Leaving The Law -- Part 4/6

Strategy #4
The Power of Play

We’re taking a look at six powerful strategies you can use to find and explore exciting career alternatives and we’re up to #4.

What do you do for fun? What interests you? If you don’t have any idea, it’s not your fault. Most of us focused very intently for a period of time to get to our law firm jobs. Once we’re there, we’ve got limited time. There’s time for work, family, friends, exercise, sleeping and maybe an occasional fun activity. We’ve lost any sense of what engages us.

It’s imperative that you learn how to play again. That you learn to identify something that catches your attention and run with it.

This exercise takes about 6 – 8 weeks. Patience, my friends, the end results are fascinating. You’re going to need a small notebook that you can keep in your pocket or your purse. And your assignment is to carry it with you at all times.

First, jot down any and everything that interested you when you were younger—childhood, when you were a teenager, college, if you had any interests in law school. Write them all down.

Now to the present. What gets your attention? Write down 5 -10 things. Then keep going because you’re going to need a lot more, at least 25 – 50. For the next 6 -8 weeks, every time something captures your interest, write it down. For example, if you’re constantly stopping at a local bakery, write down “pastry chef, delicious foods, chocolate, neighborhood hang-out.” No censorship. Write it all down!

Once you’ve got your 25 – 50 items or more, you’re going to sort them. Put similar items in a category and title the category to define the interest. The titles can be one word or hyphenated strings of words. You should end up with 5 – 10 categories.

Now you’re ready to do some brainstorming. Spread out your interest sheets and your talent sheets. What career possibilities come to mind? Write them all down. If one of them really turns you on, run with it. This is not the time to do a critique. If it interests you or excites you, it’s fair game.

Do a 2nd brainstorming with a small group. Friends, trusted colleagues, children are really good at brainstorming. Naysayers, not even the well-meaning ones, are invited. Write down all of the ideas that come up. These sessions are often hilarious.

By the time I finished brainstorming by myself and with a group, I had 75 possibilities. I’m not kidding. 75. Get started!