From the Hamster Wheel to Deep Connections

Ninja Selling Podcast · Feb 6, 2026 · 21m

In this Best Year Yet episode, Eric Thompson interviews Derek Walden, a Wichita, Kansas–based agent with At Home Wichita, who more than doubled his business in 2025. Derek closed 56 transactions for approximately 15 million in volume while raising a large family of eight children, with another on the way. He shares how shifting away from a lead heavy, grind based team model and embracing the Ninja approach transformed both his results and his quality of life.

Derek describes his early years on a lead generation focused team as a hamster wheel that did not align with his values or his family…