The Red Velvet Lawyer

"Calling it In from  the Universe" As part of my goal setting process at the beginning of this year, I reviewed the materials I assembled during my three entrepreneurial coaching programs offered by Christine Kane .  One of her workbook tools asked me to answer this question: "What will you have created/manifested/attracted in the upcoming year? The tool asked me to list ten things. I must have filled out this "intention and clarity" tool during the February 2015 retreat in Asheville, North Carolina.  At that time, I had applied for the job at Qatar University, but I did not have a job offer. I had visited Dubai in December 2014, and I knew I wanted a job in the Arab Gulf region.   Here is what I put on the list: New circle of close colleagues. New circle of expat friends. Inroads into Qatari culture. Travel in Asia. New fitness level. New home furnishings. New car, New student relationships. New diet. More cultural life.  So let me

Be Like Jerry Seinfeld As I get older, I think I get better at keeping promises to myself, although as a 7 on the enneagram , it is never easy. As a 7, I run from the pain.  I search for more immediate pleasures rather than the pleasures achieved by meeting a long-term goal. Some of the promises I want to keep this year are to: Complete two law review articles for publication. Exercise four times a week with my accountability buddy, Heidi. Blog at least once a week. Complete research on the status of ADR in the Arab Gulf region. Eat and drink more mindfully in a way that supports my health. Save more money now that I am through my transition to Doha. Learn to speak Arabic. I need a few gimmicks (aka strategies) to help me keep those promises. I've collected many of them in a book I like to call my coaching journal.  It keeps the highlights from various self-help books I have read since moving to Doha. Right now, it houses tips from

Reading on the Sly  as a Kid I am not sure my Dad knows this about me.  As a kid, I was always reading on the sly.  When I was in grade school, I saved some of my allowance to buy a small flashlight.  I used it to read books under the covers after my parents forced me to bed. I shared a room with my brother, Greg, so I assume I waited until he fell asleep.  I am sure I read for at least an hour after bedtime. As I got older, I would sneak from my bedroom to the bathroom to read by the nightlight.  This habit might explain my poor vision today. When I heard my parents starting to come up the steps, I'd hurry back to my room.  On some nights, I'd find that my feet had fallen to sleep while sitting on the tile floor under the weak light. Then I'd have to hobble to my unsteady feet and pretend that I was using the toilet.   One time, mom came up the steps too quickly to give me enough time to cover my secret reading habit.  I thought she might use the toile

The Red Velvet Lawyer  Reaches a New Milestone I want to thank everyone for helping this blog reach this milestone. I will continue to provide good content for all my audiences.  Love you!

"Extreme Reading Habits" This morning I read this article on the habits of some well-known people. They read about five hours a week.  Just to learn stuff. This transition to Qatar took a toll on my reading habits. Basically, I have been too tired to read at night.  Also, good books are hard to find here.  We have one book store and it mostly sells office supplies.  In addition, TV is just too easy an option. So, as part of my 2017 reset, I am committing to reading five hours a week.   This week, I finished the November/December issue of Foreign Affairs .  It focuses on the rise of populism, but it also had good articles on the leaders in Egypt and Turkey.  I am also about a third of the way through the fourth book in the Harry Potter series. This weekend, I started reading a book on the culture of Taiwan because I will be travelling there for the Chinese New Year later this month. Soon, I will start a book for my book club called An Unnecessary Woman .

I Love Them to Pieces I am wrapping up my third semester as a Clinical Professor of Law teaching at the Qatar University College of Law in Doha, Qatar. I did not anticipate the challenge of teaching undergraduate law students while also addressing the language and cultural gaps between us. Those challenges have made me a better and more supportive teacher. I am so impressed with the students here and their effort to complete my demanding Legal Research and Writing course. Last week, I shared with them four Facebook posts I had made about them over the second half of the semester. I don't think they  get much praise like this. It really lit them up. During Week 11 of the semester, I wrote: This is the moment in the semester when all the work of the professor and the students begins to pay off in very clear ways. Students become self-sufficient learners. I love it.   My students are showing up at office hours to work on the drafts of their memorandu

Marking Time with A Marble a Week My Mom, Jo Ann Young, died of colon cancer in October 1997.  I was 43 years old.  She was 61. This photo of us together was taken shortly before her diagnosis. Shortly after her death, I filled a round glass vase with glass marbles.  Each marble represented one week of my life if I lived only to the age of 61.  I started with about 220 marbles. Each week, I would throw one of the marbles into my garden. I was making a symbolic promise to myself to live my life at a run and with purpose, in loving memory of my Mom.   When, I celebrated my 60th birthday, I was down to about 10 marbles.  I got my job offer for the Doha gig and threw the last of the marbles into the garden as an act of making way, moving on, and living larger. I was now living longer than my Mom had lived.   I remember Mom sitting at the kitchen table, just months away from her final days. She said she wanted to visit Hong Kong. My head snapped around to look at her.  W