The Notebook

If you've read this blog for longer than 5 minutes, you'll know that I'm fairly obsessed with using very simple solutions to achieve, eventually, big results. Some of this is because I dislike all the happy horsesh*t and snake-oil we're sold in this society, and some of it is because I started this business while carrying six-figures of law school debt, so I had no choice. One of these days, I might actually find myself being grateful to Sallie Mae for this experience of forced austerity and the lessons it taught me about the human spirit, and how law school was the wind beneath my wings...one of these days indeed, but not today.

Today, I just want to share another strategy for getting out of your own way...hence, the notebook. When trying to create something important, say a new business, or a professional networking strategy which will help you achieve a job/career you love, or write a book, or WHATEVER, one of the most important things you must realize is that if you're not creating the opportunities you need, you're wasting time.

So, in a small business for example, if I'm not generating the business I need...I'm wasting my own time. I might  be doing something that sounds nice on Facebook, but if it won't, directly or indirectly, lead to generating client interest...it's a waste of time. This is something I have to remind myself and clients all the time. That two hours researching ideas for my new website? The website will lead to bigger branding, sponsoring and client-development...those were two hours well spent. They may not immediately bring in cash, but eventually they will. That 45 minutes spent on a conference-call with people who have no idea what they're doing? Might as well watched some "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," since those prospective clients are never going to get their sh*t together. Does that sound cold-blooded? Alas.

Thus, the notebook. I have, off and on, had various notebooks in which I listed, every day, the 5 constructive steps I took every day to achieve whatever goal I was focused on. (Some of you are realizing, with a shudder, that I'm far, FAR, more compulsive than you thought. Thank you! I do try.) At a certain point, the routine action of doing the steps usually takes over and I can put the notebook aside till I'm starting on something else more challenging. I mean, I have to hope that when I'm 85, fer Chrissake, I won't be in a motorized cart, with a notebook in my bra, and a cat named "Mr. Monkey" in the basket, going through the drive-thru at Taco Bell. Though honestly...hold that thought, since that truly might be paradise on earth...hmm.

I'm just sayin'. If you're trying to change something important in your own life, this is a simple yet effective way to get started. Buy a cheap notebook, and commit to every day doing and writing down the 5 positive steps you took that day to get one day closer to your goals. For many of us, knowing we have to write something down will force us to stop procrasturbating and get something real done. The act of accomplishing something significant releases those wonderful chemicals in the brain and you think, "Well...that was awesome. I could do something else." Rinse and repeat. (And yes, on the first day, you can write down buying the notebook as one action if you really want to be that cheesy.)

Want some more help on committing to your goals and getting out of your way? Of course you do! Email me at carlotazee@gmail.com, and like my Facebook page, "Carlotaworldwide Creativity Yenta," for a free consultation.

xo
C.

On Selling

Recently, I’ve been working with a lot of new clients (Thank god right, since the cats, like Congress, refuse to work... though they do enjoy eating every five minutes.) in the form of unemployed law school graduates, who now that the bar is over, are starting to realize that Sallie Mae takes no sh*t, so they either need to get a job, or burn off their fingerprints, change their identity and make a new life, somewhere off the grid, say in the Philippines. I’m sure at least one determined graduate is now Googling “how do I burn off my fingerprints?,” but for everyone else, I’d like to remind you that getting is a job is as much about selling yourself, as anything else.

Some of you shocked, shocked and outrage, because you don’t sell, Carlota: You’re an attorney! (Inspiring music here.) No. Right now you’re unemployed…once you sell yourself to a firm somewhere, then my friend, then you shall be an attorney. So: we’re all always selling, in both good and bad ways. On a date, for example, you’re selling yourself to your companion as a great prospect for future extracurricular activities. To get that date, you had to sell, you know what I’m saying?

To get an interview, you must sell yourself to HR, or ideally your networked contacts, as someone who will bring immediate value in the form of concrete skills, relevant to the business at hand, as well as experience and contacts. You’re selling both what you’ve done, and the confidence of what you will do. If you can’t sell..hmm, go into politics and make obscene amounts of money, wasting time as the world continues to collapse? (Tempting, right?)

