Called To Lead: Jake Havron ’17 proves destiny is sometimes better than your wildest dreams

Talking with Jake Havron for the first time feels like catching up with an old friend. It’s not just because he’s an open book, willingly sharing his life’s story. Rather, it’s his ability to quickly turn an interview into a conversation—one that’s inspiring but still relatable. Faith-filled and thought-provoking. You walk away not only wanting to know more, but to do more with your life.

This, I think after hanging up the phone, is what it must feel like to be in the audience at one of Jake’s events.

Jake, a 2017 UJ graduate, has dedicated his career to transforming lives as a professional keynote speaker, business consultant and life strategist.

“We all have small moments in our lives that lead to big moments. These little moments plant seeds of what we can do in our lives—what we’re truly passionate about and how we can best serve others.”

-Jake Havron

Throughout the years following his graduation from UJ, Jake has transformed his career time and time again, always staying true to his ultimate goal: to help people.

Jake started out as a nurse, and quickly realized it wasn’t the career for him. He thought to himself “maybe there’s a different way to help people.” He pivoted to working in fitness, a long-time passion of his, and became a personal trainer to “help people stay out of the hospital.” To grow his reach and help people across the world accomplish their goals, Jake became an online trainer. His business grew rapidly.

Utilizing his entrepreneurial experience and success, Jake built a consulting business where he helped high-level executives increase their sales, optimize marketing, and strengthen their leadership.

“And with why I started public speaking,” Jake reflected, “I realized that if I could create environments to lead transformation and help a group of people get out of their own way, to condense down time from decades to days of them creating real results so they don’t have to go and spend all this time trying to figure it out on their own—this is my way of helping people on a really large scale.”

Now as a professional speaker, Jake teaches others to lead with influence—which according to his website means “always having the ultimate outcome, no matter how big or small it is, be for the benefit of that person and not for yourself.”

Combine this idea with Jake’s commitment to living a life in alignment with God and it’s easy to see parallels with UJ’s new Unruh School of Character in Leadership, which focuses on servant leadership and the continued development of self, others, and teams for the good of organizations, communities, and the world at large.

“I can’t even imagine where I would be today with that type of school—the fire it would have lit inside me at such a young age,” said Jake. “I’m excited…because it will create more influential leaders. We need people who lead with influence, not manipulation, and there’s a fine line in between.”

An influential leader himself, Jake has more than 63,000 followers on Instagram. His grid, which boasts the coveted little blue check mark next to his handle, is filled with professional videos, sleek photography, and engaging graphics—content meant to help other aspiring leaders and visionaries.

But this way of living wasn’t served on a “silver platter” for Jake in his early years.

Born in California, Jake’s family moved to Hawaii when he was just six years old.

“People think living on Maui must have been a dream life but it was the opposite,” said Jake. “I was the tall, white chubby kid who was the outsider and was really easy to be bullied.”

It was a tough upbringing, but he found his confidence in sports.

After years of hard work on the court, Jake received a scholarship to play basketball at UJ. Four years later, he graduated with his nursing degree.

“I think about who I was in 2017, right before graduation. This young student at UJ, solely focused on basketball. I look back and I think about how much untapped potential was within me—the potential that is within us all,” Jake said.

Life-Changing Moment

In 2019, Jake flew to Miami to attend an event put on by Tony Robbins, who is known for immersive, transformational seminars for thousands of people. During a session, the audience was challenged to write down three new goals about what an extraordinary life on their terms would look like.

Tony looked out in the audience and asked who wanted to share their extraordinary life. Without hesitation or thought, Jake raised his hand. Out of 15,000 people in the arena, Tony called on Jake.

Mic in hand, Jake said, “I am going to speak on stages all over the world. I’ll be paid $50,000 to speak, and I am going to be speaking on your stage Tony.”

You can hear the energy in Jake’s voice as he recounts this memory and shares how the audience erupted in applause for saying those goals out loud.

“I just knew that God put me in this moment for a specific reason even though I was nervous behind that mic,” Jake said.

Shortly after, a speaking agent approached Jake with an opportunity.

Fast forward just three months and Jake was on his first stage giving a 60-minute keynote at a business conference. Jake even met his future wife, Emily Ford, at the event.

Jake now speaks at corporate events, business conferences, schools and non-profit events, and even leads his own events near his home in California on Leading with Influence. He and Emily, who is also is a transformational speaker, have spoken together internationally at conferences in Poland, London, and Mexico, to name a few.

As our conversation was ending, Jake shared, “Through everything I do and all that will be done, I hope it inspires people that they can both live a successful life on their terms AND also live a life that glorifies God. Too many people think it has to be one or the other. Why not both? Yes, there’s great sacrifices to be made, but there’s also great fulfillment to be had. It’s a life worth creating.”

Looking back at the history of UJ, you will find countless alumni who, like Jake, came to this institution unsure of where their future would take them—who earn their degree in a specific field and do not end up directly using it.

The liberal arts focus at UJ was designed for these students. Even if they didn’t know it at the time, seeds were planted in their transformational years. Lessons, like the power of effective communication, leadership, teamwork, and holistic thinking—the importance of grounding yourself in faith—were instilled here. They’re the backbone of a UJ education.

How those seeds will grow is up to the individual. But for alumni like Jake—alumni who are motivated to learn and serve, who look at their past not as determinant of their future but as a foundation to build a more joyous and meaningful life. Alumni who can make any stranger feel like a friend—the impact they will have on the world is limitless.