It’s time to get what you want

What do you want?

I find myself saying this over and over again (oftentimes to myself - thankfully quietly in those instances).

Last week I was on a cruise.  And I found myself complaining about a LOT of stuff.

Thankfully, other than my son slicing his face open (he's fine now) nothing was serious...it was just annoying things.

Him not being able to go to the kids camp because he's not vaccinated (he CAN'T be due to age). 

But then he's too short for all the activities that vaccination status didn't matter for.

But then he's too young for the other games they made available to make up for kids not being able to go to the camp if they aren't vaxxed (like life-sized chess pieces bigger than he is, or running around the whole ship on a scavenger hunt).

But then he slices his face open on the soccer/pool game they had which didn't require him to be tall enough.

But then the internet kept going out so he couldn't watch his ipad or movies.

So we watched Spies in Disguise, Bernie the Dolphin and most of Bernie the Dolphin 2 a lot (if ANYONE has seen Bernie the Dolphin I need to talk to you about it, it's awful, don't see it, but it also makes no sense to me and I need to make sure I'm not the moron who can't understand a stupid kids movie that makes no sense despite watching it 3 times)

And I had to keep reminding myself how lucky we were to be on a cruise, be together, be mostly healthy, but also...what did I want?

What would have solved each issue.  Bitching and moaning doesn't help.  We need to stay solutions focused.

And that gets me to one of the things we lose sight of as lawyers and business owners is what do we WANT.

To quote Greg Eisenberg - this applies in the MICRO and the MACRO, here's how:

3 Things you HAVE to Know

 1) How much money do I NEED to make? (here we are removing the word WANT intentionally)

2) When do I WANT to be working? (never is an acceptable answer)

3) What work do I WANT to be doing during that time? (sitting on a beach with my toes in the sand is an acceptable answer, so is litigating defamation suits on par of Johnny Depp's)

For me: I need a little under $150,000 a year to support our lifestyle and save enough to retire when I WANT (this might be way high or way low to you, but I am putting it out there so you feel more comfortable being honest with yourself about YOUR answer). 

I want to be working 2, maybe 3 days a week, Monday/Thursday, and sometimes Tuesday.

And I want to be doing: live shows, content creation, prospecting, speaking engagements, networking and meetings with my team (mostly to see how awesome they are doing at the other stuff).

I DON'T want to be: practicing law, driving to court, arguing with OC/OP/Judges, learning the latest GMB algorithm change, reading case law, doing the graphic design, etc.

The ONLY thing I HATE doing that I refuse to delegate is firing people - my team can hire, but if someone is being a problem or needs to go I want to be involved. I hate it, and I am thankful I don't do it THAT often, but that's on me.

Take a few minutes and outline those answers for you - they'll help with everything else:

1) How much money do I NEED to make?

2) When do I WANT to be working?

3) What work do I WANT to be doing during that time?

Where Else to Apply This

The short answer is EVERYWHERE!

When you hire employees - what do you want out of them - what does success in their position look like?

When you market - what do you want out of the campaign - how many cases must it generate to be worth it?

When you lawyer - what do you WANT the otherside to do - what does a ruling in your favor look like

When you are a parent - what do you want your kids to do?  (Listen? Not touch the hot stove? Not slice their face open on a cruise ship and have to go to the medical office?) What do you expect out of them?

With your spouse or significant other - what do you want from them? This one I would say is the most important to have a two way line of communication - what do they want from you? Then do you best to deliver and both of you will be that much happier.

Setting these expectations up (in advance) will make it a LOT easier to decide if something was a success or a learning opportunity.

If you are like I used to be, and go into everything just wanting MORE - more cases, more $$$, more staff...you will be miserable and also not know if you got the right amount of more.

That being said - my expectation is that you'll enjoy this newsletter, incorporate a take away or two, and maybe share it with someone who you like.

Have a wonderful and safe long weekend!

Until Next Friday

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