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coaching lawyers

Question of the Year - Passion or Profit?

by Coach T.C. Coleman

Passion or Profit ( via a BIG Firm Salary) is a big consideration for lawyers who are in search of a fulfilling career. This consideration is ever more relevant as law firms like Williams & Connelly are again raising outrageously high associate salaries from $160,000 to $180,000! And I thought my first year salary raise from $93K to $125K was a big deal … lol

So … what’s an unhappy and unfulfilled lawyer to do?

Here are a few ideas to keep you grounded and steady on your journey to designing and enjoying a fulfilling career during this time of big firm salary wars.

1. Get really clear about what keeps you up at night and causes extreme anxiety and stress.

2. Once you are clear about the source of your pain, determine how important your ability to be at peace is to your health and well-being. Now, determine what changes and sacrifices you are willing to make to have more peace in your life.

3. If you determine that profit is more valuable than passion (and you work at a law firm) …. get really clear about what you want to accomplish at your firm. What experiences do you want to have? What expertise/ skills do you want to gain? What expenses do you want to pay off? How much money do you need as a “cushion”? What contributions to you want to make to clients and the firm culture?

4.  If you determine that passion + profit + fulfillment = Law Firm, use the questions above to help you accelerate your performance and success at your firm.

5.  Now that you have more clarity about what matters most to you, determine how you will know when you have learned enough, experienced enough or made enough money to walk away from a career that is not fulfilling. Use this information to create milestones.

6. Once you are clear about your purpose and have established milestones, take time and work with a professional to create a personal development plan and professional action plan to help you stay on track to reaching your milestones.

7. Once you reach your milestones, be confident that you are ready to move on and that you are not “missing out” or “giving up” anything.  Believe that preparation + action + faith = successful transitions!

Until next time … Take GREAT Care!

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3 Must Have Social Networks … You Are Behind the 8 Ball Without Them

by Coach T.C. Coleman

Today’s saucy headline is inspired by Brian Clarke’s The Cosmo Headline Challenge over at  Copyblogger.com.   Thanks for the inspiration, Brian!

This post is all about developing meaningful business relationships … virturally.   To accomplish this objective, we encourage you to become an active member of 3 social networking sites that are important to your ability to stay connected to colleagues, clients and future business opportunities.

Social Networking at Its Best

Global GirlPower2

3.      Check out PeopleJam.   People Jam is a brand new social network that provides a platform for you to be (i) inspired and motivated by coaches and experts and (ii) a source of motivation and inspiration for members of this  community who share their stories and ask for support. We LOVE this new community. If you check it out, let us know what you think.

Global GirlPower

2.   Get a Facebook account, if you don’t have one already.   Facebook is a terrific way to get in touch with long lost law school, grad school and college buddies.  It is not just for college kids … really.  You will be amazed at just how many influential people are on Facebook. If you have a blog, Facebook is also a great way to introduce new audiences to your blog.   Just utilize the RSS feeds on Facebook and every time you update your blog, your Facebook community will be notified of the update.   Facebook also provides a great forum for updating your community about upcoming events.  When you have something new going on, you can easily direct your Facebook friends to your website or blog by simply writing on their “Wall”  or you own!   Once you check out Facebook, you’ll understand the “Wall” reference … .

paperpeopleFlyingHigh 1.  LinkedIn is the single most effective way for busy professionals to stay in touch with your sphere of influence.  If you do nothing else, sign up for a free LinkedIn account. LinkedIn allows you to reconnect with former colleagues, classmates and members of various organizations and groups.  To really take advantage of the power of this social networking tool, sign up for a premium account and use LinkedIn to directly connect with potential business, potential employers, future mployees and prospective clients without the need for a prior point of contact.    A great way to make a connection with someone you don’t know and for whom you don’t have a direct contact is to provide the person with free information that is meaningful and useful to their business (an article or white paper is a great start). You will be in a position to realize the maximum benefit from the connections you make if you have a newsletter or some other periodical to follow up with after your initial point of contact.   Remember to get permission before adding your new connections to your mailing list.  

Another great way to network on LinkedIn is to post questions for your network and also respond to questions that are posted by others. Providing thoughtful answers to questions is also a terrific way to build your reputation as an expert and “center of knowledge“.

That’s it for today.    Have fun developing your online relationships!

Until next time … Take GREAT Care!

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