It's Your Career

My Favorite Song - Ryan Montbleau Band - Fix Your Wings - Off Topic

Thanks to Erika Napoletano (@RedheadWriting and RedheadWriting) for this tip from earlier this year.  This is one of my favorite songs.  My new favorite song.  This guy has a great voice, and each video in this set is a treat.

From the YouTube link -

Live video #8 of 14 from the album Heavy on the Vine. The band has performed all 14 songs in different live settings and created a video for each. This is "Fix Your Wings" from a hilltop in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts.

 

It's Never Too Late To Do What You Want To Do

My son's grandfather, Dan Pater, just launched a new business.  He is in his 60s.  After one career as an officer in the air force, and a second career selling for and then managing a residential real estate office for Russell & Jeffcoat in Columbia, SC. 

His new business is Midlands Estate Sales.  Website is under construction.  Facebook page is up.  He and his partner have been in real estate for many years, and have connections all over the Columbia area.  That business is going to kick butt.

View From Jenner & Block Lobby, 45th Floor

Waiting for meeting at Jenner.  Always the tourist. 

Back again, but not sure law firms are

I am back at it after a number of months wearing my other hat, the practicing lawyer hat, and interviewing with a Chicago area law firm.  4 months of interviewing.  And waiting.  Mostly waiting.  And yesterday they pulled the plug.  That was a lot of waiting for nothing.  Not happy about that.

Gives an interesting spin to the point of this blog.  It is now going on two years since there was a lot of hiring activity inside law firms.  When I got the call from a firm out of the blue, for an opportunity that sounded really appealing, I thought the market was finally starting to come back.  Good for me.  Good for you, and for the thousands of young lawyers out there who found themselves on the outside looking in after the downsizing of 2008 - 2010.

Apparently my opportunity was not meant to be.  A large family law firm here in Chicago approached me to add an elder law practice.  Maybe business wasn't looking up enough for them.  Maybe I didn't convince them of the likelihood of success. 

In the meantime, I have been doing what everyone should do in a time of "in between" - seeking education and developing a new, perhaps more marketable focus.  As of next week I expect to be licensed as a salesperson in Real Estate.  Sometime this month my hope is I will be licensed to practice law in Illinois.

A New Way Of Reading

Here is an preview piece from an article by Kevin Kelly in the August 2010 Smithsonian Magazine that discusses views of the future.  A New Way Of Reading  Kelly writes about the future of reading.

Photo is from Smithsonianmag.com by Brendan McCabe.

In case you haven't heard of Kevin Kelly, perhaps it would be best to stop reading here and go to one of his sites immediately - KK*.   Kelly is a thinker.  A big thinker.  And a writer.  He is prolific.  Writing about his big thoughts.  And small thoughts too.  Found some very useful gadgets in his posts.  But mostly I enjoy flying along with his thinking.

And today's post on the future of reading caught my attention.  I love to read.  I probably read a lot compared to most.  But earlier this year when the ipod added a Kindle Reader program as a free app, I got pretty excited.  And my reading pace picked up.  Then it was available on the Blackberry.  And I could read on the train even if I forgot to pack a book.  And then it was available on my Mac laptop, and I no longer had to read on a mini-paperback sized screen - the books were there for me to read whenever I had my laptop open, full sized, and portable. 

I just finished my sixth book since the end of May.  My sixth Kindle book since the end of May.  And I don't own a Kindle.

I am also reading two or three real paper books currently, and I pick them up when I remember them or if I pack them.  And I have a subscription to audible.com for books that I play on my ipod when I am on the road - am in the middle of several in that format.  But the convenience of having access to a growing library of ebooks, access on the train, or the plane, or at a cafe, or in bed, without having to carry a selection of books with me, is making it easier for me to read.

I am a big fan of having things be easier. 

Do you create your own luck?

Here is a post by Nadia Ballas-Ruta on the Think Simple Now blog on how to create your own luck.  I find it fascinating to look at the "lucky" among us and try to figure out how they got that way.  Of course, I don't buy the idea that some people are lucky and others unlucky.  Some people think I am extremely lucky.  Others don't think I have any luck at all.  It depends on your perspective.  All of it depends on your perspective. 

You can be lucky too. It's not difficult or magical. It just takes the proper perspective, and a willingness to look at life and your world a little differently.

Here are Nadia's suggestions:

1. Learn all you can about your area of focus - whether it is your job, your hobby, your art

2. 10,000 Hour Rule - it takes time

3. Visualize the success you seek (and take action!)

4. Surround yourself with people you wish to be like

5. Be kind

6. Be confident - strive for excellence

7. Visualize your lucky break

I totally agree with a lot of her ideas - be kind, be confident, strive for constant and never-ending improvement, learn, learn, learn, and visualize yourself succeeding.  It may take time.  A lot of time.  But you can be certain that those who don't see you doing these things may see your eventual success as being "lucky."  So just be lucky.

