Career satisfaction Archives - Page 5 of 16 - The Attorney Marketing Center

What are you willing to do to be successful?

March 24, 2017 by David M. Ward

You want to build a successful law practice. You want to make money, help people, and do things that matter. The question is, how bad do you want it?

Are you going through the motions in your work, waiting to see how things turn out? That’s not much, is it?

Are you working as hard as you can, doing your absolute best to achieve the success you desire? That’s good, but what if your “best” isn’t good enough?

Or, are you “all in,” willing to do “whatever it takes” (legally, ethically) to reach the summit? That’s what some lawyers are willing to do. Are you?

Your knowledge, experience, talent, and effort are important. So is a burning desire. But, as Vince Lombardi said, “Most people fail, not because of lack of desire, but because of lack of commitment.”

Are you committed? Are willing to do whatever it takes? If not, why not, and is there another career path that might be better for you?

A successful practice requires successful marketing plan

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Personal development

Is hard work truly the key to success?

January 9, 2017 by David M. Ward

All our lives we’ve been told that hard work is theÂ key to success. And so all of our lives we’ve worked hard or felt guilty if we didn’t. But is hard work truly the key toÂ success?

What about people who work hard and struggle all their lives? What about people who make it big without breaking a sweat?

It’s true that most successful people appear to work hard. They usually work long hours. They usually take on big challenges. They usually do things others see asÂ difficult and stressful.

But are they really working hard?

If you ask them, I believe most successful people would tell you they love what they do and they don’t consider it hard work at all. They work long hours because they can’t think of anything they’d rather be doing.

When it’sÂ fun, can it really be called hard work? Can it even be called work?

“When you do what you love, and love what you do,” it is said, “you’ll never work a day in your life.”

If you don’t love your work, change it. You don’t have to suffer your way to success. (I’m not even sure that’s possible.)

Get a new job or start a new career. Or give yourself permission to move in that direction. In the meantime, look for ways to make your current work more pleasant by focusing on aspects of it that you do enjoy.

If nothing more, see your work as a means to an end, that is, a way to pay your bills on the road to what’s next.

That’s what I did with my law practice. There were many things I didn’t like about it, which is why I decided to start a new career. But I didn’t dwell on what I didn’t like, I focused on the good things my practice gave me: skills, knowledge, experience, contacts, ideas, and most of all, time to start the next phase of my life.

Life is too short to do things you don’t enjoy. Life is supposed to be fun.

As you plan this year and beyond, make sure you’re planning to do something you love.Â Even if you don’t achieve the financial trappings of success, you’ll be happy. And that’s the real measureÂ ofÂ success.

Get more clients and increase your income. Here’s how

Filed Under: Career satisfaction Tagged With: hard work

I’d rather be eating pizza and binge-watching Netflix

May 13, 2016 by David M. Ward

I was out for a morning walk and saw a car with a license plate frame that read, “I’d rather be riding horses”. I thought about the work I had waiting for me at home and it made me think about what I’d rather be doing.

I like my work, but I don’t want to do it 12 hours a day. I don’t live to work. Never have. I’ve always had other things that were important to me and I always made time to do them.

How about you? What would your license plate frame say? What would you rather be doing right now? Not just at this moment but in your work this year and for the rest of your life?

You may be one of the lucky ones who love what you do and can’t imagine doing anything else. Or you might be like many people, reasonably content with your work because you’re good at it and it provides you with a good living but in your heart of hearts, you’d rather be doing something else.

Imagine that you had money out of the way and that you never had to work again. Would you suit up every day and head down to the office or would you put on your sandals and head to the beach?

If you’d rather be doing something else, it’s okay to admit that to yourself. That doesn’t mean you’ll drop everything and start over. But you might start thinking about the next phase in your life and take some steps to prepare for it.

The other day I thought about someone I went to law school with but hadn’t spoken to in over 30 years. I wondered what he was up to these days and searched for him online. Was he still practicing? Was he still doing family law? Was he retired? In another line of work?

I couldn’t find his website, nor any links on social media. I couldn’t find anything about him, which I thought was weird. But I knew him before “the Internet” and shrugged it off, thinking he was just another dinosaur who had refused to evolve.

