What’s the big idea?

November 9, 2018 by
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Think big. Act small. That’s the ticket to success.

Thinking big means setting big goals and finding big ideas to achieve them.

If you want to triple your income in the next 12-18 months, you can’t rely on small ideas to help you get there. You need big, hairy, audacious ideas. Things you’ve never done before.  Things that simultaneously excite you and scare the hell out of you.

Here’s a test to see if you have a good candidate: when you share your idea with someone who cares about you, they either laugh at it or try to talk you out of it. Or both.

(They do this because (a) they don’t want to see you get hurt, or, (b) they don’t want to see you succeed, because your success diminishes them.)

Big goal. Check. Big idea. Check. Now what?

Now you execute. You do the little tasks that advance your idea and move you towards your goal.

We live our lives minute to minute, day to day. The little things we do each minute create momentum towards our goals. It’s the only way we can get there.

You can’t triple your income in the next few minutes but you can do something that moves you forward.

Think big, act small. That’s how you get where you want to go.

What’s your big goal? What’s your big idea? What will you do in the next two minutes?

You can triple your income by bringing in more referrals

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Filed Under: Goal Setting, success

What successful people do with their time

October 30, 2018 by
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I just read an article about time and how we use it. “Unsuccessful people spend time,” the author said. “Successful people invest time.

“Spending time means consuming it by watching TV, playing games, hanging out with friends. That much is clear. What is not as clear, and wasn’t addressed by the author, is the idea that we also consume time when we do our work.

Meeting with clients, drafting documents, arguing motions, and everything else that defines being a practicing lawyer consumes time. Yes, we earn income when we do that but, by and large, that’s all we earn. It’s an equal exchange–our time (and work product) for money.

Investing time is different.

Investing time means doing things that can provide a bigger return relative to the time invested. Building relationships with influential people is a good example.

What is the value to you of a new referral source or business contact who provides information or leads, sends traffic to your website or introduces you to influential leaders?

Incalculable.

Investing time also means doing activities that build key skills and knowledge. Improving trial skills, speaking skills, networking skills, and sales skills, for example, can provide you with value far beyond the time you invest in acquiring those skills.

But it’s not just the increased value we derive by investing in people and skills. It’s that the value we get compounds.

One relationship leads to two. Two leads to ten. Improved marketing skills bring you new clients, repeat clients, and higher paying clients. It can quadruple your income in a short period of time, as it did for me.

How much of your valuable time do you spend each week? How much do you invest?

The answer will predict your future.

How much time do you invest in learning how to bring in more referrals?

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Filed Under: Personal development, success

Are you ready to be an overnight success?

October 22, 2018 by
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Ever wonder why some people seem to be an overnight success? Are they just lucky?

I think luck is a factor. Some people have it, some don’t. But more than luck, the people who quickly build a practice or business or their career do so for a very good reason.

When opportunities present themselves, they act on them.

Many people see the opportunities but do nothing. Or move too slowly and miss the boat. As Abraham Lincoln said, “Good things may come to those who wait, but only things left by those who hustle.”

If you are the overly cautious type, can you train yourself to see the opportunities around you and, more importantly, can you train yourself to hustle?

Maybe.

Here’s how I’d go about it.

Start by taking some business classes (yes, even if you don’t have business clients). Learn how to appraise a business or an apartment building. Learn how to read a balance sheet and how to buy or start a small business.

Read biographies by and about entrepreneurs and how they built their fortunes. Find ways to spend time with them. Pay attention to how they speak, how they think, and how they manage their priorities.

And then, here’s the killer strategy: Develop the habit of making decisions quickly, without having all the facts.

Start small and try lots of things. Sell something on eBay. Buy something on Craigslist. Give yourself permission to be wrong most of the time because that’s how things usually work. You might try fifty ideas and find one that works.

But one might be all you need.

Earl Nightingale said, “There comes a time in every person’s life where they are given the opportunity to earn more in the next 12 months than they have in the previous 12 years”

Make sure you’re ready for it.

