reaching full potential in your career lawyers assistance program facilitated by robert bircher
TRANSCRIPT
Reaching Full Potential in your Career
Lawyers Assistance Program
Facilitated by Robert Bircher
Power of Purpose
• It’s time to start living the life you’ve imagined!!
• I have observed from teaching our “ What can you do with your law degree” courses that about 60% of lawyers became lawyers almost by accident-i.e. they went to law school simply to avoid having an almost worthless B.A. or didn’t really have a better idea or were unsure of what they wanted so went with it
• For this reason many lawyers, after about 1-5 years after graduation ask themselves- why am I doing this? Or while appearing successful to the outside world are in fact quite unhappy- “this is not the life I wanted” is a common sentiment
Power of Purpose
• I believe this to be as a result of a lack of clarity about their overall purpose in life and their overall purpose in being a lawyer
• If you are working in a situation that is inconsistent with your purpose and/or values there will always be a vague sense of unease or that something is missing in your life-and you are right-what you want is what is missing!!
• Many people are living someone else's purpose (parents, relatives, the culture etc.) Every parent wants to say “my daughter is a lawyer”-which often means “Obviously, I didn’t screw up as a parent too badly!!”
What is Purpose?
• It is “right livelihood” what you are meant to do
• Everyone is born with a purpose-identifying, acknowledging, and honoring this purpose is the most important action anyone can take
• Without conscious awareness of your purpose you can be easily sidetracked and lead an aimless life-there will be a sense of lifelessness in everything you do
• Most of us have been trained since birth to kill our dreams- “Be realistic-Be practical-Focus on what you can make a living at”
On Purpose
• If you are aware of your purpose it is easy to make decisions-it means you are doing what you love to do, doing what you are skilled at and accomplishing what is important to you
• You will be successful- meaning you will be in the process of creating that which is most important to you
• Most people feel if they are not struggling or suffering something is wrong-when in fact the opposite is true!!
Purpose Blockers
• Most people can easily see the value of knowing their purpose but can’t figure out what it is. “I would follow my purpose if I only knew what it was!!”
• Why is it so hard?-it should be obvious-after all how could you not know it? Theoretically it forms the centerpiece of your life
• One common reason has been mentioned-following someone else's purpose-the life your parents wanted for you-the problem is it is your life not theirs
Purpose Blockers
• Another reason is that following your purpose requires courage and it is easier to just follow the herd-also it may not be trendy, popular or lucrative
• Also people who follow their purpose may be seen as mavericks and eccentric
• People may have to make a radical shift like changing jobs, careers or going back to school, moving to another city or country etc.
Value of Purpose
• Sense of fulfillment or accomplishment rather than rather than being on a treadmill
• Usually results in helping others in some way
• Makes decision making easier• When you are old you will have a
sense that you lived a “rich full life” rather than “living with your reasons why not”
• You will have a sense of having lived a valuable life rather than “ all I did was work and accumulate a mountain of junk, then I died”
Types of Purpose
• Purpose can be about life in general or about a part of life such as my purpose as a lawyer
• It will not come as a blinding flash of insight
• It will not likely be that grandiose “ I am here to save the world”
• It can be simple “raising my children to be loving human beings”
• It can be big “to inspire people to live their highest vision in a context of love and joy” Jack Canfield
• It can be general “to help others by teaching spiritual and personal growth” Robert Bircher
Finding your Purpose
• Story time-living your purpose doesn’t have to be complicated
• Visualization exercise-what is in your treasure chest?
• Cognitive written exercise• Presentation exercise• How much of your present life
situation is on purpose?• What changes (if any) do you need to
make?• Remember what success is: being in
the process of creating that which is most important to you-start now!!