To an outside observer, nearly two decades of teaching the same course may seem monotonous or even cliché. But, those who have heard Gary Keller teach Quantum Leap just keep coming back for more year after year.

So, why can’t we get enough?

Because Quantum Leap, like its teachers and attendees, continues to evolve. As Gary’s life moves forward, he has more to share—both insights and AHAs. And, regardless of Gary’s growth, attendees hear and learn new things based on where they are. It’s literally a lesson on life—which we are never finished learning.

It’s both funny and enlightening to see Quantum Leap a handful of times and walk out realizing the material hadn’t so much changed, as you did. But, it’s Quantum Leap that’s made you step back and gain new perspective—a feat many rarely, if ever, accomplish.

Thankfully, we got to attend Quantum Leap again on Saturday, and, as to be expected we had some great new AHAs.

“Every minute you live, you’re betting your life on your decisions,” Gary said to thousands from stage at KW’s Family Reunion 2012. “Life is an inside (to the outside) job. If you want the best life experience, put yourself together first.”

Yes, we all have our issues and our challenges, but we also have power over our lives’ trajectories. “You tend to go wherever you aim,” Gary teaches. So, why not aim high? Why not take the time to step back, and take charge of your life’s outcome?

Pat Matthews, a friend of Gary’s and frequent participant in Quantum Leap is someone who “gets it.” After obtaining a degree in architecture, and even starting his own firm, Pat decided his life was pointed at the wrong end goal. After all, his dream was to be a painter.

And, he gained perspective—and opportunity—when he was contracted to work on an established artist’s house. He traded his time and craft for painting lessons. And, after speaking with a friend, he ended up calling off all of his current architecture bids—a total of six. The next day, he started painting one piece a day, and he’s lived true to that mantra—one painting a day—since then.

He continued his art education with two painters in Colorado with the goal of creating a painting a day. The men would time each other and Pat while painting mountain scenes and Aspen groves. Thirty minutes…25…15. “They taught me to paint hard,” Pat explains. “It’s not so precious. You paint four, and throw them out…or maybe one works.”

It’s about focus, and being deliberate. It takes time and practice. You dedicate yourself, and you improve. Pat uses this analogy when people ask: How do you become a great painter? “If you want to be a pool pro, you need to play pool eight hours and day, six days a week for about eight years,” he says, “and you will be a professional.” So, when people want to be a great painter, Pat’s response is no surprise. “Paint 100 paintings, and then come back.” The trick: He never sees most of those people again. Most people don’t ever take the time to become pros.

Well, the importance of time is one thing Gary Keller understands and is purposeful with. He plans play time first, makes sure to block at least three to four hours a day of focused pay time and takes an hour a week to look at his life from a higher view—perspective—and adjusts as necessary. “I come from a long line of lethargic people,” he jokes. “This is why I have to make hard decisions on how I spend my time.”

You have to bet your life on where you want to go. To focus on the one thing that matters the most—whether that be one painting a day or lead generating for clients—takes a lot of time and energy. You don’t have time to hedge your bets. You have to go all in.

Now that Twitter is a couple of years old, many of you may know exactly how to tweet, retweet and participate in the ongoing conversation with the help of the Family Reunion hashtag: #KWFR.

If you’re still figuring it all out, here’s a look back at last year’s “how-to” plus a list of notable or official #KWFR Twitter profiles.

You should also check back to the Family Reunion Facebook Page for daily pictures, updates, and the announcement of our 2013 location!

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Why follow KW Family Reunion on Twitter? Following an event on Twitter adds a rich new dimension to the experience. With your smart phone in hand, you suddenly have a backchannel into what hundreds of others around you are observing, thinking and doing. Twitter says its mission is to “instantly connect people everywhere to what’s most important to them.” Each day news stories are broken as users around the globe post 140-character updates about events unfolding around them. As a result, Twitter has often been called the “pulse of the world.” We think it’s the perfect tool for you to experience a big event like Family Reunion from as many perspectives as possible.

Vendors will be tweeting special events. Agents and brokers will be sharing aha’s and tips from their breakout sessions. Networks will announce impromptu gatherings. Jokers will be cracking wise about gaffs and goofs. And, of course, the social media team at KWRI will be sharing interesting and informative information as well.

So what exactly do you need to do to tap into this undercurrent of information and entertainment? Who are the best people to follow?

If you don’t currently have a Twitter account, visit https://twitter.com/signup and get started. There is also a Twitter Start-Up Guide available on myKW on the Marketing tab.

For everyone else, login to Twitter and search for the KW Family Reunion event hashtag: #KWFR . You can then click the “Save this search” button on the top, right-hand side of your page to save the search. All the popular Twitter mobile apps will allow you to add a column for the same search so you quickly access the stream of event-related tweets.

Here is a short list of notable or official #KWFR Twitter profiles:

@KWRI — The KW Blog Team will be tweeting and retweeting right from the floor and will be a great resource.

@KWRINews – A channel for KW’s weekly enewsletter ThisWeek@KW, managed by marketing’s Laura Price.

@MapsCoaching—The award-winning MAPS Coaching team.

@Chris_Smth or @InmanNext — Chris Smith is a guest panelist and Chief Evangelist at  Inman News, and co-founder of Inman NEXT.

@BenKinney — Ben Kinney is guest speaker, a Keller Williams OP, MegaAgent, IMSD founder, co-author of the book soci@l and an agent technology leader.

@keithriddle -  Keith Riddle  a guest speaker, frequent panelist and mega agent, is a great resource on Internet lead generation and real estate technology.

@BethTorrence, @KevinLKauffman, @Mizzle, @ChadHyams, @LisaArcherRE, @Seychelle912, @SueAdler & @Liz_Landry – Because they are smart, tech savvy KW associates that have taught me much and are also a lot of fun.

