The Notorious RBG may not have known it at the time, but she wasn’t just speaking about societal change. She was speaking to each of us in our own lives. Real change, enduring change in our personal lives also happens one step at a time. In fact, sometimes the smaller the steps, the greater the change can be. This morning, thanks to the Clio Cloud Conference 2020, I had the absolute pleasure of spending an hour with Angela Duckworth, author of author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Angela who has made it her life’s work to study Grit. In her words, “Grit is passion and persever ..read more

This post is an excerpt from my new book, 50 Lessons for Happy Lawyers: Boost wellness. Build resilience. Yes, you can. It will be available for pre-order soon, at Amazon.com. Email me here  to get your free copy when it is released. Proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley and the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. Dalai Lama At one time or another we’ve all had the same thought. “I’ll be happy when [fill in the blank].” For some reason we’ve been condition ..read more

Yesterday I sat down – Zoomwise – with Kevin O’Keefe, CEO and Founder of LexBlog, to interview him for my upcoming book, 50 Lessons for Happy Lawyers: Boost wellness. Build resilience. Yes, you can. I have admired Kevin for years, but we had never met before yesterday. We became Facebook friends earlier this year, and it was through Facebook Messenger that I reached out to Kevin for the interview. Our Facebook Messenger exchange underscores the power of the internet and social media which Kevin speaks so passionately about. If you want to be truly successful, through COVID and beyond, listen ..read more

As we all work to navigate the uncertainly around COVID-19, I wanted to share several articles and resources related to the tax implications for both employers and employees during the crisis. Document Potential Business Interruption and Expense Due to COVID-19 An article from business consultants Conner Strong & Buckelew recommends that businesses consider five things when preparing for a potential business interruption: Prepare a timeline. Track and document key business metrics. *Attorneys should track all time spent dealing with COVID-19 issues. Track and document expenses that are r ..read more

We are living through a time of tremendous uncertainty. The sense of uncertainly is palpable and seems to be bombarding us from every direction. Uncertainty, especially about potential risks to our own health and the health of our loved ones creates a lot of stress. We are a stressed out world right now. And, at least from what I can see, here in our own country a lot of the uncertainty and stress is a direct result of inconsistent messaging from our government. As I’ve watched the news over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed (and I’m sure you have, too) that there are lots of conflicting messag ..read more

“The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water molds itself to the pitcher.” – Chinese Proverb So, I can hear you thinking, “Wait a minute. I’m already successful. I’m already thriving. It’s all good here. After all, my behavior has got me where I am today.” But where are you exactly? Are you where you want to be . . . forever? Are you done growing? Are you done improving or is there room for improvement? One of my favorite books on success and self-improvement is titled, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, by the brilliant executive coach Marshall Goldsmith. If you’ve not read it ..read more

Business colleagues smiling to camera in an open plan office There are any number of myths about Millennial lawyers. They’re lazy. They have a sense of entitlement. They’re disloyal. These are myths. Just like every generation before them, Millennials are different from the last. And they have a tremendous contribution to make to your law firm, if you’ll work with them, not against them. If you are not considering the needs of Millennial lawyers in your staffing model, your firm is suffering. You may not feel it now, but you will. In her book, You Raised Us – Now Work With Us: Millennials, C ..read more

Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around. – Cameron Crowe Your ability to create powerful habits and use them to focus your attention on doing the right things will make a tremendous impact on your life. Throughout the day you’re faced with choices about how to spend your time. The choices you make in each moment will either move you toward your goals or get in your way. They will either increase your sense of control and decrease your stress, or they won’t. The choices you make each day about how you spend your time are creating your future. Right now. In his book Goals! H ..read more

To be prepared is half the victory. – Miguel de Cervantes One of the most powerful things you can do to begin to take control of your time, your work, and ultimately your life, is to get into the habit of planning. The power of planning comes not from flawlessly executing your plans; that may rarely happen! Rather, the power comes from the planning itself. As the German writer and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) said, “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” Planning is the means by which you can identify the “things which matter mo ..read more

That’s been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains. – Steve Jobs When was the last time you felt as though you were able to give one hundred percent of your attention to a particular task? If you’re like most lawyers, your answer is probably something like, “I can’t really remember,” or “Not often enough.” It doesn’t matter what you’re working on, there is always something else clamoring for attention. And th ..read more