In order to sell, you need a story: why are you interested in the law? What compelled you to attend law school in the first place?  What are you passionate about? What makes you come alive?  A good story will tell something important about your past, as well as indicate some aspects of your future. It will demonstrate, favorably, your character, your personality, your skills, and of course, your drive. It will give the listener a window into who you are, and crucially, why he or she should want to invest the time and money necessary to bring you into the firm. So…what’s your story?

 The world, as is it's wont, is changing. Changing in some very drastic ways, and by this I mean: getting a higher degree or a professional license is no longer a guarantee of job stability or a license to print money. (Skeptical? http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/business/law-school-economics-job-market-weakens-tuition-rises.html?_r=1&ref=lawschools AND http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/education/edlife/edl-24masters-t.html?ref=education those are just two for example; I could find hundreds more.)
That's not to say there isn't real value in education for education's sake: I don't use my juris doctorate "traditionally," but I can say it has given me a new perspective on many important things. Now, was that perspective worth the six figure debt? That's a good question. Usually, I try not to think about my debt; it's like magic numbers which exist in space... because honestly if I brooded about my graduate debt, I'd either fake my own death, and the cats and I would relocate to some red state and start an organic farm/doomsday cult, while using the barter system (tempting!), or I'd have to start drug dealing, and I suspect it's harder than it looks: http://www.theonion.com/articles/undercover-cop-never-knew-selling-drugs-was-such-h,140/
So was the knowledge I gained about myself, and the "skills" I learned in law school worth the debt? By "skills," I'm guessing drinking? Arguing? (Impressing impressionable yet hot young men with my law degree...ding ding ding!) Sure; four years on from graduation, I can say, without a doubt: yes, it was all worth it. But I can say "yes," because I'm using my knowledge and degree in furthering my small business, and helping my clients...if I was simply a contract attorney, engaged in mindless, depressing, rote work...I might have a different answer, because--and here's where it gets ugly--my crushing debt load would seriously curtail my professional options. That six figure debt has to be paid back one way or another, and while law schools will tell you their happy horseshit version of "but there's so many things you can do with a law degree!"...don't believe the hype, son. Example: If you apply for non-legal jobs, employers are, understandably suspicious: why aren't you using your degree? Try and tell them that the legal job market bottomed out, and they presume that you're just an unmotivated slacker, who will bail the moment White & Case comes calling. (Sigh.) Law firms, meanwhile, are swamped with offers and if you don't already have a job before you graduate, then you have the professional version of cooties.
So, in light of all that, in light of the stampede of people rushing back to grad schools, hoping that more letters after their name will save them, I will simply say: do. Your. Research!! Understand what you are getting involved in. Understand how the debt load will affect your life every damn day. Defaulting on your student loans is not an option. Bankruptcy will not erase them. Your debt is your debt. Crunch the numbers and figure out in advance what your monthly payments will be. And consider...what happens if you don't get that magical job? 'Cause you still gotta pay The Man!
To that end, take some time and attend, for example,  an open-house given by the various graduate programs you are considering. Listen to their little lecture about how their graduates are winning Nobel Prizes all over the place, and getting laid like it's going out of style and then ask them a few questions of your own.
Ask them what their rate of graduate employment is. Then, understand that grad school is a business, and see if they will give you contact info for some real-live recent graduates so you can get another version. (Ask said graduates: was the degree worth it? Are you working in the field you wished? Did the school help you get this job? If they are working in the field they studied for, do they think the degree gave them relevant skills?)
Ask the admissions people what is the percentage of graduates who are repaying their student loans. (If it's low, think about that for a minute...) How many of their graduates are working in the field they studied? How aggressively will the program's career services office help you network and find a job? (If they say they'll help you with a resume, please drain your drink and leave cackling, since that's a six-figure resume service.)
Before some of my readers get cranky and tell me I'm stomping on their dreams...relax. You want to go to grad school, mazel tov: go and enjoy. If it's truly your dream and your passion, the truth won't kill it... right? The truth will just give you more options and you're welcome! But if you're thinking that simply having a law degree (or any other degree, for that matter) means you make the Red Sea part...here's a life-vest, kid.