@DotLoop, @Market_Leader – For lots of great info on the KW eEdge sessions.

Of course, I’ll be tweeting about all the of the above from @JayPapasan. There are literally thousands of KW associates on Twitter every day, building relationships, sharing information and prospecting for referrals and clients. This list is far from comprehensive! I’m sure I’ve missed lots of KW stars. Please share. Who will you be following at #KWFR?

Sounds ludicrous, right?

Actually, it’s spot on. Today, eBay is a $35 billion company with over 235 million registered users, engaged in over one million transactions a day. And, according to Stephen M.R. Covey and Greg Link, authors of the new book Smart Trust: Creating Prosperity, Energy, and Joy in a Low-Trust World, it’s because when you really look at the company and its founder Pierre Omidyar’s business plan, trust is at the helm.

“People everywhere are basically good,” states former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. “We provided the tools and reinforced the values, but our users built eBay. Our community’s willingness to trust eBay—and each other—was the foundation of eBay’s success.”

After reading an advanced copy of Covey and Link’s book, it’s easy to see how revisiting the idea that people are inherently good, holds some clout. Trust still works. And, even better, smart trust—not blind trust—means smart business.

Covey and Link are not touting naiveté —wear your heart on your sleeve; arms wide open, eyes closed shut, trust. Rather, the book challenges readers to be aware of the vast possibilities afforded when trust is reintroduced into business.

“A fundamental element of eBay’s approach is self-policing, much like that engaged in by the Maghribi Traders in the 10^th Century Mideast,” write Covey and Link. “eBay buyers and sellers do business in a highly transparent way…creating a reputation for each trader, which affects his/her credibility.”

NAR research has long shown that real estate professionals work in a high-trust industry. The most important factor by far according to the NAR 2011 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers when choosing an agent is honesty and trust. In fact, trustworthiness has held its place at No. 1 since 2006, and prior to that, can be argued to have been lumped in with reputation for over a decade.

Colloquially, this is often summed up as, “People want to do business with people they know, like and trust.” Trust can power any company to the top no matter what industry you’re in.

So, what’s the No. 1 thing you do to build trust with your customers?

Why follow KW Family Reunion on Twitter? Following an event on Twitter adds a rich new dimension to the experience. With your smart phone in hand, you suddenly have a backchannel into what hundreds of others around you are observing, thinking and doing. Twitter says its mission is to “instantly connect people everywhere to what’s most important to them.” Each day news stories are broken as users around the globe post 140-character updates about events unfolding around them. As a result, Twitter has often been called the “pulse of the world.” We think it’s the perfect tool for you to experience a big event like Family Reunion from as many perspectives as possible.

Vendors will be tweeting special events. Agents and brokers will be sharing aha’s and tips from their breakout sessions. Networks will announce impromptu gatherings. Jokers will be cracking wise about gaffs and goofs. And, of course, the social media team at KWRI will be sharing interesting and informative information as well.

So what exactly do you need to do to tap into this undercurrent of information and entertainment? Who are the best people to follow?

If you don’t currently have a Twitter account, visit https://twitter.com/signup and get started. There is also a Twitter Start Up Guide available on myKW on the Marketing tab.

For everyone else, login to Twitter and search for the KW Family Reunion event hashtag: #KWFR . You can then click the “Save this search” button on the top, right-hand side of your page to save the search. All the popular Twitter mobile apps will allow you to add a column for the same search so you quickly access the stream of event-related tweets.

Here is a short list of notable or official #KWFR Twitter profiles:

1. @KWRI — Amber Presley is our Social Media Manager at KWRI and will be a great resource.
2. @KWRINews – A channel for KW’s weekly enewsletter ThisWeek@KW, managed by marketing’s Laura Price.
3. @MapsCoaching—The award-winning MAPS Coaching team.
4. @carysylvester — Executive Director of Technology at KWRI.
5. @emarks – Ellen Marks is the Marketing and Communications Director at KWRI.
6. @JoelleSenter – KWRI leader and agent technology advocate.
7. @alexismacintyre — Director of Keller Williams University.
8. @Swanepoel — Stefan Swanepoel is a keynote speaker at Family Reunion, author of Surviving Your Serengeti and Principal at RealEstateTrends.
9. @KCKatalyst — Kevin Carroll is a speaker at Family Reunion, founder of the Katalyst Consultancy and author of Rules of the Red Rubber Ball.
10. @DanielPink — Daniel Pink is another keynote speaker at Family Reunion, and author of Drive, A Whole New Mind, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, & Free Agent Nation.
11. @TechSavvyAgent — Chris Smith is a guest speaker and co-creater of TechSavvyAgent.com.
12. @BenKinney — Ben Kinney is a KW OP, MegaAgent, IMSD founder, co-author of the book soci@l and an agent technology leader.
13. @mayaREguru – Maya Sabot Paveza, a real estate social media and technology leader, is another guest worth following at the event and beyond. (edit: Maya will not be at Family Reunion after all-sorry if I got any of your hopes up that you would meet her!)
14. @DotLoop, @Market_Leader and @KWeEdge – For lots of great info on the KW eEdge sessions.
15. @BethTorrence, @KevinLKauffman, @Mizzle, @ChadHyams, @AllStarMom3, @Seychelle912, @SueAdler & @Liz_Landry – Because they are smart, tech savvy KW associates that have taught me much and are also a lot of fun.

Of course, I’ll be tweeting about all the of the above from @JayPapasan. There are literally thousands of KW associates on Twitter every day, building relationships, sharing information and prospecting for referrals and clients. This list is far from comprehensive! I’m sure I’ve missed lots of KW stars. Please share. Who will you be following at #KWFR?