I used to think each day was different. Each day felt like the first time climbing Mount Everest. I truly believed each day was different. In fact, I thought the variety was the reason I enjoyed my work. I used to tell people that it was never boring. Life felt like a grand adventure. Then a lightbulb turned on over my head - my work repeated over and over. Sometimes it happened in the same day, sometimes the repetitions were separated by weeks, or months. Sometimes it took a year for the repeat. But, it nearly all repeats with minor variations of the theme.

Marketing a law firm is challenging. We have to find the right people and say the right thing. Most law firms lack subtlety in this two-step marketing approach. They find clients with the problem they solve, and then yell the firm name as loudly as possible, over and over. Surprisingly, this doesn't work so well.

Most lawyers are lawyers first and business owners second. We’re in it because it’s who we are. It’s what we do; we’re here because we belong here.

Sometimes I wonder if we're like caged animals who fail to notice that the cage door has been left open.

Do we really remember that we can change our circumstances?

This life is something you created, so you also possess the power to change it. It’s all up to you. We rarely take the time to realize we’re free to choose. We've lived in this cage for a long time. Even when the door gets left open, it’s hard to think about leaving. We’re supposed to stay inside, right?

Sometimes it’s better to move on, find something new to do with your time, and let the old life go.

There are many reasons to make a change. Do any of these reasons apply to you?

Is it time to sell?

1. Something else has your attention

You find yourself waking up thinking about the new idea every morning. You can’t stop reading about it, talking about it, thinking about it.

You’re either suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder or you’ve found your passion.

We’re wrapped up in our identities as lawyers. But it’s pointless to stick with the thing you’ve been doing when your energy is driving toward a different thing.

Careers used to last a lifetime. Not anymore. Even lawyers switch careers now.

Some lawyers try to do both things--the law practice and the new idea--at the same time. That’s fine when you’re experimenting and gearing up. But at some point you’ve got to make the leap--that’s the only way to give the new idea the attention it deserves.

Passion, energy, excitement, and a sense of purpose won’t necessarily make an idea work, but they’re certainly powerful in their impact. You deserve a life you’re excited to get back to each morning.

2. You don’t have the skills

Some law firms boom. They’re the right idea, at the right time, in the right market. But these booming law firms can be a mess if clients line up with money in hand and the law firm is incapable of delivering on their promises.

You might not be the right leader for the law firm once the boom hits. You might be great at $1 million. You might be pretty good at $3 million. At those levels it’s all about sales.

But what happens when the law firm hits $5 million in annual revenues? At that level, your leadership needs to be much improved or things will turn into a mess.

That's when the game changes, and it’s suddenly about management, technology, vision, and a steady hand. Your vision ran out at $3 million, though. Now you can’t get and keep the “A” players. You’re struggling with the technology, and then the growth levels off. Steady hand? Not so much.

Sure, bring in professional management. Let them handle it. Great idea, except you’re still there causing trouble. It’s not as easy as it seems.

Can you train yourself? Maybe, but it’ll require the same level of commitment it took to get through law school. Are you up for that while still working at the office?

Or you could sell it. You built it into a valuable asset. Is now the time to take your money and go play? Oh, and as a bonus, selling out at a high point is the best time to garner a high price. Good for you.

3. Personal/health issues

Health and personal issues are unpredictable--we’re human. No matter how hard we try, sometimes things happen.

We get sick, or a close family member gets sick. Illness can be debilitating, it can last for years, and it causes fallout in many aspects of our lives.

We’ve got a few hundred premium members inside Rosen Institute. It never occurred to me that we’d be dealing with devastating health issues and death on a regular basis. But it’s inevitable with this many members. It's sad, it's tough, but it's happening with regularity.

Realistically, our law practices become o…

Your key employee is jumping off. She knows the what and the why and she decided it was time to leap in a different direction. In doing so, she's made you question the rightness of your path. Sometimes it really is best if the employee leaves. It’s tempting to react to the announced departure by trying to convince the employee to stay. But, realistically, they are all leaving. Everyone is a volunteer. There’s value in a realistic understanding of the tenure of members of the team. They truly are all leaving, eventually, but striving to make a place that keeps them forever is the way to build the business so that’s it’s stronger, so that it’s lasting, so that it sustains you and everyone with you for a very long, long time.

“We can’t do what the big firms do” is a common refrain among lawyers in smaller firms. “We don’t have the resources” they continue.

I’ve been wearing Nike Air Max shoes for the past year.

I bought my first pair in Croatia. I paid some insane amount for them in a random store in a rundown mall. Buying brand-name athletic shoes outside of a limited number of countries can be ridiculously expensive. But I pay it in order to get something familiar. I travel light, so I only have room for one pair of shoes and they need to get the job done.

The Air Max shoes were fantastic. I often have to replace my shoes every three months, because they get worn down and my feet begin to hurt. The Air Max shoes lasted nearly nine months. I was impressed.

That’s why, during my US visit in May, I bought another pair.

When things go wrong ...

I’ve been wearing them for about two months and they squeak. I tried everything to get the squeak to stop. I switched out the insoles--they still squeak. I thought maybe wearing them in would stop the squeak. Nope, nothing worked. They’re just squeaky.

