Site for My Book The Unhappy Lawyer Coming Soon!

I'm having fun today creating a site just for my book The Unhappy Lawyer: A Roadmap to Finding Meaningful Work Outside of the Law (Sourcebooks, July 2008). It'll have some fun freebies, as well as a couple of tantalizing new programs to help you get out of the law and into a fulfilling career that pays the bills.

Just to give you a sneak peek: one of the freebies is a teleseminar I did on 6 powerful strategies to jumpstart your career transition.

The site should be ready to launch in a few weeks. When it's ready, you'll be the first to know!

The Power of Making a Decision

You want to get out of the practice of law. You're sure of that. Are you?

I talk to lots of lawyers who talk about leaving the law and finding an alternative career they love. They daydream about it, talk to friends about it, do a little searching.

But they're not committed to it.

How do I know they're not committed to it?

Because they're wishy-washy about it. They do a lot of "on the one hand, on the other hand." Because they do more talking than taking action. Because any little (or big) setback and they collapse under the pressure.

The ones who are comitted to it are busy. Busy taking baby steps. Busy setting what we call a "drop-dead deadline" ("I'm out of the law by such date or I'll drop dead"--not literally of course.) Busy climbing over, under, and around challenges (after they give themselves a little time to panic, fuss, and rant over how hard it is sometimes).

They're not so different from you. It's not that have a definite offer in place. It's not that they have each and every detail worked out. They often don't have people supporting them implicitly either.

But what they have is a decision, a decision that come hell or high water they're going to make this career change happen.

That's the first step really. Making a definitive decision that you will find and pursue work you love that pays the bills.

Need some help with this concept of making a decision and not wavering from it? Check out www.davidneagle.com and sign up for his free 4-part audio course The Art of Success.

Summer's Coming

Summer's coming and you know what that means. You get more focused on planning ways to get out of the office before 5:00 on Friday than planning your career transition.

"What's wrong with that?" you demand, "don't I deserve a break?" Absolutely you deserve a break. You deserve a permanent break from the job you hate.

As you know, work tends to slow down in the summer, which makes it the perfect time to redouble your efforts at making a career change.

You know how it is when things are hectic at the office. You barely have time to register your dissatisfaction with your job, let alone take any steps to leave the law.

Once the pressure's off, the tendency is to give yourself time off because you're exhausted from your efforts at the office.

Stop seeing it as an all-or-nothing proposition. You can give yourself some time off AND work on your career transition. In fact, my clients tell me that spending their down time exploring possibilities, immersing themselves in projects, and meeting new people gives them energy and makes them happy.

Make a commitment to taking 2 or 3 action steps from your career change plan this summer. Keep us posted here at the blog about your efforts so we can cheer you on.

Me, a Missionary for J.D.s? Hmm...

I just want to share with you a comment that a recent reader of my email newsletter, Lawyers on the Move, sent me. He said that I was like "a missionary rescuing the aimless and groping J.D.'s." Gotta love it.

I always appreciate words of encouragement from readers. When you write a newsletter or a blog, you're often sending your words out there into the universe wondering if they resonate with anyone.

I know from personal experience that leaving the law can feel just as isolating. Wouldn't it be nice if there was someone who'd offer you a word of encouragement every now and then out of the blue?

That's what this blog is for! It's encouragement for you from someone who's on the other side of that transition and knows what it feels like to make that leap. If you're not already a subscriber, join us!

And whether you join us or not, your comments are always welcome, whether they are praise, doubts, or you're just in need of a good vent.

Lawyers Who Create on the Side

I love supporting lawyers who have creative side businesses.

A commercial real estate lawyer, Aharon has a jewelry business called Kaleo Designs. I just comissioned Aharon to create a necklace for my mom for Mother's Day which my mom loved so much that she asked Aharon to create 2 sets of earrings to go with it.

I don't buy jewelry that often (and never rings) but when I checked out Aharon's site I saw a gorgeous ring I had to have.

Aharon also creates one-of-a-kind creations for brides and their bridal parties.

Check out her exquisite jewelry designs at www.kaleodesigns.com.

Just got an advanced copy of my book Unhappy Lawyer!

My publisher Sourcebooks sent me a nice surprise in the mail today. An advanced copy of my book, Unhappy Lawyer. What makes it so exciting is that this is the first time I've actually held a copy of my book in my hand. It's an amazing feeling.

So now the advanced copies go to various magazines and newspapers in the hopes that they'll review it for their publications. Keep your fingers crossed for me please that everyone we send it to will be intrigued!