“Surely he has an email address,” I thought and went to the California bar website to find it. That’s when I learned that my old friend was deceased.

He was my age and now he’s gone. Had he had a successful career, I wondered. A happy life? Did he always love his work? Or would he rather haveÂ been riding horses?

Filed Under: Career satisfaction

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

January 14, 2016 by David M. Ward

One of my favorite quotes is from the late Dr. Robert Schuller, who, in his books and in his sermons often asked, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”

Asking yourself this question forces you to think about what you really want instead ofÂ what you think you’re supposed to do. It helps you to bypass your doubts and fears and speak the truth. It asks you to temporarily suspend your logical left brain and listen to your creative right side.

When I’ve mentioned this quote in the past, it has always been in the context of the big picture. Major career changes, for example.

If you asked me this question about my work right now, my answer would be completely illogical. It’s something creative, something I’ve never done before and, as far as I know, something I have no innate talent for. But if I knew I could not fail, it’s exactly what I would do.

Unfortunately, I know I could fail. So I’m not going to do it. Not now, anyway. I’ve got too much other stuff on my plate. They say, “trust your gut,” for a reason, and right now, my gut is telling me to wait.

Odd, isn’t it? My gut is telling me what to do if I knew I would not fail and also telling me to wait? I think God likes to mess with us.

Anyway, this morning, I was thinking about this question and I realized that we can also use it to make smaller decisions.

If you are scheduled to deliver a presentation, for example, and you’re not sure which topic to choose, asking the “cannot fail” question might guide you towards choosing the ideal, albeit not obvious (or logical) choice.

When I say ideal, I don’t just mean something you would prefer to do but are allowing other factors to stop you. I mean ideal in the sense that it might lead to superlative results.

One topic might get mild applause. Another topic, the one you would choose if you knew you could not fail, might attract someone in the audience who is so affected by your presentation that they invite you to deliver it again to a bigger and more influential group.

What if you’re wrong? Yes, that might happen. But what if you’re right?

How to getÂ more referrals from other professionals: go here

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Personal development, success Tagged With: decision making, quotes

Your clients think you’re getting rich at their expense

December 30, 2015 by David M. Ward

Your clients have no idea how expensive it is to run a law practice. Is it any wonder thatÂ some clients shake their heads at $400 an hour? Can you understand why a $10,000 retainer might be incomprehensible to someone who earns $40,000 a year?

How do we get clients to understand that we’re not getting rich at their expense?

ShouldÂ youÂ tell yourÂ clients how much youÂ actually earn? No. It’s none of their business.

Besides, you want your clients to thinkÂ that you earn a very good living. Â Nobody wants to hire a lawyer who isÂ struggling to pay their rent.

But perhaps you could help your clients to understand that running a law practice is expensive, and that what you bill out in no way approximates what you take home.

One way to do that would be to take new clients on a tour of your office. Show them how many desks and chairs there are. Show them your conference room and library. Point out the computers and copy machines and other equipment. Introduce the people who work for you and describe their function.

You might also want to explain, perhaps in a letter in their “new client welcome kit,” what you and your staff will be doing for them. You might point out that at any one time, there are at least three peopleÂ working on their case. You could also provide a soup-to-nuts description of the major steps you take to do what you do.

Let them know how you investigate a case, conduct research, prepare pleadings and motions and discovery, and get ready for trial. Mention something about the costs you incur on a typical case.Â If your work is handled on contingency, remind them that while you are good at what you do and selective aboutÂ the cases you accept, there is no guarantee that you will win every case and if you don’t, you will get paid nothing.

In your newsletter, talk aboutÂ the things you do to hold down costs. Talk about how the forms and templates you have developed over the years allow you to save your clients money, for example. Let them see that while you don’t cut corners, you don’t spend money unnecessarily.

At the same time, unless your clients are wealthy, don’t talkÂ about your new Mercedes, your lavish vacation, or expensive new toys. Don’t “dress down” — you’re expected to do well — but don’t give clients cause to believe that you are indeed getting rich at their expense.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Client loyalty, Client relations, Law office management, Legal industry

Why I stopped collecting coins

November 5, 2015 by David M. Ward

I was a coin collector as a kid. My grandfather got me started. I subscribed to Coin World, and read it every week. I belonged to The Kennedy Coin Club, where I where IÂ metÂ with other collectors to buy, sell, andÂ trade.

