I coached a lawyer recently who is doing well. I asked what challenges he was facing. His response was:

I feel too content.

I have seen many content lawyers over my career, but rarely are they willing to admit it. When they are not moving forward, they are being caught from behind by those who are not content.

I love the famous Steve Jobs ending to his commencement speech at Stanford:

Stay hungry. Stay Foolish.

I realize many large, well established law firms do not want lawyers to “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.”  It is hard to picture how someone like Steve Jobs would have done practicing law in one of those firms.

Over the weekend, think about what “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish” means in the context of your law practice, (and your law firm). How can you use it to push yourself and stay motivated? If you would like to do more reading, read Linchpin by Seth Godin. Here is one quote from the book:

Your art is what you do when no one can tell you exactly how to do it. Your art is the act of taking personal responsibility, challenging the status quo, and changing people.