Below is an excerpt adapted from our podcast conversation with 40 Under 40 honoree David Kakish of Anchor Home Loans. It has been edited for brevity and clarity.

For nearly seventeen years, David Kakish served as a pastor, devoting his life to guiding congregations and counseling individuals through life’s ups and downs. He gave countless sermons, shepherded people in times of both heartbreak and celebration, and developed a deep understanding of the human condition. 

However, a moment arrived when he felt he had given all he could give. It was a season of transition that would eventually lead him into a completely different arena: the world of mortgage lending and sales.

Today, David is in the top 1% of mortgage professionals nationwide, a feat he accomplished in less than two and a half years — an especially impressive statistic given that he started just as interest rates were on the rise in mid-2022. 

Yet David is quick to point out it’s not a tale of overnight success or a single secret strategy. Instead, as he explains it, it’s the result of embracing rejection, consistently doing the daily grind, and placing people above profit.

End One Chapter & Begin Another

When David left ministry, there was no scandal, no rift within the congregation, and no big career meltdown. Rather, he and his family found themselves at a crossroads. They had spent well over a decade in pastoral service, and David describes their departure as wanting to “write our own ending” before any bitterness or burnout set in. It was not a falling apart but a thoughtful exit — a decision that involved prayer, introspection, and an honest conversation with his wife about what the future might hold.

The future, as it turned out, would lean on both his financial acumen and his empathetic skill set, combining them into a new path. “I knew I was good with finances and good with people,” he says, recalling how he considered different lines of work that relied on relationship-building and financial management. He landed on mortgages, ironically during a period when interest rates had jumped from 3% to 6% — a less-than-ideal time for a brand-new loan officer. Still, he dove in headfirst, capitalizing on his passion for problem-solving and helping others.

Stepping Into Discomfort

David’s rapid ascent might make people assume he had an easy road or discovered a “hack” to success. He is the first to dispel that myth. He worked relentlessly, cold-calling real estate agents all over the country — sometimes in states where he was not even licensed, just to refine his pitch and educate himself on the common questions and challenges. The willingness to embrace the grueling process of trial and error is something David views as essential to any form of growth.

He recalls his very first job when he was just 15 years old. He worked in a call center, selling appointments for windows, doors, and vinyl siding. During his shifts, which ran from five to nine o’clock in the evening, he had to phone strangers, endure hang-ups, and constantly chase the next “maybe” that could turn into a “yes.” In that high-rejection environment, he developed a sort of mental toughness that would later prove invaluable: “No is just a pathway to yes,” he says.

He also highlights the importance of having a personal identity bigger than work. For David, his faith is that anchor. When people define themselves solely by success, they never feel they have “arrived” — the next target always moves higher, turning a one-time ceiling into tomorrow’s floor. By rooting his sense of self in faith and family, David finds it easier to weather the inevitable storms, rejections, and dry spells that come with a sales career.

Embracing Inversion

Drawing inspiration from Charlie Munger’s “inversion theory,” David systematically asks himself how he could fail, then takes steps to avoid that fate. “Sometimes it’s easier to know what not to do than what to do,” he says. In practical terms, that means scrutinizing his mortgage business regularly, searching for cracks that could break the entire structure. If top-line growth is the goal, he envisions the missteps that might derail it — poor communication, sloppy record-keeping, losing empathy for clients — and ensures he and his team protect against those stumbling blocks.

Yet David’s not just about caution and defense; he also invests energy in designing a positive experience for every homebuyer and referral partner. He likens the mortgage process to a “financial enema,” something most people dread but need in order to get the home they really want. “People don’t want a mortgage; they want a house,” he quips. This insight helps him center the experience around human connection. Instead of merely collecting documents and doing calculations, David and his team automate key updates in a friendly tone, send celebration messages with confetti GIFs, and offer guidance that goes beyond just monthly payments and interest rates.

Efficiency & Experience

Technology is a mainstay of David’s method. From personalized text messages to streamlined document collection, he automates as much as possible. But what stands out is his near-obsession with ensuring those automated touchpoints retain a personal, human warmth. In David’s eyes, “automation” need not equal “impersonal.” He has found creative ways to combine software-driven efficiency with the sincerity of a warm handshake, even in a remote or digital setting.