I always had my Want/Have list in my wallet–a list of coins I needed to fill in gaps in my collection and duplicates I was willing to sell or trade.

I remember how much fun it was to go through my pocket change (or my father’s pockets) and find silver coins or rare coins from the past. Sometimes, I’d go to the bank and “buy” a bag of coins so I could go through it to find the one or two coins that were worthy of saving. I’d replace them in the bag and exchange itÂ for a new one.

Collecting coins was a fun hobby. But eventually, there came a time when you could no longer find rare coins or silver coins in your change, and I stopped doing it. It wasn’t fun anymore.

You know what? That’s a good metric for everything in life. If it’s not fun, don’t do it.

If you don’t enjoy practicing law, do something about it. Change your practice area or your clients, get good at marketing, or go do something else.

I said as much in an interview I did yesterday for a podcast. “What’s one piece of advice you could share that we haven’t talked about,” I was asked at the end of the interview. “If it’s not fun, you’re not doing it right,” I said.

Of course it’s not all black or white. There’s lots of gray. You may not like networking, for example, but you love the results so you keep doing it. That’s actually a good way to look at it. Focus on what you like, not what you don’t like.

Don’t forget, everything is relative. Maybe you don’t like marketing, but you don’t like getting calls from bill collectors even less.

Find some aspect of what you’re doing that’s fun. Because otherwise, why do it?

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Marketing legal services, Personal development, success

Are you getting stale?

October 23, 2015 by David M. Ward

You’ve been a lawyer for more than a few years and you’re good at what you do. So good, you could do most of your job in your sleep.

You know the forms to use and the words to say. You know the best places to park at the courthouse. You know the judges and other lawyers, and they know you.

Your job has become routine. Easy. Life is good.

Don’t get too comfortable. Before you know it, some rookie lawyer will come along and eat your lunch.

They may not know what you know or be able to do what you can do, but they’re fresh and hungry. Everything is new and exciting. They’ve got energy and drive and something to prove.

And let’s not forget that they have been using computers since pre-school.

If you’re not careful, as their practice grows, you may see yours diminish.

But you can stay ahead of them by re-inventing yourself and your practice. Become a newÂ lawyer again. Look at everything with fresh eyes.

Imagine that you have just opened your doors and you don’t have any clients. Get hustling and bring some in before the end of the month.

Take classes in your practice area and also in practice areas you know nothing about. Take classes in business, marketing, sales, writing, and speaking.

Take some cases you’ve never handled before. Find another lawyer to associate with you or mentor you.

Start over, from scratch, and build your practice again.

In the military, for a day or for a week, a unit will periodically stand down and review all of their operations. You should do the same thing. Examine all of your office management procedures and forms, look for holes that need to be patched, find expenses that can be reduced or eliminated, andÂ processes that can be improved.

Do the same thing with your marketing. Find ways to make it better. Eliminate things that aren’tÂ working, do more of Â theÂ things that are, andÂ find new ways to bring in business you’ve never tried before.

Examine every piece of paper in your office and every electron in your computer. Resolve to get organized, eliminate clutter, and streamline your workflow.

And from this day forward, do something new every week. New ideas, new projects, new people, will keep you fresh and alert and sharp and open new doors for you.

Get excited about the future you are about to create and then go eat someone else’s lunch.

Get your marketing plan here

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Goal Setting, Increase your income, Inspiration, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Personal development, Productivity, success

Goals are a bitch

October 13, 2015 by David M. Ward

Goals can beÂ a demanding and unforgiving bitch. You do what you’re told, or rather what you said you would do, or there’s hell to pay.

Who needs that?

Yes, you want what you want, and yes, you’re willing to do the work to get it, but who needs an overseer? Who needs the pressure of “do or not do” when you might only want to try?

I write down my goals, but more and more I focus on something else. Something that helps me reach my goals without making my life miserable along the way.

