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Officer Reports
SECRET to a Well Lived Life
President’s Plan for 2025 – 2026
by Marc H. Harwell
I will serve the
FDCC governed
by an attitude and
leadership style
grounded in a sense
of opportunity,
Marc H. Harwell
gratitude, and
generosity. Hopefully you will feel
such a spirit and will be moved to
follow in kind.
Opportunity
Living with an attitude of
opportunity rather than obligation
is best summarized by me as “going
from got to get.” This isn’t semantic
wordplay—it’s a fundamental
reorientation toward a life
grounded in gratitude. Consider
your FDCC membership, which
gives you access to fellowship
and relationships with great
lawyers and even better people
for your professional and personal
development; the chance to
expand your sphere of influence
and relationships by bringing peers
who meet our high standards into
our membership; and access to
seminars, webinars, podcasts,
and white papers to enhance your
professional knowledge and to
develop your reputation and skills
by participating in each of these
areas. Instead of saying to yourself
and to others that you’ve got to go to
a meeting; that you’ve got to present
at a seminar or webinar or podcast;
that you’ve got to write a white
paper; and that you’ve got to bring
peers who you like and respect into
the organization, flip the thought to
“get.”
That simple revision to the script
transforms what can seem like
a burden, obligation, or chore
into a rich opportunity which is
positive and productive. You get to
go to a conference at a wonderful
place to be with friends and
people you want to get to know
as friends. You get to expand your
powers of persuasion and quality
of presentation by preparing a
memorable and influential white
paper, webinar, or podcast. You get
to introduce your well-liked and
respected friends to this incredible
organization.
Gratitude
Living in gratitude is my secret
weapon. Gratitude serves me in two
ways: By centering on being grateful
to others for the blessings provided
to me, (1) I remain truly cognizant
of how much my successes are
dependent upon others, and (2) I
remind myself of how much I owe
others.
In short, a gratitude grounded life
fosters humility, grace, and respect
for others. It defeats a prideful,
egotistical, and self-centered spirit.
When I pray to my God, I am
closest to that grounded life when
giving thanks for all that has been
provided to me and my loved ones.
When I am needy and at my worst,
I pray for all of the things that I want
and think that I need. In such times,
my focus is upon what I don’t have
and haven’t been given. In short,
I am then necessarily ungrateful,
obtuse, self-centered, and shallow.
And just as importantly, a gratitude
grounded life encourages me
to serve others because I owe,
appreciate, and care for others.
I didn’t always understand why
leaders often say that they are
humbled by an honor, position,
or award. I think that I now
understand because no one is
deserving of many such distinctions
without having been the recipient of
the gifts, work, and aid of others.
At the Summer Meeting this year,
I will accept the gavel from our
current President, Heidi Goebel,
and will then “get” to stand before
you as President because so many
of you afforded me positions of
responsibility, which allowed me
to continue to learn through those
experiences. I call that opportunity
through the gift of responsibility.
And I don’t think that I would have
fulfilled those responsibilities as
well if I didn’t have the fundamental
passion to honor the gift with a
heart-felt determination to not let
the giver down.
I am grateful to my wife Holly for
encouraging me to take the risk
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