It’s no surprise to see all of the articles, podcasts, videos and blog posts on attorney mental health these days. We have been told that there is an epidemic of depression, drug and alcohol addiction and other mental health issues plaguing our profession.
And, while it is wonderful to see that the industry is taking steps to help attorneys with these issues, I also believe that it is imperative for the attorney to take proactive steps themselves.
In addition to all of the outside help that attorneys are now (finally) seeking to help them with these issues, and the fact that in some firms they are hiring Directors of Employee Well Being, attorneys must also determine ways to work on their own personal development AND business development.
My blog, which is entitled Enlighted Rainmaking, was first started with the idea that I would focus not only on the business development aspect of Rainmaking skills but also the personal development skills as well.
I stated in my very first post:
An Enlightened Rainmaker is someone who is looking for true success in their lives. However, my definition of success includes more than monetary rewards. Money is a very important piece, but there are other measures of success.
I use the term “enlightened” not in the spiritual sense – because your spirituality is between you and whatever deity you do or do not believe in – but the Merriam-Webster definition of Enlightened:
- Freed from ignorance and misinformation
- Based on full comprehension of the problems involved.
I use the term to mean education, and “a sense of clarity and understanding.”
And in that first post, I described that to be successful you needed to have goals in different areas of your life, not just career and financial success.
Those areas are:
- Physical & Health
- Career & Financial
- Home & Family
- Social & Cultural
- Spiritual & Intellectual
It is important to have goals in each of these sections because if you don’t have one, what’s the point of having goals in the others. For example, even if you have more money than you know what to do with, how enjoyable would it be if you don’t have friends, your family hates you, you have no hobbies and you’re sick all of the time?
While balance is a bit of a misnomer, because all of those areas will never be fully in balance at all times, you should strive to find enjoyment and success in each area. And the best part about it is that you get to define what constitutes success in each area.
You need to become an Enlightened Rainmaker.
I have lost track of many of those areas myself in the past few years (it’s a long story which I will divulge one of these days) but it’s time to get myself back on the path. And I am taking you along with me.
Are you ready to become the Enlightened Rainmaker you have always wanted to become? Who’s with me?
- If you are a mid-level associate who would like to become a partner or a partner looking to become a Rainmaker and are interested in individual coaching but would like to take it for a test drive, schedule your Rock Star Rainmaker Training Trial Session.
- If you are a law firm leader and would like to discuss bringing a training program or a Rainmaking Seminar (with Ethics CLEs) in-house please email me.
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