Great Practice. Great Life. by Atticus

What if the relationships you have today are the compass guiding your future success? In a riveting conversation with Jake Thompson, author of "Compete Every Day," Steve uncovers how the right teammates can shape your trajectory, both personally and professionally.

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, Jake shares his unique approach to self-competition, cultivating resilience, and measuring success. His powerful strategies and insights are gripping, especially his advice on creating a daily leaderboard and using competition as a learning tool.

Steve and Jake take a deep look at why it's crucial to surround ourselves with the right people and how they can significantly influence our path to success. The conversation also covers how we often judge our happiness based on others' achievements - a mindset we need to reframe for our growth. They finally wrapped up their conversation with a note of gratitude for Jake. His courage, grit, and resilience, coupled with his distinct approach to life, will leave you inspired and ready for your journey ahead.

If you're looking for ways to navigate life's challenges and build the best possible version of yourself, this is one conversation you won't want to miss. Jake's insights will motivate you and provide practical strategies for personal growth. Join Steve and Jake as they journey through life's ups and downs, turning challenges into stepping stones for success.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Jake Thompson's journey of self-improvement, focusing on competing with oneself rather than others, and the importance of having the right teammates in life
• The need to expand our circles beyond immediate friends and how competition can be a meaningful learning tool
• The importance of resilience, especially in the field of law, and the role of a robust support system during challenging times
• Jake's personal strategies for taking control of your life, such as creating a daily leaderboard and setting measurable goals
• The idea of judging our happiness based on others' success and how altering this perspective can lead to personal growth and self-improvement
• The importance of having the right people in life to support and hold us accountable and strategies for getting through storms and building resilience

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

The Summit: nsslfc.com/

My Great Life Focus: https://atticusadvantage.com/books/my-great-life-focus/

Compete Every Day: www.competeeveryday.com/?sscid=61k7_wpbtu

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely: a.co/d/8O9TGMW

A few of Jake's favorite Compete Every Day podcast episodes:

Episode 640: Leadership & Drinking More Coffee: podcast.competeeveryday.com/episodes/leadership-drinking-more-coffee (PLEASE DISPLAY THIS LINK TITLE, NOT THE WEB ADDRESS: Episode 640: Leadership & Drinking More Coffee)

Episode 633: Be Great Today: podcast.competeeveryday.com/episodes/be-great-today

Episode 613: What Were You Thinking?: podcast.competeeveryday.com/episodes/what-were-you-thinking

Episode 603: So What? Now What?: podcast.competeeveryday.com/episodes/so-what-now-what

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

When hardworking estate and trust attorney Kimberly Lee took a risky 30-day trip to South Africa in January, it was the busiest time of the year for her practice. But this incredible adventure taught her the power of taking time off and the courage to embrace Not Yet Projects.

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, Kimberly opens up about her journey, how she prepared for the trip, and how her parents played a significant role in her experience. She also shares the valuable lessons she learned and why taking time off is so important.

Taking time off can be incredibly challenging when setting up "Not Yet Projects." Kimberly candidly discusses the emotional impact of making herself less important in the context of her business and how her team reacted when she took a block of time off. Steve and Kimberly explore the need for agreed-upon definitions of "emergency" and the importance of taking meaningful trips. They also touch on her great life adventure in South Africa in honor of her father, who unexpectedly passed away in November.

Kimberly's story of overcoming her mother's opposition to taking time off and developing this skill is truly inspiring. You'll hear the powerful story of a leopard in South Africa that learned to hunt on her own, serving as an analogy for the value of looking beyond what has already been done. Steve and Kimberly wrap up the episode by reflecting on poverty and gratitude, acknowledging the privilege we have in the United States and the extraordinary accomplishments we can achieve through hard work and determination.