For example, he sends listing agents text messages that start with, “Hey, no need to call back,” a small tactic that effortlessly preserves time for both parties. By the end of each transaction, an impressive percentage of listing agents seek him out for future deals, even though he never once scheduled a live phone chat. In a fast-paced market where time often determines who wins an offer or closes on time, these micro-efficiencies compound. Add to that the sense that David understands people are not just “files” but real families making a life-changing decision, and you get a formula that clearly works for him.

Putting People First

David also believes wholeheartedly in giving away knowledge, whether it’s to a client, a real estate partner, or even a rival loan officer. He recounts how he once spent an hour of his day walking a competitor through structuring a file that had been incorrectly denied. For David, doing the “right thing” matters more than hoarding information or scoring immediate wins. “If it’s the right thing to do, you do the right thing,” he states, reflecting on his deep-rooted sense of faith that ties personal integrity to professional conduct.At times, however, he battles frustration because some people approach him with a sense of entitlement: they want a shortcut, a “silver bullet,” or that single “hack” that will deliver quick results. David’s advice? “Work hard every day at all the things that other people don’t want to do.” To him, there’s no magical formula. Instead, it’s about consistently showing up, testing, iterating, and never forgetting that behind every question, transaction, or conversation is another human being.

Family, Faith, and the Future

When asked about where he sees himself in five years, David’s vision revolves less around the next big production milestone and more around spending time with his wife and children. He knows that chasing success can become an idol in itself, especially for a results-driven person. He often repeats a principle at home: “Saying yes to something is inevitably saying no to something else.” If the “yes” is work, that inevitably means less time with the people he loves. Hard work is essential, but endless striving with no boundaries can fracture what matters most — family and personal well-being.

David’s deeper philosophy is this: “We were blessed to be a blessing.” He sees every dollar, every resource, and every skill set as something entrusted to him to steward responsibly, not to hoard. Quoting theologian John Wesley, he references the idea that everything we try to hold on too tightly slips through our fingers. This perspective informs his commitment to mentorship, even if it means “giving away” some of his competitive advantage. True success, in his eyes, is measured in impact and relationships, not just in quarterly returns.

The Ripple Effect

Mentorship stands as both a pillar of David’s personal journey and a central tenet of how he hopes to leave his mark. Early in his life, he benefitted from individuals who offered guidance and support. Whether it was a manager teaching him phone sales at 15 or seasoned professionals in the mortgage industry who answered his questions when he was brand new, those gestures shaped his trajectory. Now, he wants to pay it forward.That said, David is also candid that not everyone seeking mentorship truly wants to roll up their sleeves. “They want the steps, but they might not want the process,” he observes. For those genuinely looking to learn, he generously invests his time; for those seeking a quick fix, he offers the tough-love truth: real growth demands consistent effort, resilience, and a willingness to learn from every misstep.

The Heart of Hard Work

Ultimately, David’s story is about weaving faith, empathy, and good old-fashioned hard work into a formula for success in an industry that can often feel purely transactional. His belief that “empathy still works in 2025” undergirds everything he does, from messaging new clients in a fun, celebratory way, to guiding a competitor through a complex file, to standing firm in his convictions about family time. At a glance, one might see a top-producing mortgage originator, but just beneath the surface is a man driven by the values he once championed from the pulpit: loving one’s neighbor, putting people first, and remaining humble enough to realize there is always something new to learn.

It is this blend of personal grounding, willingness to fail, and dogged refusal to be outworked that fuels David’s remarkable accomplishments so far. And in his mind, the future is not about bigger numbers alone — it’s about forging stronger relationships, keeping his priorities in line, and remaining openhanded with knowledge and opportunities. In short, he’s proving that you can consistently show love to your neighbor even while crafting a highly efficient and profitable enterprise. If there is any secret ingredient here, it may just be that balance: wholeheartedly pursuing success yet always remembering the simple, enduring truth that people matter more than profits.