know is weird.

Washington, DC houseboat, but it was so much fun. It was such a great time. And he was standing on the dock and I’m standing on the boat. And I was like, you know, I had some of his stuff. that he had like a little duffel bag. I put it on the dock. he’s like, that’s it? And I was like, no, no. If that’s if that’s what your decision is. it’s your life, and I can’t live your life for you.

So there are some people like my mom who I just had to hang up the phone. and not answer the phone when she called and just cut her out of my life. because she was so invalidating and she was so toxic. But then with my brother, there were so many times in the life where I’ve helped him. But then when you get to a point. where they are, literally it’s the person who is drowning you. because you tried to give them a life preserver.

But now it’s you know, it’s they’re taking you down with him. it’s time to just end even in the most grim to like. and then he didn’t talk to me again for years. And I didn’t know if he was dead or alive, because he just disappeared. It was horrific. I couldn’t believe I told that story. I he probably is gonna kill me for telling that story. But I tell that in the hopes that if there’s someone listening.

if you’ve got somebody who has been pulling on your heartstrings. because they’re a family member, or even an ex boyfriend or an ex girlfriend or husband. that you feel responsible for at some point. you have to hand it over to them and give them the reins to their own life. Because, you know, one of the jokes I used to say on the radio all the time was I can’t do your push ups for you.

I would pay somebody a lot of money. if they would do my push ups and I got the body from their push ups. I would pay them a lot of money. But we all know, the truth is we don’t learn unless we go through it ourselves. And we don’t learn unless we take responsibility for our own situation. including our own mess. And believe me, it’s not that I haven’t made a mess in my own life before. But you also have to realise that you have to take responsibility for yourself just like the old saying.

I put on my own box oxygen mask. before you put on the oxygen mask for someone else. who is in on the aeroplane with you at the aeroplanes going down. You need to make sure you’ve taken care of yourself enough. And know when it’s time to put those boundaries out. no matter how grim they are, I mean to to not talk to my mother as much. as she was abusive, and she was horrible. She was my mother and I loved her, you know?

Pamela Bardhi
Right? Oh, thank you so much for that, Jennifer. it’s, I know a lot of people that have been struggling with that. where they’re trying to enter a new mindset. And they’ve got you know, family members or friends around them that are toxic. that they just can’t get away and separate and all of that. So that thank you so much for sharing that that was super, super helpful.

Because I mean, it messes with us. They always say like we surround yourself with your environment. can really mess with our mindset and all of that. And then getting into mindset to like you’ve got such a remarkable mindset. So I want to hear all about that.

like how you create your yeh days and all of that stuff. and kind of how you navigated through all of this trauma. all of these experiences and still ended up being successful and fabulous. And like just incredible soul. So please walk me through that. because I know you’ve definitely got some advice on mindset to help many people out there.

Jennifer Hammond
Oh, absolutely. And I’ve given you a little, a couple little things about my childhood. But also it was really interesting because when I got to Washington, DC. it was a really tough place to be in this big city with nobody and all sudden. I’ve decided now my bachelor’s degree. I’m going to throw out the window. my master’s degree and I throw out the window and I’m gonna go into real estate.

I’m gonna get licenced as a real estate agent, which you probably know. if you watch any kind of television or movies, real estate agents not necessarily portrayed in the best way. So now I’m like, oh, now I’m going into an industry that people don’t even respect you. and don’t see your value or your worth. And I thought oh, Goodness, what am I doing? But for me, the first thing was I realised. well, what if I could teach a first time homebuyer?

How to get money for the down payment? Like even a grant? And how about if you got money for the closing costs. And then you got an amazing mortgage like an amazing loan. So in other words, it costs you zero money out of your own pocket. so it started like that. that was part of for me, I loved I just specialised in first time homebuyers. I thought, How much could it change someone’s life. if they could get into that first home.

And you know, you mentioned in the beginning. it could change their entire financial future. even just with that one property. probably like, there’s a couple of ways that the I think the EAA started. but one of the first ones was just being able to see there when I taught somebody. one of the biggest things for me with first time homebuyers I loved is that most of them were eager to learn. And so I can say, Okay, I am gonna give you some homework. and I get them and I get them to get a pad of paper out, and it’s okay.