It's All About Connecting - Why I do what I do

How have you connected with those around you recently?  Establishing and building on connections are what makes our society work.  Its what makes me work. 

Building connections is the number one way to advance in your career.  Or to find the next job.  Or to build a circle of friends.  One friend referred to it as net-weaving.  Not sure that fits my definition or not, but it is a good image.  We are the architects of the fabric that makes up our lives.  What are you weaving today?

Legal recruiting for me is all about connecting.  Weaving if you will.  Connecting with others is everything.  At least in the job search.

I was told once by a manager at a major recruiting firm that I couldn't be a recruiter and a practicing lawyer at the same time.  Wouldn't work.  Shouldn't do it.  Can't do it. 

I listened, of course.  She was an experienced lawyer turned recruiter turned manager.  She clearly knew what she was talking about.  So I chose law.

I practice law because my practice satisfies my need to be challenged, to stand up for those whose rights have been violated, to wear the white hat, to have variety and contribution in my life.  I am a trial lawyer.  I have a challenging and stimulating practice.

But even with a growing and satisfying law practice, I am still drawn to the concept of connecting.

Legal recruiting provides me with that connection.  The connection that comes from identifying young prospects who are thinking about the next law firm position, getting to know the things that drive that person, and connection that person with a law firm that meets his or her needs.  Like a matchmaker and a coach rolled into one.  Connecting is the thing.

Why do you do what you do? Great TED Talk by Simon Sinek

Here is a really nice presentation by Simon Sinek, the author of "Start With Why". He talks about the success of Apple Computers, and the proper use of your limbic brain.

Very interesting thoughts. Why are some people or companies successful at everything they do, and some not so much? What sets the successful apart?

“It is possible to fail in many ways....” —Aristotle

From "the legal writer blog" comes this link to an article in the New York State Bar Journal by Judge Gerald Lebovits.  I have included the pdf article here - Writing Bad Briefs.

Judge Lebovits has apparently seen a lot of bad writing.  He summarizes that experience in this "how to" primer.  It's funny.  And it's scary to think even some of what he writes about gets filed on behalf of real life clients.  Like using rubber bands to bind your materials.  Or using uppercase letters a lot as a way to emphasize your point.

Do Fees Make Sense? In Mega Bankruptcy Cases, The Answer Is Sometimes.

Here is an interesting, fairly balanced New York Times article examining the fees charged by law firms and consultants in a few of the blockbuster bankruptcy cases from the last couple years.  Bankruptcy Fees Add Up  

I spent a time in my Georgia legal practice litigating bankruptcy matters, most on one big matter involving a group of nursing homes.  Every court appearance was a lesson for me.  I never saw previously or since so many dark suited young white men (including myself, except for the young part) with heads down typing into blackberries in one place, usually in one fairly small court room.  Every side had several lawyers, and there were sometimes twenty sides in these cases.  The debtor company was always represented by six or more attorneys.  Even at depositions, we needed the larger conference room to hold all of the legal talent.

I was curious as to the purpose of all of that talent.  Even today I wonder at the huge legal bills submitted by these firms in a matter where the debtor is seeking the protection of the bankruptcy court from its creditors.  Everybody still had bills that got submitted and paid.  I don't remember one not getting approved.  Millions of dollars.  Every month.

What did that money buy?  According to Harvey Miller, a partner at Weil Gotshal & Manges, the lead counsel firm for Lehman Brothers in its huge bankruptcy case, "The legal skill we used to sell Lehman's North American capital markets business to Barclays saved 10,000 jobs and preserved the business itself, capturing value that otherwise would have been lost."

According to Stephen J. Lubben, a professor at Seton Hall University School of Law, "Lehman is a sufficiently complicated company that it would be safe to assume that if it weren't for equally sophisticated professionals running the Chapter 11 case, that the creditors would essentially receive nothing."

The NY Times article also pointed to fitness club fees, dry cleaning bills and $500 an hour first and second year associate fees.  Clearly out of scope of your local hardware store bankruptcy case.

The close of the article is just the right pitch -

Mr. Miller sees his own work as a battle between corporate life and death, with the money spent on photocopies and dry cleaning an insignificant detail.

"If you had cancer and you were going into an operation, while you were lying on the table, would you look at the surgeon and say, 'I'd like a 10 percent discount?'" he explains.  "This is not a public, charitable event."

The Supreme Court Could Use An Oboist

From the home delivery Chicago Tribune editorial page this morning comes a guest post from the LA Times columnist Meghan Daum on what could be the best measure for the next nominee to the United States Supreme Court.  Here is the link to the original in the LA Times (sister paper to the Trib) - The Supreme Court Could Use An Oboist.

Didn't know that oboists are the arbiter of all things, or that they get to set the A note that tunes the orchestra.  Lots of valuable insight in this essay.  Should clarify thinking going forward for the folks that get to exercise advice and consent (Wikipedia definition).

