The Red Velvet Lawyer

Using the Sunday Summit to Close the Loops In three prior posts, I talked about my goal setting process for 2020.  See here , here , and here . This year, I did something I have not done before.  I reviewed the weekly Sunday Summits I prepared during the year to see if I had listed any projects that remained undone.  Thankfully, the list included about a dozen items, many of which I had captured on my to-do list for the winter break between semesters.  I'll close those loops, as David Allen, author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity , advises people to do.  I strongly recommend the use of the Sunday Summit -- created by entrepreneurial coach Christine Kane .  I wrote about it here as a weekly planning tool.

In Search of Goal Setting Words for 2018 "The process of setting intentions and joyfully reflecting on them is how, over time, we transform extrinsic into intrinsic motivations, and thereby sustain the energy and purpose to live true to our best aspirations."  Thupten Jinpa, Two Exercises for Turning Intention into Motivation . Starting in 2014, I began picking three words to remind me of my goals for the year.  Chris Brogan gave me the idea.   Here are his words for 2018.   To my surprise, I started picking yearly words even before Brogan did.  My coach, Christine Kane, had encouraged us to pick one word . Here is her tool for finding the right word.  In  2014 , I picked:  Robin, launch, and wealth.  Click on the link for an explanation of why I chose those words.  In  2015 , I picked:  Well-being, manifestation, and love.  In 2016, I must have completely forgotten about the goal-setting exercise in the midst of my hectic transition to Qatar. In

Tracking Gains, Setting Weekly Goals, and Holding Yourself Accountable Yesterday, I described my productive use of three snow days and the " satisfaction of completion ."  Today, I want to describe a tool my business coach, Christine Kane , advised me to use in her UpLevel Your Life on-line coaching program. She calls the tool the "Sunday Summit" because she encourages you to use it once a week to plan your intention for the week.  I have used it every week for three years. The 2-page tool consists of eight questions.  The questions on page one help you focus on gains made the last week and create accountability for missed goals.  The questions are: 1.  What have I accomplished this week? 2.  Is there anything I wanted to accomplish but did not? 3.  What a-ha's or awakenings have I had this week? 4.  What challenges am I experiencing? 5.  If I were coaching myself, what would I tell myself about those challenges? The second page shifts

Make a List. Do it Twice. In my last post , I described the first steps in finding clients for your products or services.  Today, I promised to talk about the sources of clients.  Christine Kane, in her business coaching programs , suggests we consider three sources of clients: People you know; People other people know; and People "who gather." People You Know Selling yourself to people you know if by far the easiest place to start.  After all, if you have lived and acted appropriately, these people love you, respect you, and care about your success.  Quite simply: "People buy from people they know, like, and trust," says Christine.   These folks, however, need information about what you offer, how you work, and whom you want to serve before they can refer ideal clients to you, including themselves.  Make a List So, list one hundred people that you know.  Yes, sit down with two blank pieces of paper and put one name on eve

Strategies,  Not Hope! So back to the 3-day conference held by Christine Kane for clients in her UpLevel Your Business, Gold Mastermind, and Platinum Coaching programs --- The last element of the first day of coaching covered "How to Get Clients."  ASL graduates and other lawyers:  Pay Attention! So, what are the mistakes we make? Your only strategy is HOPE. You drank the social media Kool-Aid.   You think on-line marketing means never having to deal with actual people. "Hey, if I'm good, clients will just find me. The one-and-done approach. So, what shifts can you make to improve your ability to attract ideal clients? Think clearly and develop a marketing strategy. Then, implement the marketing strategy authentically and consistently. Build your business or practice by working one-on-one with clients, serve them very well, and then use them as referral sources. Use social media as one vehicle while you set up an easier a

Identifying and Successfully Communicating with Your ideal Client A lot of ink has been used to print books helping business owners identify, communicate with, and successfully serve their ideal clients.   In a post some time ago, I discussed the “long tail” even entrepreneurs can identify and serve.   The U.S. is no longer one big market.  It’s a multitude of micro-markets finding support, service, and products through the web. If you deeply understand the micro-market you want to serve, you can then have a conversation with those ideal clients in a way that attracts them to your services and products.  Christine Kane , my business coach, suggests our ideal clients are looking to resolve or avoid these frequent sources of pain: Lack of harmony. Stress on relationships. Damaged relationships. Stressed communities. As a conflict resolution professional, I find this list compelling.  As human beings we yearn for connection, peace of mind, and healt

Holding the  Promise for my Students During one part of the three day UpLevel Your Business conference presentation in Atlanta, one of Christine Kane’s statements really struck a chord with me.  She said: “You must see your students as more successful than they can see themselves.  You can see where they are meant to go.” As I mentioned in an earlier post , I launched my new business – Mediation with Heart: Web-Based Training for Change Agents the same week as the conference in Atlanta.  It offers the first web-based training for mediators in the U.S. and perhaps in the world.  With respect to all my students, I know where they will be at the end of the 40-hours of training.  They will be empowered, reflective, highly-motivated, and anxious to begin using the skills they have learned to change the world.  Two of the students are Presbyterian ministers who plan to use the skills to intervene in intra-congregational conflict -- primarily in disputes inv

