Learning to be comfortable in your own skin seems like an easy thing to do but I get constantly surprised when I find lawyers have to work through a process of identifying who they are before we can begin work on what they want to do. I sometimes think the sign of human growth is when you recognize that the dreams of others is not the dreams you need to follow. You are what you are!

I recall one law firm owner who had a vision of a huge firm with many lawyer centers and the willingness to work as hard as he could to get it. I have a favorite saying that helping someone become a millionaire is easy. Finding someone who is willing to work hard for it 24/7 is the hard part.

As we started the re-organization of his firm coupled with the restructure of work habits and development of the plan it was obvious that he was not going to like a big law firm that required constant management and development with a strong time commitment to get it where it needed to go. He was going to lose touch with that which he liked to begin; i.e. hands on with clients and a fairly structured personal life. We finally regrouped, worked out what his strengths and weaknesses were, what he visualized down the road, and what he wanted now. Bottom line: He created a new vision that involved those things that made him happy and so he could achieve in 20 years the ideal life at retirement. I recently had lunch with him and he is content and close to retirement. And never regretted his decision. And I think he is my best success story.

If you have an interest, we have designed a 'personal triangle' that our clients utilize every year to define who they are and what they wish for. Email me and I will gladly give you a copy with some instructions. Don't go through life wishing for what you probably really don't want to begin with. Take time to think!