So I need you to research this grant for your downpayment. And then I need you to do the research on.because like Washington, DC had this amazing programme. that was a second mortgage that you could put on for closing costs, it was fantastic. And it would pay all your closing costs. but you didn’t ever have to make any payments on it. or pay it back until you sold the property.

So literally, you could get $20,000 40,000 Whatever chunk of money. and you now you don’t have to pay it back until you sold the property. Which with real estate, hopefully, when you go sell it, you’re gonna be making profit anyway. so it’d be easy to wipe out that other mortgage. anyway, so I was super excited. I would give people homework, and they would do it.

And then I would like the first one was She was an amazing woman who she had got out of college. she got her degree, and she got into this beautiful nonprofit. but of course, it paid her terrible money. And I was like, but you qualify for all these programmes. Because of this, including in Washington, DC, they have a programme called tax abatement. so she doesn’t have to pay real estate taxes on her property for five years.

And I was like, Oh, this is gonna be fantastic, no downpayment. you basically not gonna have to pay closing costs, you’re gonna get you a great mortgage. and no real estate taxes. Well, at the time, there was also a federal government programme that gave her $10,000 cash. And I was like, Okay, this is fun. This is like giving, but they have to do their homework. if you don’t apply to the programmes if you don’t do this stuff.

So when I started realising was, it goes back to if you can teach a person to fish. rather than just hand them a fish. So I used to tell them, I can’t do it for you. Again, I can’t do push ups for you. But I can teach you how to do this. And I used to try to say so if I teach you to do this. you can do this over and over and over.

So if you moved to California, you move wherever now. I’m going to teach you the principles of how to do this. And so like the first girl, the nonprofit. she was so much fun. She came back to me in tears one day, and she said, I am going to get to have the wedding of my dreams.

I am going to get to travel the world. All because the house that you helped me by has so much equity in it. It’s as if I got paid, you know, this crazy, amazing salary in Washington, DC. but I get to work for the nonprofit that is my heart. And I was like,

Pamela Bardhi
Amazing.

Jennifer Hammond
So that kind of started with that is I’ve started with first time homebuyers. who are like, I can’t afford anything. I’m never gonna this totally like the E or kind of. there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m never gonna be able to afford and I was like, Well, this is a mindset thing. And then I remember going well, I have to go figure it out. And I was like, okay, and that’s what I started figuring out.

Okay, there’s this pilot programme, and then there’s this. So it took a lot of research. But it started with that mindset. First of we can do anything. So what do you want to do? Do you want to be a landlord? Like there’s some other first time homebuyers? I’m like, so what if we bought you bought a two unit. and the other unit made enough income that it paid for the whole day?

So you were living for free, but you have to be a landlord. And it was so much fun. because then I got the person who not only is a first time homebuyer becomes a first time investor. And again, they’re like, No, that doesn’t. But again, it’s a mindset thing. They’re like, No, no, there’s not possible like, Oh, yeah. we can get you an FHA loan, they’ll go up to four units 3% down, not so bad. We can probably even get your grant for the down payment. But again, you got to be able to do the work.

so they have to start with being able to believe believe it is possible. if I can get you to believe it as possible. it’s almost like we might have to figure it out along the way. just like in some real estate transactions, things start to all of a sudden fall apart. you’re like, oh, like I just had a deal in Washington DC. where I had to put it back together five times five different buyers. And I was just like, Okay, this is getting, like, a little bit silly now. because five times five, and each one had a different reason why. and I represented the seller.

I was like, this is a credible, but I realised that it’s all about the mindset. And can you and I call it the EAA mindset. Because to me, they’re in life. They’re the the micro yeas, because some days, you might get up and you stubbed your toe. and then also you run into a wall. you’re like, Okay, I don’t know where there’s a UA in today. you’re like, but maybe there’s a micro. because now look, I took three steps, and I didn’t stub another toe. or there’s something small that happened.

