Your Next Move

I want to give you the ability to see what has gone unseen.

I’ve designed this episode to give you a structure to decide your next move. You can decide your next move in lots of different ways, but what I see is that there are a lot of lawyers who don’t clear up what they want, so they are unclear on how to move into the next version of themselves.

It’s true of lawyers whether they work for someone else or have their own practice, so as I walk you through this process, think about the questions I pose in a way that serves you and where you are right now and where you want to go whether I give an example spot on to what you’re experiencing currently.

If you’re driving or can’t write down these questions, you can get the transcript in the show notes at https://dinacataldo.com/249

There I’ve also linked to an episode I did a while back that’s called Your Foundation for a Life Reset that will be a nice complement to this episode.

This episode is really for lawyers who don’t feel like they have anyone to talk to about their next move. A lot of lawyers I talk to — and I used to be one of them — don’t feel like they can trust people in their office or they run their own practice and don’t have anyone they can bounce ideas off of. This episode is for you.

This is what I’d like to see you do.

Block out 3 mornings or evenings to do this work.

Let the ideas from one day sink in. Let each day’s work percolate to help you think more clearly.

I’ve broken this podcast into 3 days, so you can sit and answer these questions. Do it in writing. I know you may enjoy typing, but there’s something more tangible about writing that helps us think and retain information differently. You can do whatever you like, but I’ll offer that to you.

Day One:

What do you enjoy about your current position?

• working with people
• Teaching
• Managing people
• Crafting arguments
• Writing briefs
• Brainstorming ideas with colleagues

Write down everything you enjoy no matter how trivial you think it is.

Are there any skills you have that you wish you used more?

• Negotiating
• Streamlining processes
• Researching

Is there anything you want to do — whether in or outside of your practice — that you’re not doing currently?

• For me that looks like doing more speaking engagements and appearing on more podcasts.
• It also looks like focusing more on growing my YouTube Channel.

If you do have other interests, what skills would you need to learn to do those things?

It may look like self-promotion, feeling the discomfort of going to networking events, learning how to hire and fire people, learning how to manage people. What are you going to need to learn to make the desires you outlined in the last question happen?

Day Two:

Re-read your notes from Day 1.

Anything else come up for you?

Now ask yourself what you wish was easier?

Don’t hold back. This may feel like it evolves into a complaint-fest. I usually discourage that, but for purposes of this exercise, it’s important to see everything you’re thinking. Write it all out.

Then re-read this entry and pull out just the facts. There’s no emotion in facts.

• hiring people
• Getting people to stand in for court appearances you can’t make
• Handling phone calls from clients and prospective clients

Re-read the facts you just listed. Just by doing this, some of the drama will be peeled away. You’ll see that some things aren’t as bad as your brain was telling you they were. Cross those facts out you now see aren’t problems.

For the problems that remain on your list, brainstorm how to solve them.

Your brain may say it’s impossible. That’s normal. Don’t listen to it. There’s always a solution. You may just not like the solution.

If you see solutions you don’t like, why don’t you like the solution?

It usually comes down to how you’ll feel whether it’s discomfort, fear or some other emotion that doesn’t feel particularly good.

What actions may make it easier for you to implement the solution?

For example, you can block time to create systems, research best hiring and firing practices, outline exactly what I need for the position I’m looking to fill.

Why do you think you haven’t taken this step before?

This will come down to what you believe either about yourself or the world around you.

For example, you may believe there’s no good people out there, so you don’t take any actions to attempt to find one or even do the research to try to find one.

That’s not the real problem. The real problem is how you’re thinking about this. When we believe our brain that it’s “impossible to (fill in the blank)…” we don’t look for solutions.

I’ve talked to numerous attorneys who’ve told me there’s no good people, and they haven’t even thought about services that do the vetting for you or how to hire someone in a way that doesn’t have them putting all their eggs in one basket. Their brains can’t even go there because its so focused on it being impossible.

Assume that your brain will tell you a lie. Then get to work problem-solving to prove it wrong.

Brainstorm possible solutions.

Now that you have a list of solutions, pick one you want to implement.

Do it. Then pick another one.

Day Three:

Days 1 and 2 really were about getting clarity on what you like and don’t like about what’s currently going on in your life and practice. And creating practical solutions that will help you feel better right now.

But what if, even after you’ve done that, you know there’s something else happening? That you don’t feel fulfilled? That you’re not progressing the way you want to in your career? That you aren’t making as much money or impact as you want to with your life?

Day 3 is about getting clarity on your next move.

Answer these questions:

What do you want?

How do you think you would feel if you had that?

What do you think would be different in your life if you felt that way?

What do you think is preventing you from having that right now?

If you believed you could 100% have that life, would you take action on making it happen?

If not, why not?

If yes, why? This is the why to keep coming back to when things get hard.

When we haven’t taken action on a desire, it’s because we don’t truly believe we can have it.

A couple episodes ago I talked about having belief before action, and I’ll link to it in the show notes.

This process will feel uncomfortable. Your brain will want to walk away from the paper. Don’t let it. Take 20 minutes and concentrate.

A few more questions:

Why do you think you haven’t accomplished this goal now?

What will I need to let go of to accomplish this goal?

What’s one piece of this that I can implement now?

Is that short term solution worth the time/money/energy to me? If so, why?

You can go to the show notes and download the transcript to get all of these questions.

If you want help getting clarity on what you want and a plan to make it happen, that’s what I’m here for.

Book a Strategy Session with me, and you’ll get clarity on your next move.

Hope you have a wonderful rest of your week, and I’ll talk to you soon.

Bye.