John M. Richardson has an expression I like:
When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen; those who make it happen and those who wonder what happened?
Some young lawyers seem reluctant to make it happen by taking responsibility for their career success and happiness. In many cases they know how to please others including their supervising attorneys, but they have given little thought to what they want.
Tony Robbins, the incredibly successful motivational speaker and author suggests beginning with filling in the blanks to the following statements:
- What is most important to me in my life is _______________?
- What is most important to me in my career is _____________?
He then suggests asking the question:
- What has to happen for me to feel _____________?
This is a good way to start setting goals and developing a plan.
I saw a blog post 7 Amazing Lessons from Peak Performance Coach Tony Robbins. I think you will find all 7 of the lessons both amazing and applicable to your career as a lawyer. I want to leave you with the first of the 7. It is Focus. Robbins says:
One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.
It seems to me that lawyers who dabble are either letting it happen or worse yet-wondering what happened.