Professional Rules to Live by During Your Career
I have spent nearly a decade working in a large law firm, making mistakes and learning from them, growing as a lawyer and a person, and honing my reading, writing and communication skills. When I started, my firm offered essentially no guidance or mentorship and I stumbled a lot along the way, older lawyers I worked with were often unhelpful and destructive, and only a select few were willing to help me grow.
As my career moved forward a major goal of mine was to educate and mentor younger lawyers that came into the firm. I wanted them to flourish, not have to struggle for no reason like I did, be treated better than I was, and most importantly, be better lawyers than I am. In my opinion, a teacher or mentor can have no greater pleasure than seeing one’s students surpass them, knowing that your tutelage was essential to that growth and progress.
Over my career and much deliberation, I boiled down all that I had learned and experienced into five principles to remember for your entire career. I give this to new lawyers after their first week was completed. I encouraged them to not just read it but digest it and use it as a guidepost as their career moves forward in the hopes that my many years of experience can help them in what is a very stressful profession.
I offer this to you now, in whatever profession you are in, or even if you are still a student, and encourage you to take them as principles to live by during your career:
Always ask questions. There is always more to know and always things we do not understand. Always seek to learn more and never think you are “bothering” someone by asking them to explain something or get more information. A good lawyer or professional is always seeking to expand their knowledge. If you think you are the smartest person in the room, you are either wrong, or in the wrong room.
“I do not know” is an extremely valid answer and is very often the best answer, use it and do not be afraid to do so. Stating things we are unsure of is always more dangerous than admitting we do not know but we can find out:
A client or another professional cannot possibly expect you to know everything off the top of your head all at once, and if they do, they’re terribly misunderstanding of your field.
Richard Feynman once said that the best experts in the world are those who are willing to admit they don’t know the answer. Embrace that.
Always re-read your work and never be afraid to set it aside and come back to it. The work we do is complicated and extremely detail oriented, no one will, or expect that you will, get it perfect the first time:
Set things aside after you write them and come back to them hours or even a day later with fresh eyes, you will find mistakes you otherwise would not.
Remember, with good time management, there is time to set things aside. It is hard to tone down the voice saying “you must get out work product right away” but it is important to do so.
Change that internal voice to say “I need to get out high quality work product when it is ready”
Always ask for feedback and a clear timeline. This goes hand in hand with the above, have the person give you a clear timeline they need things by, then you know exactly what to prioritize and when:
This will help you effectively manage your time, so you aren’t feeling under the gun.
It also shows the other attorney you care. You want your work to get better and you want to make sure the work gets out on time.
If they can’t give you a timeline it must not be very important
“The client is the enemy.” Our clients are great at what they do, they are not great at we do, it is why we exist:
Clients will often omit items either on purpose or because they have no idea it’s important
They will also alter items to make it sound better and try to drive you into a conclusion they want to hear not a conclusion that is correct. Oftentimes a question driven by sympathy is the most dangerous and sometimes we have to be the bad guy and give the answer that is correct regardless of emotion, not the one that feels good.
This may sound pessimistic, but it will serve you well
I hope this helps you wherever you are in your career. If you want to talk, no matter where you are in your professional journey. Please reach out for a consultation.
What’s in the… meal prep bag?
Everywhere I go, I bring along my meal prep bag. It is a staple of my travels far and near, and while such an accessory is becoming more common, it is often unclear to certain athletes what to bring along in such an all important carrier (apart from food of course). For me, the following items never leave my meal bag so I am ready for various situations as they arise and never hindered by those lovely excuses that are so easy to make:
Extra napkins and disposable silverware (eating rice with your hands is somewhat cumbersome)
Salt, pepper, and hot sauce (a little flavor in case another desired topping is forgotten)
Aspirin, and Advil (in case aches and pains crop up or you need to save someone from a random heart attack)
Gas-X and Tums (eat a lot of food, bound to need these at some point)
Gatorade pack (easy to mix in carbs as needed)
Modafanil (because…Modafanil)
Extra 20oz bottle of water (no reason not to be hydrated)
A hand-written note from my wife (because I love my wife)
I throw my meals in and off I go, never a worry that I don’t have what I need for many situations. I suggest you look at your own bag and think about what you can carry to fit your everyday life and be ready for the most mundane, or even unexpected circumstances.
For more information on lifestyle changes and preperation ideas, reach out for a conversation, or join TeamEVILGSP at its member’s site, members.teamevilgsp.com where these ideas and many others are fleshed out in great detail.
What’s in the…gym bag?
It all begins with an idea.
The gym bag is an oh-so-important accessory for all your gym travels. For many people in this day and age, I am sure it contains many tripods and the latest in ass-intruding dildo technology. However, for myself, it has things I actually need for the gym. My gym bag of choice is an old Inzer gym bag, it has no frills or excitement. I have had it since 2009, and I have no plans of ever getting rid of it, it means more to me than just a bag. This is what I take with me:
Bio-freeze (because I am beat up and sore)
Basic first-aid: bandaids, Neosporin, alcohol (this should be self-explanatory)
Bandanas (because I am fat, and this is my sweat-catching device of choice)
Extra shirt for post-workout (because I am fat and sweaty; see above)
Chalk, both dry block and liquid (I don’t care if the gym doesn’t allow it, it’s coming with me everywhere, fuck you)
Wrist wraps and straps (easy to carry everywhere and you never know when you will need them, and don’t give me that “but my grip is strong enough” bullshit. I prefer TUFF Villain wraps and Versagrips Extreme)
Knee and elbow sleeves (a little extra help never goes awry; Tuff power sleeves do the job for me here)
Intra-workout beverage (for me this is a 64-0Z mixture of water, EAA, maltodextrin, and Gatorade)
Ammonia (because let’s get fucking crazy)
One medium-sized band(for basic warmups and interpretative dance purposes)
Extra collars clearly marked that they do not belong to the gym (most gym collars suck or are hard to find pairs, I always bring my high-quality collars, no excuses)
One pair of handles with D-Ring attached (in case the gym doesn’t have decent ones or if I want to use them elsewhere, such as an extension on a fly machine, they work wonders)
Squat shoes (for squatting…or for simply looking taller than you generally appear)
2 Rice Krispy treats (if going hypo after a workout, the treats shall set you free)
On occasion, I also carry decimal plates (i.e., a, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, etc., for when you love counting)
It sounds like a lot, but it fits nicely if you are well-organized. I want to be as well prepared as possible, so I am not making excuses at the gym if the gym doesn’t have it, you can. Especially if you are traveling and not at your typical gym, don’t leave it to chance; just have it. Until next time.