More About "I'M IN" So yesterday, I began describing the specific programming for the 3-day conference of UpLevel Your Business 2014.  Christine Kane has developed this group coaching program that has helped so many people, especially entrepreneurial women who own heart-centered businesses.  I described the components of the incantation: "I'M IN." It contains several components: I'm fully engaged. I'm here. I'm willing to exit my comfort zone. I take imperfect action. I'm worth investing in! This is monthly, weekly, daily, hourly, minute-ly work.   I talked yesterday about the first three components and, today, I'll talk about the remaining ones.  I take imperfect action!     I loved this part of the declaration.  First, I teach the enneagram, and I suspected that many "Ones" in the conference room are paralyzed by doing anything imperfectly. This declaration gave them permission to launch

I'M IN  As I mentioned in earlier blogs this month, I attended -- for the second time -- the UpLevel Your Business (ULYB) Live 2014 conference in Atlanta. Approximately 300 other women and men joined me for this training in mindset and strategy for entrepreneurs in heart-centered businesses. #UYB2014 The First Session of Day 1 The conference opened with what I would call buy-in and some basic mindset training.  Last year, as we walked into the conference, we all got large buttons reading: "I'M IN!"  I still have mine from a year ago.  Over the next three days, we would say "I'M IN" in unison when  Christine Kane invited us to make the declaration, almost (as she reminded us) as an incantation.  This incantation or mantra started the buy-in.  It contains several components: I'm fully engaged. I'm here. I'm willing to exit my comfort zone. I take imperfect action. I'm worth investing in! This is monthly, weekly, da

Clarity, Wealth, and Community:  #UYB2014 In my last post , I described my experience as a student of Christine Kane's coaching programs .  Since that post, I joined her affiliate program, and I will earn a referral fee for anyone signing up for her programs who mentions me as a reference.  I am making that clear, just so you know that I have some mixed motives at this point for creating these particular posts. At the same time, I have not joined any other affiliate program, and I wouldn't become an affiliate unless I thought I was promoting a high-quality program. Ok, so where did I leave off?  I was telling you how I knew I had had some very big changes since the June 2013 Uplevel conference in Atlanta.  Here are some of the signs. Launch In December 2013, I picked three words to remind me of my goals for 2014. One was "launch."  On Monday, before I left for Atlanta, I launched my own online teaching program --  Mediation with Heart: Web-Based Traini

Inspired Coaching for Heart-Centered Business Owners Go, #UYB2014. I just got back from nearly a week in Atlanta, basking in the energy of Christine Kane, her coaching team, and of the truly fabulous women who are using her as a business coach.   Three summers ago, I started in her web-based personal coaching program -- UpLevel You .  On a daily basis, by email and a link to a podcast, I got my lesson and a downloadable pdf worksheet, inventory, or assessment.  This program offered self-directed learning and assessment at its affordable best. Using a Coach Every Decade or So I chose the program because it was time for some personal coaching, and I am too far from any in-person coaching opportunities.  I like to work with a personal coach about every ten years.  I highly recommend the process, and if you are interested in Christine's program, here is a link to the opt in page for more information. UpLevel Your Business Last spring, I started her on-line pro

Content Marketing,  the "Long Tail,"  and  Your Legal "Tribe" Last spring, I helped teach our law students about starting a solo practice.  I taught the session on marketing a law practice.  One thing I tried to do was update the so-called "old-fashioned" legal marketing techniques for a more web-based/technology-based strategy. Christine Kane, Gold Mastermind, and Up Level Your Business If we offer it again this spring, I could provide even more valuable advice for 3Ls because of the path I've been on this past year as a member of the Gold Mastermind training offered by Christine Kane through her Up Level Your Business coaching programs. One thing I said last year, that I would repeat this year is this.  We now have cheap ways to find our "tribe" and then provide members of that tribe with high quality content that does several things: Positions you as an expert in an area of law; Let's you tell your story in a mean

A tunnel, an archway, and the view beyond.   I used these images in a guided meditation with our new 1Ls to help them capture their subconscious dreams for their law school careers and their future as lawyers.   Here's the text I used.  Before launching into it, I took the students through the Getting Vertical M editation  described here .  Again, I want to thank my business coach, Christine Kane, for inspiring this meditation.  Tunnel, Archway, and View Beyond Meditation Inspired by Christine Kane (as remembered by Paula Marie Young) Now imagine yourself at the mouth of a passage-way or tunnel You cannot yet see the end of it But you take a step into it You are entering three stages of your career at law school The first stage represents your first year in law school, where you begin to learn the jargon, and the ways of thinking, and analysis, and begin to develop the professional relationships you will have for the rest of your life Now imagi

As I noted in an earlier posting , we welcomed our incoming 1L students to the school on Friday.  They are really quite wonderful people. I taught two sessions of the Introduction to Law course.  I ended both of the sessions with a guided meditation.  I want to acknowledge that my business coach, Christine Kane, introduced me to this meditation.  I'll post the second one tomorrow. Getting Vertical Meditation By Christine Kane (as modified by Paula Marie Young) Close your eyes Take a deep breath in your own rhythm Take another breath This time see if you can inhale on the count of 4 and slowly exhale on the count of 6, using this Yoga breathing technique to calm the parasympathetic nervous system Continue to breath in this way, and Slowly bring your attention to your tailbone Imagine a cord running from it through the floor to the center of the Earth Imagine it as a gold cord It’s beautiful and radiant And, at the end of it hangs a gold bric