Are you on task?

If you are at all like me, you have a small issue with staying focused on the task at hand.  Bright shiny things - a new email from one of your favorite bloggers, a text from a buddy, new tweets, a Facebook message - keep you distracted for big blocks of the day.  It's a bad feeling to look up from browsing and realize the day is gone.  Without significant accomplishment.

Solutions?  When you find yourself distracted you could chant "om mani padme hum."  Or you could go to your To Do list and move some balls forward there.  You could take a walk around the block to get some fresh oxygen moving in your blood.  Focus remains a challenge for me. 

This morning one of those bright shiny emails (thank you Litemind.com) included a web page you can set as the home page, so it is the first thing you see when you click on your browser to start surfing.  I kind of like that idea.  Here is a screen shot:

 

Reprise - from this time last year, on Getting Things Done

Saw this today and thought it was worth sharing.  David Allen is the guy who wrote the book Getting Things Done, the new bible for productivity practice.  Here is the link to the blog where I found it - Black Belt Productivity » GTD Primer.

Here is the YouTube video from a talk he gave at Google. 

Maybe The Ultimate Used Bookstore - Way Off Topic!

This is way off topic.  But it's one of those things that I really like.  So I wanted to share it here.

The Communicatrix is a blog about writing and Colleen, the hostess, frequently has interesting things to say there.  Today she writes about a used bookstore a couple hours outside of Los Angeles in the town of Ojai, Bart's Books.  Referral Friday: Bart's Books

OK, it's probably too far for a road trip from Chicago.  But, on my next cross country road trip west, I'm there. 

Here is the site if you want more info: Bart's Books - The World's Greatest Outdoor Bookstore.

Thank you for the link Colleen!

"That's The Way It Is." Mutts Cartoon by Patrick McDonnell

Genius In Advertising By Knopf Publishing - Sunday New York Times Book Review

When was the last time you saw an ad that made you stop and immediately want to buy the product?  Sunday, for me.

Pages 2 and 3 of the paper edition of the Sunday New York Times Book Review contained what I thought was a book review.  Please disregard the fact that I didn't notice the absence of a table of contents or the other stuff that comes at the beginning of the Book Review.  I didn't notice.  I thought it was a book review.  And I thought the reviewer chose to start the review by sharing the first pages of a new book, "The Man From Beijing" by Henning Mankell.  Good idea, I thought.  Waiting for the reviewer to start telling me how good it was.

Then the text stopped and I looked up and noticed the text was framed by an ad.  For Knopf Publishing and for this book.  Wow!  They got me.

But they got me on multiple levels.  Sure, I was lured into it.  I have heard of the book and was interested to read a review of it.  I liked the last couple of mysteries by Scandinavian author, Stieg Larsson.  This new one sounded interesting.

But the level they really got me on was how good the selected text was.  I didn't want to stop reading.  I wanted to buy the book there and then and start reading the rest of it.  I will buy it this week.  What got me was that Knopf didn't need to talk about it.  They just shared it.  And that was enough.

I dare anyone who likes a good mystery or a fun read to read those two pages of the print edition of the Sunday New York Times Book Review and not be hooked.

Lesson here - if you have a great product, don't talk about it.  Share it.  Let people see it, feel it, hear it, read it.  I am pretty confident this book is going to be popular.  Maybe because of all of the reviews.  Maybe because of the heat now in Scandinavian murder mysteries.  But probably mostly because this book is good.

At least the first pages I have read were good.  Really good.  I can't wait to read the rest.

Saul Williams 2007 Performance Of "Telegram"

Here is the video I linked to in my Tips For Tuesday post.  Saul Williams is a powerful performer.  The poetry is honest and brutal, so if you have sensitivity to hip hop language you might want to pass on this one.  If you are in a cubicle, you might want to pass on playing it out loud.

Video Is Up! Only twenty takes later

Today I am finally able to post my first video, after twenty takes.  Try to avoid shaking your head wondering how the first nineteen turned out.  New technology in a little while will create better product.  Content is all me, and that is a work in progress.

The purpose of this video is to introduce myself.  More to come.

5 Second Rule - You Dropped Food On The Floor - Flowchart - Way Off Topic

This was so good I just had to borrow it.  Here is a flow chart my son is studying.  It's now on the fridge.  Hope you find it useful.  Thank you for the link to San Francisco Weekly and @writingroads.

 

Economist Rap - only from NPR's Planet Money

So I guess this confirms my dorkiness, in case anyone was in doubt.  Here is my kind of rap.  You can find the story here NPR.org. 

This is the biggest problem with working in my office with NPR on the radio in the background.  Heard the catchy beat, and wanted to hear more.  These guys are good!  Educating and rhyming.  I love that stuff.  Reminds me of Schoolhouse Rock and Conjunction Junction on the Electric Company from the 1970's, before Morgan Freeman was president and instead worked with kids on public television.