In this episode, you will hear:

• The importance of taking time off and embracing "Not Yet Projects" for personal growth and mental health
• Preparing your team and business for a planned absence by setting up protocols and addressing potential emergencies
• Gradually increasing the duration of time off to build confidence in the ability to disconnect and delegate responsibilities
• The emotional impact of making yourself less important in the business context and overcoming the fear of taking time off
• Why you should plan for great life adventures and make them meaningful, like Kimberly's South African trip in honor of her father
• Reflecting on poverty and gratitude, acknowledging the privilege we have and the accomplishments we can achieve through hard work and determination

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

Kimberly Lee: Adjunct Practice Advisor & Attorney: atticusadvantage.com/team/kimberly-lee/

Group Coaching Programs: atticusadvantage.com/coaching/

Desert Law Group: desertlawgroup.com

Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy: a.co/d/fQwjOCe

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

Have you ever felt like you're not quite connecting with your clients, team members, or even colleagues in the legal field? In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, Steve continues his conversation with Valerie Peterson, where they discuss the vital role that relationships and relationship skills play in growing your law practice. They dive into the importance of fostering connections with your community, referral sources, and enthusiastic team members to create a fantastic culture within your practice.

Steve and Valerie's conversation takes an introspective turn as they explore the emotional growth of lawyers and how it can impact their financial success. You'll hear two powerful questions to help you better understand your clients' needs and offer additional services or collaboration opportunities with other attorneys. By grasping the real concerns of your clients, you'll be well on your way to providing exceptional care and achieving financial success.

Finally, Steve talks to Valerie about the value of vulnerability in building loyalty with both team members and clients. As the new CEO of Atticus, Valerie shares her leadership lessons and the significance of investing in your team, letting go of the "hero complex," and fostering an incredible culture within your law practice. Don't miss this episode, where you'll gain perspective on becoming a better lawyer and a more empathetic and successful leader.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Team Investing for Law Practice Growth
• The Emotional Growth of Lawyers
• Building Loyalty Through Vulnerability
• Leadership Lessons and Investing in Team

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

10 Things I Learned as a CEO That I Wish I'd Known as a Lawyer with Valerie Peterson: Part 1 atticusadvantage.com/podcast/10-things-i-learned-as-a-ceo-that-i-wish-id-known-as-a-lawyer-with-valerie-peterson-part-1/

Valerie Peterson: Chief Executive Officer of Atticus: atticusadvantage.com/team/valerie-peterson/

Hire Slow, Fire Fast by Mark Powers & Shawn McNalis: atticusadvantage.com/books/hire-slow-fire-fast/

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

What does it take to transition from a solo practitioner to the CEO of a multi-million dollar organization? Join us as we welcome Valerie Peterson, the new CEO at Atticus. She shares her incredible journey from caring for her great aunt with dementia to becoming a leading elder law expert. Get ready to learn from Valerie's experiences and discover how to build a successful practice and an even better life.

In our conversation, we uncover the importance of creating an efficient team for your practice to maximize growth and minimize stress. We discuss why lawyers often become the bottlenecks for growth, the value of hiring high-performing team members, and the necessity of empowering your team to complete tasks. Listen in as we delve into onboarding, training, and building trust within your team – and why allowing your team to make mistakes can lead to growth and success.

Valerie also shares her insights on the significance of transparency and accountability in virtual law practices. We explore the need to create an online office environment where everyone can see their colleagues' work and set clear expectations and responsibilities for each team member. Don't miss our discussion on the power of daily huddles, promoting a culture of accountability, and coaching each other toward the core objectives of your practice.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Lessons From a CEO for Lawyers
• 10 Valuable Lessons for Lawyers
• Team Growth in Law Practice
• Accountability in Law Firms
• Comfortable in Misery

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

10 Things I Learned as a CEO That I Wish I'd Known as a Lawyer with Valerie Peterson: Part 2 atticusadvantage.com/podcast/10-things-i-learned-as-a-ceo-that-i-wish-id-known-as-a-lawyer-with-valerie-peterson-part-2/

Valerie Peterson: Chief Executive Officer of Atticus: atticusadvantage.com/team/valerie-peterson/

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt & Jeff Cox: a.co/d/bABddxq

Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller a.co/d/3Vq5G2u

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

Is your relationship feeling the strain of unmet expectations and poor communication? Don't worry. You're not alone. Join Steve as he chats with Glenn Finch, a communication expert with over 20 years of experience teaching communication skills to couples in the military and around the world. Together, they explore the importance of strong communication skills for building resilient relationships, especially amidst the stress of combat and deployments.

