What’s the Deal With This Post?

If you’re new here, you might be thinking “Seven who now? Of the what?” (Elsewise, just skip ahead to the good stuff, my peeps.) Here’s what’s what: each week, I go hunting down seven posts that I think might inspire solos and solos-to-be to engage in a little out-of-the-box thinking.

With each post, I provide some suggestions about “entry points” for the posts in question — questions to think about, concepts that might be “between the lines,” a “jumping-off point” for each post that will hopefully trigger your own inspired thinking. A little unofficial “study guide,” if you will, for each piece.

This week, I’m experimenting with a new format. Tell me what you think in Comments.

Communicatrix

If I do nothing else in my web-wired life but introduce more people to the glorious Communicatrix (aka Colleen Wainwright), then I’ll count myself a useful blogger.

Seriously, how can you not love someone who writes a sentence like this:

There’s a window of about 20 years where you look like a total tool if you wear ironic tees, and I seem to have been defenestrated in my sleep.

“Defenestrated.” Seriously. Awesomeness.

In the post titled “And now what will you look like?” Colleen gives us all some food for deep thought about aging, both as a destination and a journey.

What are you going to look like in 20 years? Better yet: what will you-in-the-law look like? Or does that person even exist anymore? Has she moved on to something else entirely, like, say, yoga and a 15-years-younger lover?

43 Folders

My love for 43 Folders and Merlin Mann (alas, unrequited as yet) knows no bounds. What Merlin has done this week that I found especially inspiring is this: “Motivate yourself with ‘loss aversion’” — inspired, in turn, by a piece on NPR.

So, the inspiration is triple-loaded here: how Merlin was inspired to write this piece, and how, in turn, that inspired me, and thus maybe inspire you.

Loss aversion is based on the single most effective piece of knowledge I possess about change management (a not-so-secret passion of mine — that is, helping people effect change in their lives; it’s what prompted me to become a coach “for reals” as opposed to simply “being the friend everybody calls for help when they want to make a change in their lives” — why not get paid, right? I digress, badly): the principle of pain vs. pleasure.

See, in order to change anything about yourself or your life, I find, you must first start with these four inquiries:

1. What pain are you avoiding by your present course of conduct (i.e., the state of not-changing)?
2. What pleasure does your not-changing-ness bring you?
3. What pain will you avoid if you embrace change?
4. What new pleasure will changing your conduct bring you?

Not radically revolutionary stuff here, exactly, but a shocking number of people do not do this work in the beginning of any self-improvement project.

So — look at your practice, and your life. Pick one thing you want to change — anything, as long as you can commit to changing it this month. Now, answer those four questions, and then think about this: how can you put loss aversion to work for you to keep you on the treadmill, as it were?

Shards of Consciousness

In “Creation of the Heart,” Richard Cockrum wants to know “what are you imagineering today?” Not just a made-up word appropriated by Disney, “imagineer” in Richard’s life revolves around his kids. It’s engineering with heart.

Read the whole post slowly, deeply. Try to chew each sentence thoroughly before swallowing. Warning: it’s hard with blogs, sometimes. We have a tendency to read them like we gulp coffee, those of us who are addicted to the sweet caffeination. But some posts need to be savored. Maybe this is one of those posts for you.

And my question for this post is quite simple: what would your practice look like if you took the time to ask yourself this question every day? If — instead of simply “practicing law” — you deliberately set out to create something (be it a result, an experience, a pleading, a condition or state of affairs — the list could be endless, even in the context of a law practice), how would your practice differ from what it looks like today?

Life Tips Daily

This is the rarest of birds: a brand-new idea to me. I found myself quite taken with the concept of papering my town with glitter-inundated and beribboned “hope notes.”

No, I’m not suggesting you go do this particular project. What I’m asking is this: how can you spread hope today?

Zen Habits

In “Flip Your Karma,” Zen Habits offers eight suggestions for turning setbacks into progress.

Wow. That sounds so simple — much too simple for a post that has impacted so many people so strongly that, as of this writing, it’s earned itself an impressive 843 Diggs.

What is it about this post that’s speaking to so many people? I would suggest it has something to do with the universality of the experience — we all get trampled by life sometimes.

And, too, I think it has something to do with our inherent nature as “fixers” — we lawyers are especially prone to this. We want to solve the problem, grab some good out of the defeat, create something positive out of a bad situation. We do this all the time, in fact, in the practice of law.

So, is there some situation in your work and/or life that you can reframe or repurpose? Got some karma that needs to be flipped?

The Urban Monk

In this guest post from Amir Ahmad, of Passion Based Learning, The Urban Monk offers us what is termed “three macro steps” to improving learning — using less time and more of our “inner talents” to absorb and retain more of whatever it is we’re learning.

You may have noticed I spend a lot of “ink” writing about learning on this blog. That’s because as solos (as lawyers in general, in fact) we must be able to learn new things, and learn them relatively quickly. We cannot effectively cross-examine the opposing party’s expert witness unless we understand the field of expertise, at least to some degree.

So, whenever I find a post that promises to teach me something new about learning, and being a better student (especially one that doesn’t require more time), I’m all over that.

I have to be honest. I don’t think this post really hits at the heart of learning. To me, it is far more important to enter into the subject with what the Zen masters call “beginner’s mind.”

That being said, though, emotional control and a meditative practice foundation are both helpful in fostering conditions conducive towards the development of beginner’s mind.

Today Is That Day

Sometimes, you just need to get back to basics. This post, “6 Speedy Systems to Stop Self Improvement Stagnation” offers (apart from the impressively alliterative title) just that — six concrete things you can do no matter what your goal is to get past the blockage and start seeing real results.

So again — pick a goal. What is it you want to achieve in your practice? Let’s say it’s “improve my networking skills.” Do each of these things consistently for a week. Make it an imperative; give yourself absolutely no room for failure. Cut yourself off from all other options, and commit.

Describe the situation that exists before you start, and then do the same afterwards. You will have seen some level of change. What was it like for you? Is this a process you can get yourself behind for other goals?

New: Get Your Favorite Posts On This List!

That’s it for this week. But if you want to have a hand in creating the next “7 Days” post, give me a hand! Use this form to suggest a link that you’d like to see featured in our regular feature. I have an impressive RSS feed list but I can’t read ‘em all. Be my scout, and let me know what I’m missing out there.

Pick only posts that are well-written, and let me know what you think the study guide portion of our post ought to mention. Tell me how the post has impacted you and your practice. You’ll get a credit, and a link (if you want one), so let me know your blog or website URL when you submit as well.