Listening to Dave Jennings talk, one begins to think the man's life is a guide in creating multiple careers.

Born in an Army hospital near the Panama Canal, he spent 18 years exploring the environment.

"I fished, hunted alligators, played baseball, football, camped and surfed," Jennings said.  

After high school, he joined the Navy and soon found himself serving in Japan as a plane captain on the flight deck of the USS Midway. The Midway played a pivotal role during Operation Desert Shield, and the aircraft launched from the deck January 17, 1991, marked the beginning of Operation Desert Storm.

While in the Navy, Jennings broadened his eclectic view of life by visiting Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Africa, the Philippines, Australia, Thailand, Guam and Abu Dhabi.

Leaving the Navy in 1991, he moved to the Puget Sound area to be with his father, got a job selling cars at Rainier Dodge, and used his GI Bill to attend classes full time at Tacoma Community College.

Three years later, Jennings started a company called Line-X Northwest, a protective coating enterprise specializing in trucks and jeeps.

"At the time, I was the very first successful Line-X dealer," he continued. "I was spraying more than 300 trucks per month and had opened 45 stores all over America."

During this time Jennings reconnected with an Australian woman he had met while in the Navy. They married in 1998. A year later, he sold Line-X and began a career in building, renovating, renting and selling homes.  

At the turn of this century, Jennings' next career move centered on That Kitchen Shop. The business became known throughout Washington state as the place to buy quality, branded kitchenware and accessories. But when the housing market went south in 2008, Jennings lost the business in 2010.

Undaunted by this turn of events, and sure of his abilities to care for his family, he and his wife "bought a RV, sold everything we had and traveled across the country with three kids."

In early 2011, the Jennings were living in Florida; by the end of the year they had moved to Brisbane, Australia.

"I lived in the Australian culture and hung out with my wife's family," he continued.

In August of that year, Jennings began a career in coffee with Coffee Is Us, a distribution company which grew to more than 90 accounts.

By 2015, Jennings and his family were ready to come back to the states.  

"I was offered my first job since the early 90s with a bank to offer mortgages," he explained.

Today, where he works as a loan officer at Absolute Mortgage, Jennings works hard to assist servicemembers with their housing dreams.

"I want to spend my future helping military people with financial success," he said.

"My favorite mortgage is the VA loan; it's the best available for veterans. It has helped me become financially free, and I want to help veterans understand how to use this tool."