Page 18 - Social Media Musings

Social Media Musings – Part III My Reflections on the Practice and Life
Sometimes, not getting into the school of your choice, the job you wanted, or the career you dreamed of is the best thing that could have happened to you. Due to family obligations, I attended a local state college instead of a top tier school. If I had not attended the local state college, I never would have met my wife. Sometimes, bad things happen to allow for much better things.
Discipline is cranking out a thousand words a day on the book you’re writing even if you don’t feel like it. Discipline is putting on your running shoes and putting in three miles even though you don’t feel like it. Discipline is not a feeling. It is stronger than a feeling. It is a decision to do the hard work.
When things go wrong, when others lie or take advantage of us, when life pulls the rug from underneath us, we can blame them. We would be entitled to blame them. No one would fault us for blaming them. It would
be easy to do so. But that doesn’t achieve anything. That doesn’t change anything. Bad things will happen to us. We can either shake our fist or we can deal with the situation in a productive, effective manner.
Missing out on an interview or offer doesn’t define you anymore than getting an interview or offer. You are who you are separate and apart from how others
see you.
Bad grades don’t define you. Being fired doesn’t define you. Losing a case or a trial doesn’t define you. You define you.
No matter where you are in your legal career, no matter the shortcomings, failures and
obstacles, no matter the toxic workplaces, the layoffs, the salary cuts, and loss of income, you can always turn things around, you can always write the next chapter and you can always come out the other side stronger, wiser and better equipped to overcome.
We’ve all learned something about ourselves during this pandemic. Let’s reflect on what that is.
What happened in the past - bad choices, bad grades, bad decisions - you can’t change it, but it doesn’t have to define you. Many successful lawyers made mistakes, stumbled, tripped and fell. But what made them successful is that they got back up and kept pressing forward. Keep moving.
Consistent effort, over a long period of time, typically leads to a tipping point. Writing every day over a period of years generally leads to getting published. Networking consistently over a period of years generally leads to referrals. Volunteering for a voluntary bar association over a period
of years generally leads to a leadership position. If you keep filling the bucket with water, one day, the water will spill over. Until you reach the tipping point, you may not experience much success. Once you hit the tipping point, you may find success like water pouring through a broken dam. The key is
to continue filling the bucket even if you feel the bucket remains empty. Sometimes, when you least expect it, after months or years of labor, you’ll strike a reservoir and be soaked in a geyser.
Eliminating all risks from life would be like
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