Meet a man who takes the initiative to stand up for what’s right in our communities. Jay Morrison was one of the first on the scene when our Haitian sisters and brothers were being deported back to Haiti. Through his experience and wisdom, he continues to seek ways to educate our communities on topics of money, credit, real estate, and more! Here’s what he shared with us in a recent interview.
Sheri Simmons.: You are a man of many hats. Tell us a little about your childhood.
Jay Morrison: My childhood was great because I had a loving mother and a lot of loving women in my life like my grandmother and my aunts that poured a lot into me. I was the oldest of 4 and I was born to a teenage mom. My mom worked really hard to take care of us, but my father was not around. So we didn’t have a lot financially when I was growing up, but I found a way to make struggling in poverty fun. We had to stand in welfare lines and we were on WIC and government assistance. Not to mention that we also lived in government housing. I still found a way to enjoy myself and my siblings even though there were dark times and instances of abuse, anger, and negativity in those early years. And all of those experiences helped to make me the resilient man I am today.
S.S One hat you wear is as an author. Tell us about how your author’s journey started?
J.M: My author journey started in 2011 when I was hired as the first African American Celebrity Realtor for the prominent company Sotheby’s International Realty. They encouraged me to build my brand if I was going to lift in a luxury real estate market in Bergen County New Jersey which represented one of the richest neighborhoods in America. Part of my “WHY” and my mission was to bridge the gap between Real Estate and Pop Culture, so my first book was called “Hip Hop to Homeowners” and in the book I used hip hop quotes and phrases as a way to relate to youth and the culture while teaching them Financial Literacy at the same time. That then spun off to my second and then third book “Lord of My Land” and “The Solution” which were both New York Times Best Sellers. And eventually helped to inspire my 4th book “12 Step Real Estate & Business Crash Course” which is an Interactive Video Textbook.
S.S: Amazing! You also are an educator of financial literacy and generational wealth building. Tell us how you got into real estate?
J.M: Like all of us I was born into Real Estate at Somerset County Hospital, so I had no choice but to be in it, but I started on the journey to learn how to take advantage of it after I first heard the phrase “God ain’t making no more Land.” I then began to deepen my knowledge about supply and demand while I was selling drugs in Baltimore. After serving a year in jail for selling drugs, my mom wanted to evolve our family from government assistance and government housing to owning our own home. I witnessed her doing this and decided to help her with the $3000 down payment on a FHA loan for the house. I then understood the value of that when after 3-4 years our home appreciated to $100,000 with no renovations. At the time my mom was in foreclosure and had a tax lien on the property, but we were still able to sell the property at a profit and that showed me the value of real estate. Prior to us cashing out on that property I went back to prison again and served another year and a half for trafficking crimes while on parole I was introduced to a mortgage company by a mentor and that company introduced me to the world of real estate financing and investing. I got pre-qualified for my own 4 unit apartment building and that planted a big seed that led me to take real estate seriously as I was approaching 25 years old. I not only was able to have early success but I also became a millionaire by age 28.
S.S: You have a very powerful story to tell. As a motivational speaker, what do you feel is your most powerful talk about?
J.M: I think drive, burning desire, your “WHY”, your passion, and your purpose are some of the most foundational and powerful topics to discuss as a motivational speaker. Whenever I talk about resilience and persistence or a lot of the other topics around motivating or inspiring people, I keep in mind that in order for someone to stay consistent and be a self-starter they have to have something bigger than themselves that drives them through the dark times, adversity and obstacles. They have to have a formula that I call B.B.B.P. which stands for Burning Desire, Big Bodacious Goals, Being Intentional about those Goals, and Persistence.
S.S: What is next for you?
J.M: Well what is next for me is going deeper and not wider. I have accomplished a lot in my career and instead of creating more initiatives and new businesses, which is something I was proud of earlier in my career because I had 36 companies and I was happy that I had a lot going on but, I realized that it is not about the size or the quantity but it is really about the quality. So what’s next for me is building out our Legacy Center and perfecting our campus and our model as well as Legacy Center University to impact and reach others and helping to advise real estate investors and business owners who want to create crowd funds or raise capital. I am looking forward to continuing to provide mentorship to individuals so that they can leverage the successes and failures that I’ve had. I also want to expand the initiatives that we have for the youth and push the agenda of education reform, which I believe is the foundation of true equality. Through our Tulsa Real Estate Fund, I am also looking to promote and assist more people with buying land. This will allow me to go deeper into my passion and purpose and deeper into the seeds I have already planted. I want to make the most out of the groundwork that I have already laid.
S.S Where do you see yourself in five years?
J.M: In 5 Years, I imagine myself at another cycle in my entrepreneurial journey. I think that I am well-positioned to be on several boards and also a chairman of our organization while also assisting other companies with going public. I imagine myself going deeper into the capital markets and education and leading on how African Americans can build economic infrastructure and control their own dollars and ecosystem. I also see myself being a part of a self-sustaining community for African Americans or what I call “Africans in America” to show a model of what our unity, dignity, and responsible living could look like. I see myself being healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually and I also see myself growing into a better person, a better leader, better CEO, a better husband and a better father while also getting closer to The Most High. I see myself evolving and probably writing a few more books such as my life story and finally I see myself continuing to be a change agent while serving my purpose.
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