INVESTOR STORIES
PRESIDENTS' CIRCLE
shed tears. I felt at an all-time low. My wife was having health issues at the time, the gas light shone empty, and we needed diapers for our son. I drove away broken.” When his debit card was declined at the gas station, he scrounged the parking lot for enough change to buy two gallons of gas and used a coupon for free diapers. It was then that chance intervened. A former co-worker was in that same store and invited Chapman to dinner to discuss an opportunity in the mort- gage industry. Chapman was hesi- tant but knew he was good with cus- tomers from his experience at the heavy equipment company, so he took that chance. In 1997, he started as a telemarketer and worked dou- ble jobs for the first year, sleeping only four hours a night. “It was a lot of hell, but I stuck with it. I thought about going back to running heavy equipment because it was easier. But I didn’t want to go backwards,” he said. A lot of prayer, meditation, and
three years later, Chapman was offered a position where, after a lot of work, he ended up running the company’s first satellite branch and building a team of a dozen people. “We were bringing in enormous numbers,” he said. “And, I got cocky.” Then the crash came — 2008. “My biggest personal downfall (being too cocky) came at the same time of the market crash,” Chap- man recalled. But it was a different crash that affected him the most.
On August 8, 2008, Chapman was in a motorcycle accident that forced him to start over, personally and professionally. He lost his memory and was wheelchair-bound. A lack of memory makes it hard to do business, so he adapted. He carried a notepad wherever he went and got good at details. A loss of leg function makes marathon running and mountain climbing, things he had done before the accident, nearly impossible — Nearly.
Aaron Chapman (left) speaks on the Lending Panel at the Think Realty Conference & Expo in Atlanta.
Aaron Chapman Security National Mortgage
FeaturedMember: Aaron Chapman ONCE DOWN BUT NEVER OUT, THIS RESILIENT INVESTOR LOOKS TO ATTAIN WORLD-CLASS IN EVERYTHING.
4 WORTHY READS
Not a reader until 2015, Aaron Chapman said The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu Goldratt changed his life and started his reading venture. Now, reading is part of his morning routine, which starts before dawn every day. Here are four other influential texts on Chapman’s best books list:
by Kelli White
T
he phrase “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” ap-
loan originators in the nation. His parents co-owned a cattle ranch where Chapman worked during his high school years; then, he gained experience as a welder on oil fields in Wyoming, operated heavy equipment, and eventually returned to working with his dad in mines in northern New Mexico. “That was awesome. It was one of the best jobs I ever had,” he said.
The opportunity was brief, howev- er, as the job shut down and the lesser-experienced Chapman was let go. By that time, though, he had built an impressive resumé, which can often be a downfall. “Overqualified. I heard that word a lot,” Chapman said, recalling his time searching for work. “I even in- terviewed for a $10.00 per hour truck driver position and was shot down. I
plies, literally, to Presidents’ Circle member, real estate investor, and mortgage lender Aaron Chapman. Chapman’s journey thus far has been one of perseverance, adapta- tion, and down-right hard work. A son of a miner, Chapman has worn many hats before be- coming one of the top licensed
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Joe Dispenza
Wisdom of Success by Napoleon Hill
Master Key System by Charles F. Haanel
Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill
18 | think realty housing news report :: december 2019
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