And you’ve got to just be able to say. Okay, I’m not seeing how this is a yay for today. But maybe when there was more time, and I have more experienced that I can look back on it. Just like my childhood. I was thinking about it the other day, someone asked me. What if you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. you had everything given to you and you’d had just this fantastic life? And I was weird. I thought, You know what, I don’t know.

Because one of the things that made me continue. even like now one of the reasons that I’ll be vulnerable. I’ll tell my story and even the awkwardness of when I didn’t know how to do things. how can we help someone else believe in themselves? To me, that’s enough of me being completely vulnerable and naked and saying. Okay, I didn’t know what I was doing.

Okay. Like, I remember being criticised over and over again. you should never ever say that you ever did drugs. I’m like, Well, my mother was a drug addict. And she’s the first person who introduced me to drugs. so it’s part of who I am. for me, I’m so glad I didn’t wait. I didn’t live a life where everything was given to me. that I wasn’t born into a rich family. Because, for me, it made me dig deep. It made me figure out what was important to me.

And believe me, it hasn’t been great for either one of my siblings that the life has been hard. I’ve seen others that grew up in Key West. who it didn’t turn out well for them. And you know, I have plenty of people from high school that are not alive today. You know, where it didn’t turn out well for them. either because of drugs or allowing the toxic people around them to slowly kill them. to the point where they are gone now.

it’s so important to find that your yay, I call it your yay. And every day, no matter what it is. and sometimes it’s a little microbe tiny yay. sometimes it’s like what I say it’s the hands over the head, crossing the finish line. I’ve won the lottery kind of yay. But whatever it is for you each day, you just have to keep finding it no matter how hard it is.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that Jennifer, I love that. Thank you so much for that. And I kind of breaking it down sometimes too. And doing the micro yeas like cat not every day. is gonna be like a slam dunk or home run or whatever. But just finding the joy and the little things. Like gratitude gives this whole mindset shift. I don’t know what it is about it. But every time that I stopped myself in the morning. make sure that I’m grateful it has this like magic thing.

Like tick tock recently, they had this trend that was like Lucky girl. did you know it was like you have to like it’s like you say an affirmation in the morning. And like, Oh, I’m a lucky girl. Everything goes my way that like people were talking about how their days went after that. And it was insane how like it can literally transform your day. Because just like how your cheerleader spoken to you.

You can speak life on two things. So if you wake up and you’re having a crappy day. guess what the rest of the energy for the day is pretty much set up. Whereas if you back up and say, You know what, regardless of what just happened. let’s try to find the micro Yeah. And and let’s find some gratitude in the moment for what is good. and navigate from there and it just it transcends your whole mindset and it’s a small thing. but a huge thing to do and also

Jennifer Hammond
acknowledging where you are like I just the other day I talked to a guy he’s a real estate. Well, it’s an investment property that I could potentially purchase. But but here get this now I’m gonna go into a little bit of a sensitive area. but his there was a there was a fire in the house. and so he he could renovate it and do it himself. it was recently his ex wife and she was in the house. when the fire happened and she died in the house.

And he called me he was returning my phone call and he called. if you ever get a chance to listen to my voicemail. I’ve had kind of the otedola telemarketers go that is that I got a script and I gotta get to the script. But that is definitely the best voicemail I’ve ever heard. Because my voicemail is very happy. And I never think of it as very happy.

It’s just like, Hey, should I bring him in, leave me a message. I never think of it as like a special thing. So this guy calls me back. And he said, You know, I almost didn’t leave a message. He said, I find your message to be extremely off putting and I’m glad he left a message. So I called him back. again, like the micro yeas. I know right now with everything that’s happened there is there’s the happiness to seems like it’s a vacuum. like it’s been vacuumed out of your space.

And I said, I completely understand if you never want to speak to me again. I just gave him the space to sometimes we need to be able to have the space to be sad. be able to acknowledge that even a micro Yay, it’s just not today. And that’s okay, too. But I think that being able to be okay. I used to say this is gonna make a good story.