Instead of focusing on the goal, I focus on the process. Instead of focusing on the results, I focus on the activity.

After all, it’s the activities that bring the results.

But to do the activities long enough (and get good at them) you have to find peace with the process. Or else you won’t stick with it. Or if you do, you might get the results but come to hate what you’re doing and burn out or get ulcers or ruinÂ your marriage.

You can’t say, “Once I get what I want, I’ll be happy”. It doesn’t work that way. You have to be happy, first.

Author James Clear said,

“. . .if you look at the people who are consistently achieving their goals, you start to realize that it’s not the events or the results that make them different. It’s their commitment to the process. They fall in love with the daily practice, not the individual event. . . If you want to become significantly better at anything, you have to fall in love with the process of doing it. . . Fall in love with boredom. Fall in love with repetition and practice. Fall in love with the process of what you do and let the results take care of themselves.”

And they will take care of themselves. Or they won’t, but you’ll be happy nevertheless because you’re doing something you love.

Use this to create a simple plan (i.e., one that you will do)

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Goal Setting, Personal development, success

Everyone is an entrepreneur. Including you.

October 8, 2015 by David M. Ward

It doesn’t matter whether you’re employed or self-employed, you are an entrepreneur.

Deal with it.

You are an entrepreneur because every day, you take risks with your career. You may get fired today. Your partnership may break up. Your biggest client may leave you.

You are in sales, too. You sell your services (and yourself) to an employer or to individual clients. Every day, you sell or re-sell yourself on getting and staying hired.

But every day you also have the opportunity for gain. You may get a raise. You may get a big case. You may start to embrace marketing and double your income.

Risk and reward. The yin and yang of the entrepreneur. The only question is, how much risk are you willing to take?

You do know that a job doesn’t mean safety or security? In fact, it means just the opposite. You don’t control your fate. Others do. Just ask people who lost their job two years ago and are still unemployed.

Starting your own practice or business isn’t risk free, of course, but if you fail, you will at least have a skill set that allows you to start over.

In fact, the very act of failing makes you more likely to succeed the next time. The greatest risks are often borne by those who have never failed.

Venture capitalist Ben Narasin says that he sometimes funds startups run by people who have never failed at anything. He says,

Sometimes these prove to be the founders most likely to fail. They’re likely to fail exactly because they are afraid of doing so. They’re so used to winning, so used to the orderly, structured, achievableÂ goals… conquerable by brain power and effort alone, that they are ill-prepared for the entirely messy reality of entrepreneurship.

Being an entrepreneur is messy. You might fail. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Building a law practice is easier when you know The Formula

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Salesmanship, success

When was the last time you were scared?

September 22, 2015 by David M. Ward

I was pretty cocky about starting law school. But I was also scared.

It was new, it was different, and it was intimidating. I didn’t know if I was embarking on a great adventure or I had made a big mistake.

I can say the same thing about opening my practice and about many other milestones in my life. I’m sure you can, too.

It’s not the fear of failure so much as the fear of not knowing what’s next. H.P. Lovecraft said, “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”

But the flip side of fear is excitement. Not knowing what’s about to happen can be thrilling. So can the notion that you might be about to accomplish something great.

And so I ask you, when was the last time you were scared?

Because if you’re not scared from time to time, if your career or your life are boring and routine, it means you’re not taking enough risks, or big enough risks, and you’re not growing.

Former CEO of Evernote, Phil Libin, said recently that one of the reasons he stepped down from the company was that he was bored. He’s now with a venture capital firm and thrives on not knowing what’s next. “It wouldn’t be the best time if it wasn’t scary. When we started Evernote, it was terrifying,” Libin said. “I don’t think I’ve ever embarked on anything great without being scared.”

Of course too much fear can be paralyzing, so you have to find balance. You have to find things to do that challenge you and frighten you but also excite you and pull you forward.

What might that be for you career-wise?

Take on a partner? Go out on your own? Start a new practice area? Revamp your marketing?

Or are you ready for a new career?

Helen Keller said, “Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing.” Do something that scares you. Find your next daring adventure.

If you’re ready to revamp your marketing, start here

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Inspiration, Personal development, success