How to meet business owners and professionals

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Filed Under: success

Give your life a tune-up

October 12, 2018 by
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You’re busy. Taking care of business, living the life you’ve created, traveling forward in time towards whatever comes next.

Are you going where you want to go? Are you doing what you want to do?

If you’re not sure (or, even if you are ), I encourage you to make a list (yes, another list) and find out.

Make a list of everything you do you wouldn’t do if you didn’t have to.

If you didn’t have to have an office, for example, would you? If you didn’t have to write articles, record videos, network, or advertise, would you?

Include big things and small things and everything in between.

Would you practice law if you didn’t have to? Would you do trial work, stay with your practice area, maintain certain expenses (e.g., employees, software, etc.) or take the same types of clients?

Do the same thing with your personal life. Relationships, activities, hobbies, investments, expenses.

Write it all down. And make no assumptions about whether you really do have to do what you’re doing. We all do things on autopilot, because we’ve always done them or because we don’t think we have a choice.

Set aside the list for a while. Come back to it with fresh eyes. And then eliminate, delegate, or modify the things on your list that don’t serve you.

Or, consciously accept them (for now) if you believe there is no alternative or that the price you’re paying is worth it.

This exercise will allow you to make better decisions about what you’re doing. It will help you gain clarity about your goals, priorities, and responsibilities, pare down or eliminate activities you don’t enjoy, and improve both your effectiveness and efficiency.

It will help you become more productive and more prosperous and improve the quality of your life.

So, what’s on your list?

Getting more referrals gives you more options

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Productivity, success

What ‘working smarter’ looks like

October 8, 2018 by
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There are lots of ways to work smarter. Targeting niche markets instead of “anyone with a legal problem” is an example. Networking with influential professionals in your target market instead of generic ‘Chamber of Commerce’ attendees is another.

One of the simplest ways to work smarter is to continue doing what’s working and abandon what isn’t.

And also doing what’s working for other lawyers.

No, don’t copy them. Emulate them. Do what they’re doing but do it better.

When I started practicing, there weren’t many examples of lawyers doing things I could emulate. I wasn’t a member of the country club crowd and I didn’t have money to advertise, so I had to get inventive.

I looked at what other self-employed service professionals, salespeople, and business owners were doing for ideas. Much of it didn’t apply but some of it did. Eventually, I found some things that worked and made them my own.

Years ago, a fast food company hired someone to go out and locate profitable sites for new restaurants. His job entailed examining car traffic and foot traffic, retail sales per square foot, rent comparisons and other factors.

But he didn’t do any of that.

All he did was locate all the McDonald’s in town and choose a location across the street. McDonald’s had already done the research and proven the value of the location and he piggybacked on their success.

Working smarter, he did. And so can, you.

You need a marketing plan. This will help

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Filed Under: Leverage, Marketing legal services, success

Opportunities or obstacles

October 2, 2018 by
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Wealthy people, and those destined to become wealthy, look at problems as opportunities, stepping stones to something greater.

An opportunity to learn, meet new people, or improve their skills.

Others look at problems solely in terms of the risks and costs.

Wealthy people don’t try to avoid problems at all costs. They look for the opportunities hidden in those problems. They continually try new ideas and new methods and eventually realize the outcomes they seek.

Everyone solves problems but wealthy people go out of their way to find problems they can solve. They believe that the bigger the problems, the bigger the paycheck.

If you have trouble seeking out big problems in the quest for a bigger paycheck, as an attorney you can do the next best thing: seek out clients with big problems.

In your quest to build wealth, remember that the problems you solve don’t have to be your own.

How to identify and find clients with big problems

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Filed Under: Increase your income, success

The way the world works

September 12, 2018 by
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It’s called “the tipping point”. Whether you’re opening a new law practice or building an existing one, starting a project or promoting a cause, it is the point where you have built up sufficient momentum to trigger accelerated growth.

