About twenty attorneys just like you showed up last night here in San Francisco for the first Leave Law Behind live event.
Munching on Mediterranean food and sipping wine in a historic subterranean theater, we had a two hour coaching program going through each step to leave the law.
And throughout it all, we faced, discussed, wrestled with and reduced the main thing blocking us from leaving the law behind: Our fears.
So many fears …
- Fear of going to a “non-law” job we end up hating
- Fear of entering a non-law industry we aren’t good at
- Fear of making less money and capping our lifetime earning potential
- Fear of disappointing our friends and family
- Fear of taking a risk
- And the big one … the fear of the unknown
Afraid of the unknown. Not being able to 100% fully control our fate.
We are afraid. So we wait. We procrastinate. We delay.
I know that fear very well. I resolutely determined that I wanted to leave the law in April of 2003.
But I didn’t actually leave the law until July 2004.
Once I was honest with myself that I wanted to make a life change, it took me well over a year to act and do something about it.
I hesitated because I was afraid. Even though I couldn’t ignore the burning desire to do something else …
- I was afraid there was nothing else I could do but be a lawyer.
- I was afraid to tell my boss I wanted to quit.
- I was afraid to face the doubt from my social circles.
- I was afraid of letting go of my tight grip I had over the outline I called my life.
And once I did leave, in that momentous summer of 2004, and realized that the unknown wasn’t so bad, but actually could be celebrated and embraced, and that there were so many opportunities and new paths in life once you throttle back the need for tight control over everything …
… once I did leave, and I looked around realized I was still alive, and, contrary to all my fears, I was actually thriving and had newfound energy and saw new paths and opportunities opening up for me, I said to myself:
“I should have done this a lot sooner.”
I know you may be afraid. But remember, leaving the law is not an either/or dynamic. You keep your day job, you pay your bills, and we incrementally shift your life in parallel, teeing you up for success, mitigating as many risks as possible, and letting you identify what you are really good at and enjoy doing. There is no silver bullet, and it’s not always easy, and it may take some months, but there is a proven path to do this.
If you’re serious about leaving the law … if you’re really, really determined to change your life for the better, then click here and set up a free time to speak with me about how I can help. And to learn more about the Leave the Law Program and our Coaching and Online Course, click here.
And if you aren’t ready to leave the law just yet, that’s perfectly fine, this takes time. Feel free to just keep reading this blog and enjoy the process with us, or unsubscribe below.