Glenn shares his expertise in navigating unspoken expectations in relationships and reveals the four danger signs of communication that can lead to a crash: invalidation, escalation, withdrawal, and defensiveness. But fear not. He also provides effective techniques to help you and your partner overcome these pitfalls, including insights into the five love languages and how to create a safe and secure bond through attending communication workshops.

In this jam-packed episode, you'll discover how to take a timeout from heated conversations and learn the importance of understanding and recognizing danger signs in communication. Plus, we discuss the value of commitment, being open and honest about our experiences, and understanding your partner's love language.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Great Communication Skills for Couples
• Navigating Unspoken Expectations in Relationships
• Danger Signs in Communication
• Effective Communication Techniques
• Sharing Wisdom for a Great Life

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

Glenn Finch: Shareholder/Senior Practice Advisor: atticusadvantage.com/team/glenn-finch/

Our Great Life™ Workshop: atticusadvantage.com/workshops/our-great-life-couples-workshop/

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

Lawyers like to stick with what they think works in their practices--even if they could be doing much better by making small changes. This includes how they approach marketing. But if it's done right, changing your marketing strategy can completely change how your practice attains--and retains--revenue.

Content marketing is a type of marketing that can lead to referrals and more reliable income streams. When done with consistency and providing rarely given answers, you can become the go-to practice in your field.

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, author and marketing and communications strategist Robert Rose is Steve's guest. Robert is a firm believer in the power of content marketing. His philosophy revolves around the idea that marketing doesn't have to be complicated to be successful. He understands that when something in your strategy isn't working, it's time to pivot--and he has experience doing this himself.

This episode is full of nuggets of genius, including why classic marketing techniques still work when you incorporate them with new marketing ideas, why doing what you love doesn't always create income, and how content marketing can help answer the questions you answer in your business over and over again. Robert is excited to share how marketing can ultimately pay for itself.

In this episode, you will hear:

• The simplicity of marketing and why serendipity makes great marketing
• What Robert's current podcast is about, how it started, and what his old podcast covered
• The importance of classic marketing techniques and why they still work in conjunction with new marketing ideas
• Why doing what you love doesn't always bring in the income you want
• The common challenge businesses face when it comes to marketing
• The definition of content marketing and why delivering value is what makes it successful
• What advertising is versus content marketing that offers value
• One of the biggest business benefits of content marketing
• Why content marketing can help answer the questions you answer over and over again
• Simplicity can create great marketing with the Rarely Given Answer (RGA)
• Three ways attorneys can build their content marketing strategies
• How marketing can ultimately pay for itself
• What Robert wants lawyers to know about content marketing

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

Killing Marketing: How Innovative Businesses Are Turning Marketing Cost Into Profit by Joe Pulizzi & Robert Rose https://a.co/d/9fzHy3w

Experiences: The 7th Era of Marketing by Robert Rose & Carla Johnson https://a.co/d/hr2ff1y

Managing Content Marketing: The Real-World Guide for Creating Passionate Subscribers to Your Brand by Robert Rose & Joe Pulizzi: https://a.co/d/hNJnq2b

This Old Marketing Podcast: https://www.thisoldmarketing.site/

Robert Rose: https://robertrose.net/

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

How would your life change if you could take three months of the year off? Where would you go? Who would you spend time with?

The secret to taking significant time off every year is the team you hire to support you. With the right team in place, what sounds impossible to pull off becomes entirely possible. But the catch is that you have to trust them and give them the freedom to run the business well while you take an extended break to recharge.