Like sometimes when I stubbed my toe or something crazy happens. so it’s not funny today. I don’t know if it’s gonna be funny tomorrow, maybe in a year. But hopefully it’s going to turn into a good story someday. no matter how much you know, because everybody’s where they are in life is definitely not perfect every day.

Pamela Bardhi
Absolutely. Oh my god, Jennifer, I love that. I love that. And it’s true. You allow yourself a space to process where it’s not going to be like happy go lucky every single day. if you need a day to just reset and process your emotions.

Because the last thing you want to do is repress them. You know, allow yourself to feel right. but have gratitude in the fact that you’re feeling and you’re releasing. and that you’re going to move forward from that point. I love that Jennifer oh my goodness, you are you’re such a rockstar.

Jennifer Hammond
nice.

Pamela Bardhi
No, you’re so awesome. Are you kidding? Oh my goodness. You I’m just like, what is that? What is Jennifer up to next, like what’s up in your world. and like the next like few months, what’s what’s happening.

Jennifer Hammond
I just started recording a television show, which I’m super excited about. So we have to keep in touch once it’s ready. And I’m actually I’m so excited because we’re gonna call it the show. And I’m interviewing different people who have created gays wherever they are in the world. And I’m super excited, because one of the things I want is to just put as much happiness out there.

as what you’re doing here with what you do. understanding that transformation and how each person has approached it. And the different stories. I mean, even for me on some of the days. where I’m like, I remember meeting Jack Canfield for the first time. and I was like, Oh my gosh, because Chicken Soup for the Soul stories again.

it’s exactly what it is, is being able to share stories that inspire you. and make you realise that we’re all human. we’re all having this really interesting human experience down here. whatever spiritual beliefs you have, we’re having a very interesting experience on planet Earth. And sometimes the days aren’t good, but we can inspire each other.

And we’re all more connected than I think, on a regular basis. where we even allow ourselves to realise that we are so connected. And we can help each other even with just a few words. Just like, here’s that guy from a high school, his wife. he changed my life as much as she changed my life because she decided to take what he said. then often I ended up with a scholarship and you’re totally changed my life.

And it changed my belief in myself. you think about that you can share your smile. You can share your day, any day, and you can change somebody’s world. with just the smallest gestures that again, we so much dismiss and say, Oh, it doesn’t matter. Yes, it matters. It matters so much. You know, make eye contact smile at people say yay. So the TV shows next.

That’s one of the big things. And then I’m also doing a lot of speaking. so I’m going to be speaking all over the United States right now. I’ve done all sorts of different things over the next crash over the next six months for sure. But then next year, it’s going to be international. I’ve started looking Asia and other places. I’ll be going overseas next. So I’ve been staying closer to home right now. but there’s you’ll be hearing me all over the place soon.

Pamela Bardhi
Oh my god and the world needs that. Are you kidding more of your beautiful energy, your happiness, your lessons, your stories. all of the things I am so grateful for you definitely you are absolutely incredible. And I know everyone’s been listening intently. how can I find Jennifer and so where can we find you Jennifer. what’s the best place to reach you get you know?

Jennifer Hammond
It’s funny because I’m even on Tik Tok but I’m not really good on Tik Tok. The best way always is to go to my website. Jennifer and then I have the middle initial Jennifer J. Hammond. don’t go to Jennifer Hammond. I will tell you there are a couple of Jennifer Hammonds that are not me.

There’s one who’s a Detroit, Michigan. She’s a sports newscaster. Then there’s a Jennifer ham and it’s a Miss Universe from the Philippines. And then there’s one who does not so good stuff. So don’t confuse the Jennifer Hammond. that’s where I put my middle initial in there J for joy or for yay, J. Jennifer J hammond.com.

Pamela Bardhi
You are amazing. Jennifer, thank you so much for today. You are such a light. Thank you.

Jennifer Hammond
Thank you, and thanks for what you do with this. I know you’re inspiring people all over the place. So thank you.

Pamela Bardhi
No, thank you. You’re amazing. Thank you.