You start at zero. Just you and an idea. Everything seems difficult. You see little or no results. When you reach the tipping point, things change. Your results start to get bigger and come faster. Before you grew by addition; now you grow by multiplication.

This is what you’re working for. This is where you get big, fast and people think you just got lucky.

Unfortunately, many people give up or go in another direction before they reach the tipping point. They couldn’t see the harvest that awaited them so they stopped sowing.

You have to trust that your efforts will pay off. You have to keep sowing until they do.

Keep sowing until you see some momentum, the point at which things get a little easier, and then keep sowing and building on that momentum.

That’s the way the world works. That’s how you get from where you are to where you want to go.

Build momentum in your practice with referrals

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Filed Under: success

Do everything in full-screen mode

September 6, 2018 by
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On the radio this morning I heard a promo for an upcoming program. I wasn’t listening closely and don’t know what it’s about but the guy featured in the promo said something that caught my attention. He said, “Do everything in full-screen mode.”

I like the image. I like the idea of being so totally focused on what you’re doing that you can’t see anything else.

“Full screen,” says, “don’t multi-task,” do one thing at a time and give it your full attention.

It says, “pay attention to the details,” because they’re important. And make sure you have the proper tools and allocate sufficient time so you can do that.

When you’re working, work. When you’re playing or relaxing, praying or spending time with loved ones, do those things with everything you’ve got.

Do everything in full-screen mode and live a more productive and prosperous life.

Focus on getting more referrals

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Productivity, success

Training yourself to think outside the box

June 20, 2018 by
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We all live in a box. The box is our comfort zone. It includes the things we do and only the things we do. The things we don’t do are all outside the box.

You can be successful inside your box but your success will be limited. You will only be able to go so far. If you want to go farther, get bigger, and achieve at a higher level, you have to step outside of your box.

You start by thinking outside of it.

Everything starts with a thought. An idea. And you can train yourself to have more ideas by asking yourself questions.

For example, “What if I did X?” or “What if I stopped doing Y?” “How could I do ABC better? Faster? More often?” “What would I have to do to get [whatever]?”

Of course, most of your ideas won’t pan out. Many will be absurd. But if one in 100 ideas causes you to try something different, or think about something in a different way, it might open a gateway to a brighter, richer future.

I’d argue that the crazier the questions you ask, the more likely those questions will lead to something. Or cause you to think something that leads to something.

Oh, you want examples? Okay, a few:

“If I could replace all my clients with new ones, what would they be like?”

“If I had a million-dollar advertising budget, how would I allocate it?”

“What’s one thing I could do that could triple my referrals?”

“How could I cut my workday to five hours and simultaneously increase my income?”

“What are ten ways to get one new client each month?”

“What would I have to do to implement a ‘client of the month’ program?”

“What (else) could I send or give new clients to get them interested in X?”

“What would happen if I quit Facebook?”

One for the road: “How much additional increase could I earn if I spend five minutes each week asking myself outside-the-box type questions?”

Want more clients? Read this and do everything in it

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Filed Under: success Tagged With:

Turning off your issue-spotting machine

June 15, 2018 by
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One reason many people say they don’t like lawyers is that we appear to be negative people. We’re the ones who tell everyone why things won’t work.

Hey, we’re just doing our job.

Lawyers are said to be bad in business because we’re risk-adverse. We see what can go wrong and we don’t like to take chances. We stay safe but we also miss a lot of opportunities.

How many of us fail to realize our potential?

Robert Schuller asked, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” It’s one of my favorite questions.

Turn off your issue-spotting machine temporarily and think about this for a few minutes. If failure was impossible, what would you be, do, or have?

Think about what you want and how you feel about it. How bad do you want it?

If it’s something that makes your heart sing, don’t give up on it just because the evidence against you seems overwhelming.

Dr. Robert Anthony said, “Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.”

Client referrals made simple

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Filed Under: Inspiration, success
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