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, founder and managing partner Josh Dorcey of Dorcey Law Firm in Florida is Steve's guest. Josh started his practice during the recession of 2007 and has grown it from a solo practice to one with 12 attorneys and 42 staff members. Josh embraces taking time off and entrusting his team to nurture his business while he does it.

Josh's firm doesn't suffer while he's gone. Instead, they give him the space he needs to spend time with his family and rest. In turn, he offers his team the same courtesy. He believes it's all about trust and positive constraints.

In this episode, you will hear:

• The origin story of Josh's practice and why he built his practice around his life
• His strategy for taking time off, why his week isn't the classic workweek, and the importance of calendars for his family
• How Josh supercharges his vacation time to make the most of time off
• What he does to prepare his team when he takes time off, and why it's a team effort
• The advice a former veterinarian gave Josh in law school and how it affected how he runs his business today
• The trust and confidence he's built in his team to take extended periods off and what he does to address any problems that occur during his time off
• How he stays in contact with his team while he's away, the boundaries Josh set around that with them, and the importance of giving team members the same protection of their time
• Some practical steps for disconnecting from work during your time off and setting positive constraints
• The importance of dissecting what worked, what didn't, and what could be done to improve the process when Josh or a member of his team was away
• What he would tell his younger self about starting a law firm and the things he wishes he'd known to do when he first started
• The one thing that caused Josh to manage his team differently

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

Josh Dorcey: Adjunct Practice Advisor and Attorney: atticusadvantage.com/team/josh-dorcey/

Dominate Your Market: atticusadvantage.com/coaching/

Dorcey Law: https://www.dorceylaw.com/

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

Developed just after World War I, the military developed DISC profiles to identify which personality types would return from war shell-shocked versus those who didn't seem to be affected much. They created a series of questions to develop personality profiles, and by the 1960s, corporate America seized on this idea.

Today, DISC profiles are used in all sorts of work environments. In particular, a DISC profile can be a powerful tool for lawyers because they can use it to understand their teams and clients. It creates an opportunity to communicate more effectively in professional and personal relationships simply by understanding how someone's personality affects their overall behavior.

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, Shawn McNalis, an author, thought leader, and influencer at Atticus and in the legal community, joins Steve to talk about how the DISC profile can help lawyers. She explains how the DISC can influence close relationships like marriage partnerships, team leaders, and colleagues.

Understanding your DISC profile, as well as the DISC profiles of others, can transform the relationships you have within your law firm, the courtroom, negotiations, and beyond. Shawn offers some practical ways to implement it within your practice and understand why opposites attract.

In this episode, you will hear:

• The history of DISC profiles, why it's crucial in professional and personal relationships, and how it works
• The four dimensions of DISC and a basic overview of each of the four personality types
• Shawn's advice for working with a high-D personality, earning their respect, and what they fear most
• Why knowing DISC profiles can allow you to negotiate with and talk differently to various personality types
• The high-I's blind spots and how that can impact a firm's growth
• What high-S personalities struggle with
• Why every superhero has a wingman, the importance of understanding your DISC profile and utilizing it, and the reason your blind spots have to be protected
• How a high-D personality affects the culture of their firms as they scale and grow
• The various leadership styles based on DISC profiles
• Why opposites DISC profiles attract in personal relationships and how knowing someone's profile can make it easier to set boundaries and communicate

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

Shawn McNalis: Shareholder / Practice Advisor Trainer / Curriculum Director - atticusadvantage.com/team/shawn-mcnalis/

DISC Assessment - https://atticusadvantage.com/disc-assessment/

Atticus Library & Book Shop - https://atticusadvantage.com/books/

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

Rebooting your law career can feel like an impossible mountain to climb--especially if you've already established yourself in your community. But it's probably time to make a significant change if your practice isn't giving you the joy or freedom you believed it would or should.

If you're an older attorney, making the shift may not make sense. But if you don't want the latter years of your career to look like the beginning years did, it's time to switch things up and stop believing the narrative that it's too late to change how your career and life look.

