What led you to your current profession?
An open ear, mind, and heart led me to an incredible conversation with a colleague who said I could and I believed him, and in me.

What's your favorite thing about what you do?
I am a social scientist at heart. In my business, I am equipped with an "application" that allows me the opportunity to have meaningful conversations with people from all walks of life. I get to ask questions like, what is your ethnicity, are you married, do you have dependents, where do you / have you lived, what is your occupation, how many years of education do you have, are you financially fit or do you need assistance? Just to give you an idea. I'm not just filling in the application. I am listening to the truth of who my clients are and what their needs may be. I feel my way through the conversation, with a careful ear and sincere compassion. I have an innate ability to discover what is most important to them and then deliver to their expectations or solve a problem they didn't know was possible to solve. I deliver a high ROI on their investment of time and money. Ultimately, I get to assist my clients with building a “home,” a place where they will flourish, and hopefully experience financial freedom one day.

How have your perceptions on life changed as you've gotten older?
The older I get, the less I know.

What have been your biggest obstacles in business?
My biggest obstacles in business have always stemmed from me. Bottom-line for anyone, "If you really want it, you'll go for it. If you don't, you won't."

What is one piece of advice you'd give your pre-career 20-something self?
Find a mentor, a coach, a trainer, a spiritual guide, and a financial adviser... and always have these 5 in your life even you find new ones, always have them.

If you have a bucket list, what's your favorite thing you've checked off?
Driving a race car!

What gets you up in the morning?
The morning. I love mornings. It's the stillness, the assurance that a new day has come. It's a clean slate. Possibilities are everywhere, creativity is at it's highest, and I am ready to take on the World.

When in life have you been the most confident and why?
My 40s. My oldest children are young thriving adults, my career is stable, I have financial freedom, and my girlfriends are badass!

What advice do you have for those starting a new business?
Don't waste too much time on perfecting the business plan and and organizing the to do list. It will get in the way of taking action sooner rather than later. Then before you know it, someone else has thought of your idea and already brought it to market. Just get after it. Your business is going to look much different than what you thought it was going to look like anyway.

What have you learned about leadership that doesn't get taught in schools?
When you're a leader, it's important to spell out the vision... literally. The picture should be painted... literally. Then ask your team, what have you read, what do you see? Then your business will birth.

And finally, do you have a favorite quote related to career success?
"Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made." --Wayne Dyer

Kari Abt is a Sr Mortgage Consultant and Branch Manager at Summit Funding in Greenwood Village, CO.