The Marshmallow Experiment

Hey << Test First Name >>,

I promise you we did not intentionally the newsletter on Delayed Gratification. Nor did I get abducted by aliens. I will explain you next week why we got delayed with this newsletter, but without further ado, here's the Delayed Gratification newsletter.

The scene: my dining room in the mid-afternoon

The players: me and the 5-year-old, intently staring at each other waiting for one us to proverbially blink

The situation: a single marshmallow sitting on the table, glistening slightly in the 1,000,000,000-degree Florida sun coming in through the windows

You see...I am a weirdo...so I thought it would be fun to put my kid through a famous experiment from the 60s (spoiler alert, it was NOT fun...)

For the uninitiated, researchers offered kids a marshmallow right now or two if they could wait for 15 minutes. Sweet deal, right?

Why Does this Matter?

According to the original Stanford study, kids who waited for the second marshmallow ended up with higher SAT scores, healthier lifestyles, and better responses to stress.

And hey, if that's not enough... Think about Batman and Robin. Peanut Butter and Jelly. Peanut Butter and Chocolate. Peanut Butter and... other delicious stuff. Or you and your clients.

 A study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships states that people who are better at delayed gratification have more stable relationships.

 You wouldn't want to fly the Millennium Falcon "solo" you'd want Chewbacca too, wouldn't you?

Other studies have found delayed gratification to lead to better resilience (A 2011 study published in the Journal of Personality), better focus and attention span (A study from the University of Rochester in 2012) and even a lower BMI and being healthier (Research from the University of Warwick in 2016).

So yes...turning down the marshmallow now could make you into Captain America later!

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Applying This to Your Firm

Here are a few ways you can apply delayed gratification to your firm to make it more successful

Investing in Legal Tech:

Just like Tony Stark didn't build his Iron Man suit in a day, implementing new legal tech tools doesn't yield immediate results. But the Iron Man didn't become a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist overnight, right? You have to invest time and resources into understanding how to best utilize the technology. Wait for it...and voila, you'll have your very own Jarvis.

Or just AI Lexis Nexus...but still!

Building a Reputation:

It takes time to build a law firm's reputation. You can’t rush trust—it’s earned case by case, client by client. But it can be lost in an instant. Delay your gratification now and put the client and others first to build that long-term success.

Training New Hires: 

Remember when young Anakin Skywalker first started Jedi training? He didn’t go from pod-racing, droid building maverick to slicing Obi-Wan in half overnight. They had to train him first!

Similarly, new hires in your firm won't become proficient instantly. But with patience and investment, they'll grow to handle situations and treat clients even better than you can! (and hopefully not murdering the younglings either)

And many more!!!

But What If I'm Veruca Salt?

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Start Small:

Try waiting 15 extra minutes before taking that lunch break or an additional day before purchasing that newest gadget.

Set Goals:

Set goals that are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, related, and time bound. So not, I want MORE cases. But instead, plan to increase your leads by 20% over the next 6 months by changing X about your firm. And then track that goal the whole way through instead of just expecting it to happen tomorrow.

Reward Yourself: 

Reward yourself when you achieve your set goals. Hey, even Tony Stark and the Avengers needed a Shawarma break now and then.

Practice Mindfulness: 

Zen and the art of law firm maintenance! Being present in the moment can help resist those immediate gratification gremlins. It's like when Obi-Wan told Luke to stupidly shut off his targeting computer and close his eyes and feel the Force...but it WORKED!

Stay Persistent:

There will be days you'd want to throw in the towel, on those days try to remember the good times. Try to focus on 1 specific client that you made a world of difference for. Try to push through at first and build that resilience muscle now. (clarification, if you REALLY have an issue with your business, or if you've felt this way for a LOOOOONG time, I have different advice, this is for those short bursts of hatred of the job)

In the wise words of Master Yoda, "Do. Or do not. There is no try." So, let's do this delayed gratification thing!

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If I were smarter, I would have told you to get a marshmallow and made this newsletter 15 minutes long, but I'm sorry (or you're welcome) I did not.

Next week, I'll explain why we miss this newsletters until then have a great weekend.

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