As Goethe said, “Things which matter most should never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” Do you know what matters most to you? The process of figuring out and writing down what really matters most to you must take place before you can determine what you want from your law practice. This process has been referred to for some time as creating your Mission Statement. While a personal Mission Statement is crucial to your personal and professional success, many people are put off by the idea. Maybe it’s because Mission Statements have become trite or been trivialized over the years. Or maybe you think the whole process is just too “touchy-feely.” If your reaction to creating your personal Mission Statement is akin to having a root canal, then don’t think of it as a Mission Statement.
In his book, The E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber speaks in terms of a Primary Aim. “What do I value most? What kind of life do I want? What to I want my life to look like? Who do I wish to be?” If you don’t know – or have never thought about – the answers to those questions, how can you design a law practice that will serve your life? The answer is simple. You can’t.
So take some time to discover your Mission, your Primary Aim, or whatever you’d like to call it. You owe it to yourself. Then you can create a law practice that serves your life, rather than living a life that serves your practice.
If you need some help getting started, check out this nifty On-line Mission Statement Builder from Franklin Covey.