People Ask Me, Why Do I Do IT?

Here's Why I do It... People often ask me "What is it like to be a KW Team Leader?". They’re curious as to why I do it. I've heard things like "isn't it hard, like herding cats?" or "how do you lead in a fair way with so much commission on the line?" As a coach and trainer, I have been blessed with meeting many people from different parts of this great country. I’ve had the privilege of helping real estate agents realize their full potential. My goal is simple...to help them become the agents they intended to be. I say through the BOLD laws and the with the MOST amazing real estate training in the world, I have been able to this because I put coming from contribution first. I sometimes hear “it must be hard with all the repetition -- the hitting of reset from day to day! So, I would like to share a story to help better illustrate how I feel. Once upon a time a boy went into a pet shop, looking for a puppy. The store owner showed him a litter in a box. The boy looked at the puppies. He picked each one up, examined it, and put it back into the box. After several minutes, he walked back to the owner and said, “I picked one out. How much will it cost?” The man gave him the price, and the boy promised to be back in a few days with the money.“Don’t take too long,” the owner cautioned. “Puppies like these sell quickly.” The boy turned and smiled knowingly, “I’m not worried,” he said. “Mine will still be there.” The boy went to work-weeding, washing windows, cleaning yards. He worked hard and saved his money. When he had enough for the puppy, he returned to the store. He walked up to the counter and laid down a pocketful of wadded bills. The store owner sorted and counted the cash. After verifying the amount, he smiled at the boy and said, “All right, son, you can go get your puppy.” The boy reached into the back of the box, pulled out a skinny dog with a limp leg, and started to leave. The owner stopped him. “Don’t take that puppy,” he objected. “He’s handicapped, he can’t play. He’ll never run with you. He can’t fetch. Get one of the healthy pups.” “No thank you, sir” the boy replied. “This is exactly the kind of dog I’ve been looking for.” As the boy turned to leave, the store owner started to speak but remained silent. Suddenly he understood. For extending from the bottom of the boy’s trousers was a brace--a brace for his disabled leg. Why did the boy want the dog? Because he knew how it felt, and he knew it was very special. Why do I do it? Because I know how you feel. You see, for the past 9+ years, I too was in real estate, I went through the ups and downs and everything in between. Lord knows, I know what agents are going through...good and bad. I know in my heart that this has helped me become a better teacher, trainer, coach and leader. I’ve seen so many lives transformed, because of the mindset of positive thinking that is KW. This......is why I do it. Until Next Time, Lisa Ekanger Your Hometown Realtor!

28 of the Best Things I Ever Did

28 of the Best Things I Ever Did — from My Bedroom to My Business 1. Started treating my office like it was a real room that was worthy of my best treasures, not the “spare room made into an office”. 2. Drinking hot lemon water in the morning. Great for digestion, skin, alkalinizing. 3. Admitted that I don’t like managing people, and therefore I am not excellent at managing people. Good news is, I’m an excellent leader. 4. Took voice lessons with Awilda Verdejo — It changed.the.way.I breathe. And if you change the way you breathe — your relationship to your power shifts. 5. Got a hot tub. 6. Stopped bringing clothes to consignment stores. The money is rarely worth the time and hassle (and mild humiliation. “What do you mean you don’t want to re-sell my parachute pants?”) It’s way more gratifying to give or trade clothes with friends or donate to a charity store. 7. Put my bed on the floor. You want better grounding, grinding, and good sleep — lower your bed. 8. Got light-darkening shades in my bedroom and removed anything that blinked or flashed. Sweet Lord Jesus circadian rhythm happiness. 9. Downloaded the whole Deva Premal library, began studying mantras. And then…actually used them. Om gam ganapataye namaha. 10. Invested in a Sonicare toothbrush. 11. Kicked gluten. 12. Found a wonderful local food fairy to make me delicious dishes every week. Promptly decided to not feel guilty for having a food fairy. 13. Went through with the divorce. 14. Self published the first edition the The Desire Map. I put the book out in a few months rather than the few years it would have taken with a traditional publisher, and I made full profit. That gave me solid ground on which to negotiate when a publisher I adored came along. We created a really unique deal for book production, distribution and sales. Triple win. 15. Stopped trying to have a NYT Bestseller and just did my own thing. It worked. Over 75,000 copies of The Desire Map are in print. 16. I became harder to get to so I could have more ease in my life. If it impinges on my creativity or being home when my kid comes gets back from school, I’m a No, Thank you. 17. Put up serious boundaries with people who took great pleasure in not taking my boundaries seriously. 18. Got an elliptical. Used it. 19. Decided to bag the parenting books and to just be really honest all the time with my kid. 20. Got my boy a guitar and filtered through guitar teachers until we found the one who said, “Forget scales. What song do you want to learn to play today?” 21. Started taking my work with the healers in my life more seriously — treated it as essential and ongoing learning, rather than a “fix” when I was in crisis. 22. Got a financial planner who is a Feminist. 23. Started going to spin class. Hooked. 24. Went back to a vegetarian way of life. Tho’ I make guilt free concessions for really crispy bacon and grass-fed cheeseburgers. 25. Started working out with two other girlfriends. Holy motivation. And sweaty, lung-burning laughs. 26. That danger zone between 11:30pm and midnight — where I get my third wind of the day…I stopped pushing through that to check more email or start another project — and I shut ‘er down. If I’m in bed before midnight, I fall asleep right away. If I pass the danger zone and stay up — I get re-wound and it takes longer to unwind for sleep. Anything I think I need to do after 11:30pm can wait until the morning. For. Sure. 27. I let the pain soften me. I let the joy soften me. I let the desire soften me. I let the pain soften me. I let the joy soften me. I let the desire soften me. 28. Stopped responding to text messages immediately just because they were “text messages”. Remember when not that much was urgent? — Danielle LaPorte

Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today 2 get through this thing called Life!

Dearly Beloved, I was 17 when Purple Rain was released. It was the soundtrack of my high school class; the class of 85! I was lucky enough to know about this person called Prince, a couple of years before the P.R. mania happened, a friend of mine (I was 16, she was 17) told me about him and brought me to a show at First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. This little guy performed his act in a G-string and a rain coat. He was preforming songs from his first album, Dirty Mind. I don't remember that night being ALL that wonderful. We had semi-bad placement in the crowd and the acoustics weren't memorable either. I never thought that only a few years later, after his meteoric rise to fame, I would meet him face to face. Purple Rain was new, unique, tragic, innovative and wildly eclectic, just like the man who created it. As teens, we thought we were the coolest things that ever arrived on the earth because we had Prince and anyone older than 20 didn't! We got him! Raspberry Beret was also one of my favorite songs, instead of singing my boss was Mr. McGee, I would sing, my boss was Corey Tracey (my McDonald's manager at the time). As the years went by, I spent my fair share of time at First Avenue, always hoping to get a glimpse of his presence in the upstairs V.I.P. lounge. Never being beautiful, rich or well-connected, I guess I just hoped luck would somehow be on my side so I could meet him one day. That one day happened in 1991. The four of us decided to go to ladies night at The Pacific Club in downtown Minneapolis. The evening was pretty run-of-the-mill until a small man in a pale robins egg blue custom suit sauntered to the back corner booth. He was wearing matching spike blue leather boots and his double breasted jacket had a ruffled neckline. He had his signature curly hair swept to one side of his face. I wont admit to how many whisky sours I had consumed, but lets just say it was a plural amount. Oh wait! I forgot to mention an important piece of the story! The night before, Prince was to perform on The Arsenio Hall show. I was exhausted and was struggling to stay up for the 11 pm late night show, so I laid down to take a short nap. Regrettably, I didn't wake up in time and missed the show, and what a show I missed! Prince had worn a pair of ___less chaps and turned around after his performance to share his assets with the world! DANG! I was so mad at myself...that was on a Friday and ladies night was the very next night. So, yeah, in my state of delirium (from the drink) I decided to approach Prince by pushing my way through his body guards to state, "I missed your ___less pants show!" He stared at me with a complete poker face; the face he is famous for. Serious, dead serious! We locked eyes for a split second when two of his body guards reached down and lifted me up over the table and escorted me to the back of the club. Then a few months later, one of my best friends cousins' (who was his business manager) agreed to take me on a private tour of Paisley Park. It was beautiful and amazing and that was my conclusion with my fascination with Prince. I more or less forgot about him until Lotus Flower was made in 2010 -- at which point, I found a whole new appreciation for this gifted artist. I was super sad to hear of his passing, and yet I had to remind myself that Prince had discovered his one thing -- and poured his heart and soul into it. He created an amazing life by design and that was nothing to be sad about; that was something to celebrate! I am inspired to live a life by design because of people like him. Thank you to your Purple Highness for your amazing contribution to our lives! Dearly beloved We are gathered here today 2 get through this thing called life Electric word life It means forever and that's a mighty long time But I'm here 2 tell u There's something else The afterworld A world of never ending happiness U can always see the sun, day or night RIP PRINCE💟💟💟💟💟💟 Lisa Ekanger