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Jason Waller here true underdog podcast. I am super excited today. I've got a special guest today that really defines the word entrepreneur. He is an entrepreneur. He's a mentor. He's a podcaster and a philanthropist. He's founder of Stern's lending new founded CEO at kind lending.

Star of discovery channels undercover billionaire and founder of underdog BBQ in eerie Pennsylvania anything with underdog in it. I love it. But Glenn Stern's how are you doing man?

All right. How you doing Jason? Nice to see you again. Good. I'm excited like like undercover barbecue. We're definitely going to have to get into that because I love barbecue and I love underdogs. But you know, listen, we you have done a lot of great things and we shared a room together in clubhouse not too long ago. And I appreciate your feedback out there. I appreciate some of the mentoring you gave to the folks out there. But let's talk about your life and how, you know, it was quite disruptive. You were born to alcohol

parents diagnosed with dyslexia and failed fourth grade. You also fathered a child at 14 graduate high school at the bottom 10%. You even lost friends to drugs. Can you describe these early days for what it was like?

I mean, listen, they were a normal everyday life for me, right? I mean, you only know what you know, you don't get to grow up in two different worlds and see that one may be a little dysfunctional.

I loved my childhood. I was, you know, into a lot of trouble, you know, you just know your surroundings. And that's what happens in those types of situations, right? And it was probably after, like you said, you know, I didn't have a traditional childhood and failing fourth grade and having a child and eighth grade. But once I got into college.

And by the way, I went to college because I was chasing a girl. I didn't go there because I was Mr. Smart Guy, right? And, but I did that. And I was still following him. My dad's footsteps going out party and every night doing those kind of things. And, and then just one night laughing at somebody getting a drink thrown on him or getting slapped by a girl or something.

I realized, boy, this is boring. You know, I've done it over and over again every night in a dark cave in the bar. I don't want to do it anymore. You know, I just kind of had this moment of clarity and a deep fog, you know, it was just stop. Don't do this anymore. And that kind of was the day that changed my life sort of.

You know, I had a child at 17. I was 11th grader and that was hard. You know, my wife, we're married. Now we have four kids and two grandkids. But she was a, she was a sophomore. And so to have a child at 14 and still and have the childhood that you grew up with with your parents. I mean, with alcohol abuse and things that you see around you, you're right. When you live in that world, you think it's normal. I mean, I thought my life was normal. And I've lost friends to drugs. I just lost. There were four of us that hung out through middle school and high school were best friends. I got one left.

And it's crazy how our worlds completely change. And I just want the listeners and viewers out there to understand that, you know, here you are with everything against you. You could have ended up dead on the streets on drugs, in jail, all kinds of you, you think of it, the bad could happen. And you found a way to get out, even though you partied some, you had this wake up call that said exactly what to you? Like, was it, did you see something that just triggered you? I know you saw someone party laughing.

But what was your vision for the next couple of years for yourself when that epiphany hit?

Yeah, you know, I was, I was tired of being tired, right? You know, I was just tired of waking up and feeling bad.

And, and it didn't feel like there was, you know, any great future for my life. And yet, all of these times growing up, it was weird.

And in the minute of, I mean, these weird moments, I'd have people just come to me and say, you know what, Glenn, I see something in you and, you know, one day you're going to be a leader.

And I've had that happen to me when I was about 14 right around the time I got the girl pregnant. I had that happen to me the first second year I got into college when I started a fraternity.

And people would do this and I started realizing, you know, maybe I can prove them right, you know, and I didn't know what they saw in me.

But it was at a moment where I would say, gosh, you know, I was embarrassed. I didn't all thanks, but don't, you know, come on.

But then at the same time, I thought I really would love to prove them right and be something that is exceptional.

And so I started thinking maybe I could, you know, and just those little tiny seeds that get planted. That's why I love mentoring young kids, right.

And that's also why I lead with vulnerability a lot of times because, okay, I've got fancy cars and houses and boats and planes and lots of toys.

But that usually shuts people down actually. They go, gosh, you know, I can't do that. That's too far away.

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