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, John Murphy, founder and owner of Safe Harbor Wills & Trusts in Syracuse, New York, is Steve's guest. At 51 years old, John started over from scratch after some events in his personal life left him reeling and needing a change. He started a new practice focused on Medicaid, estate planning, and probate services, where he eventually met and hired his team leader, Marie Tricarico.

John's personal tragedies led him to take back his time and freedom, and his story is inspiring to anyone who believes they can't start anew in their 50s.

In this episode, you will hear:

• How a Medicaid class and some family events led John to start his Safe Harbor practice at 51
• Why his practice has only one other person other than his associate attorney who previously worked in law, and what his vision for his practice was
• The two core things that helped him find his niche and reinvent his life
• The importance of goal-setting and time management in Safe Harbor's growth and why John decided not to be a transactional commodity shop
• Two things he implemented at his office to create a dramatic turnaround in his practice and his life
• Why marketing is his next business journey and what he's looking for
• How traveling more has improved both his business and personal lives
• What John would say to himself as he walked out the door of his old practice and what his new goals are
• The empathy and listening skills John has gained from practicing law and what excites him for what the next ten years could bring

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

John Murphy: Adjunct Practice Advisor & Attorney atticusadvantage.com/team/john-murphy/

Team Leader Program atticusadvantage.com/law-firm-team-leader-certification/

Safe Harbor Wills & Trusts

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.

It's easy for attorneys to get stuck in the work grind. They often have difficulty taking time off for themselves, and when they do, they think about work. They live and breathe their practices.

None of us are designed to work seven days a week. Taking time off can increase your productivity and creativity and make you a more interesting person to talk to. Unfortunately, when you're stuck in a cycle of living to work, it can feel impossible to break free and begin investing more time in learning to do things you enjoy outside of the law practice.

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, Steve interviews Kimberly Lee, founder of Desert Law Group in Palm Springs, California. She immigrated with her parents from Taiwan to the United States at 17 and mastered English, graduating from law school as a single mom.

Deriving her work ethic from her parents, Kimberly only took time off from her hectic schedule once she challenged herself to take 30 days off. That's when she discovered what she calls "not yet" projects, which allowed her to find some interesting hobbies outside of work. Having those projects taught her that it's okay not to master everything she takes on and just to enjoy them as a part of her life. Today, Kimberly is still finding new "not yet" projects to take on.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Kimberly Lee's struggle as an immigrant to the U.S., where her work ethic is derived from, and the shock she felt in a new country at 17 years old
• How she learned English from Sesame Street and graduated from law school as a single mom
• Her secret weapon to success and why taking time off was challenging for her
• What happened when Kimberly finally took some time off, and how she learned to embrace downtime
• What a "not yet" project is and the first ones she took on
• The lessons "not yet" projects have taught Kimberly and why she's learned to embrace frustration
• The benefits of intentionally taking time off and what the time off taught her about her law practice
• Kimberly's advice for starting your own "not yet" project journey

Subscribe & Review Never miss an episode. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. ⭐Like what you hear? A quick review helps more people find the show.⭐

If there's a topic you would like us to cover on an upcoming episode, please email us at [email protected].

Supporting Resources:

Kimberly Lee: Adjunct Practice Advisor & Attorney atticusadvantage.com/team/kimberly-lee/

Law Firm Coaching: atticusadvantage.com/coaching/

Desert Law Group

Mindset by Carol S. Dweck

Curious about growing your own practice without burning out? Contact Atticus to see whether our law firm coaching can help you strengthen attorney success, refine your law firm business strategy, and build a practice that actually supports your life. This podcast for lawyers is part of our broader legal podcast library, offering practical insights on how to grow a law firm through stronger law firm leadership, law firm pricing and management, smarter marketing, intentional hiring, efficient operations, healthy law firm culture, and sustainable profitability, all while addressing law firm burnout and the realities of modern practice.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get practical insights on how to grow a law firm: from law firm leadership and management to marketing, hiring, operations, culture, and profitability, so you can build a Great Practice and a Great Life.