Sadly, this particular pair of Nike shoes is defective. There’s something wrong and they squeak with every step. You know that sound your sneakers make if you walk on a marble floor on a rainy day? In a quiet room? That sound.

I went to a Nike store in Moscow. I asked if there was anything they could do, but there wasn’t. I couldn’t tolerate the squeak any longer, so I bought a new pair of the very same shoes right there in the store. Squeak problem solved.

That’s when I decided to call Nike. In fact, I called twice because I was so disappointed in the outcome of the first call.

I explained the situation to the first Nike representative. He told me I’d have to return the squeaky pair to the dealer.

I explained that returning the shoes, from Russia, would cost nearly as much as I had paid for the shoes. I went on to explain that I travel full-time and don’t have room to carry them around until I return to the US in May of next year.

I told him that I understood that my situation was unusual, that I was asking for an exception, and asked if there was ANYTHING they could do.

He offered me a twenty-percent-off coupon for Nike.com and we parted ways.

I called back ten minutes later. I got a different representative and told my sad story again.

I pushed a little. I acknowledged the unusual nature of my scenario. I understood, and expressed to the representative that I was asking for special consideration. I emphasized that I had bought one pair, then another, and then, only the day before, a third pair.

“Is there anything you can do? A coupon won’t really help me. Can we escalate to a manager? Can't you make an exception? I’m a loyal customer with an unusual situation--is there anything at all that can be done?” I even mentioned that I was at that very moment wearing a Nike shirt.

Big firms make them worse

The Nike representatives followed their systematic approach. They each told me how sorry they were for my problem.

They listened to me go on and on about the squeak. I offered to send a recording of the noise I’d made with my phone.

But in the end, the best they could do was a twenty-percent-off coupon for their online store.

Step-by-step, methodically, they disappointed me, crushed my spirit, broke me down, and left me wondering why they cared so little about keeping me as a customer.

I’d jumped through hoops in foreign countries to get their shoes. Are they unwilling to jump through hoops for me?

Because they don’t care--systematically

The Nike people stuck to the system. They adhered to the script.

“We’re really sorry ...” they said repeatedly when I called.

I appreciated the apology, but it was clear that it was part of the system. Each apology came with that offer…

It’s no secret that a clear vision for the future of your business gets you more clients, more revenue, more income, more free time, more satisfaction, and a happier life. If you don't know where you want to go, achievement is impossible.

In one way or another, the need for a vision comes up in every business book, every discussion with a management consultant, and in every analysis of every successful business or professional practice.

And yet, a lot of lawyers I know haven't bothered to formulate a clear vision.

Being different is hard. It’s challenging to come up with ideas. It’s difficult to do the extra work on top of the legal work. It’s emotionally stressful to stand out from the pack. Is it worth it to you?

When clients look for lawyers, what they often see is an ocean of homogeneity. In the eyes of the public, lawyers all look the same, one suit after another.

When everything looks the same it’s hard to differentiate based on any kind of objective criteria. That’s why the airlines and hotel chains have loyalty programs. The big airlines all look the same. So do the big hotels. Plop me down in a chain hotel room and I’d have no idea if I was in a Hilton, a Marriott, or a Hyatt.

Law firms all look the same too. The websites look the same. The law offices look the same. Even the lawyers themselves look the same.

Those who stand out get noticed.

Why?

Because they stand out from the others.

Being different is scaryLawyers all market their practices in much the same way. Many of them get mediocre results. Why? Because they’re all doing it the same way.

How about doing it another way?

Difference can be difficult if you want to fit in with the group. Most of us value the acceptance of our peers.

Sure, if you do your marketing differently you’ll stand out in the marketplace. But you’ll also stand out to the other lawyers. You'll risk peer rejection.

If your self-concept is rooted in gaining the respect of your peers, then conforming to the social norms of the peer group is important to you. Standing out makes you an outsider.

See the conflict? Standing out in the marketplace gets you more attention from prospective clients. But standing out among the lawyers gets you left out. Being different amounts to questioning the wisdom of the group. Even if no one says it out loud, you know that doing something different from the group, standing out, carries the risk of being left out of the group.

How do I differentiate myself?Only you can decide if business success is worth the price you’ll pay in social success. If you push yourself too far from the pack you’ll be pushed out of the pack. Your call.

If you decide to stand out in the marketplace you’ll find lots of space to be different. There’s plenty of oxygen when you step away from the pack. The legal marketplace is so filled with conformity that your options for being different are abundant.

If you do anything different from the typical lawyer marketing, your marketing will jump out. Marketing in a way that’s different, that sets you apart from the crowd, is likely to get you better results.

Let's talk through some options, starting with the low-hanging and easy fruit. Then we'll move up to some more challenging options.

Do them all or just do one. Most of these options will set you apart; they’ll make you different enough that people will start talking about you, and that’s most of the battle. More talk about you nearly always results in more business.

Specific action steps you can takeHere’s a primer on standing out. Of course, you don’t need my input. You can find ways to stand out by looking around. See what they’re doing, and do the opposite. They go right and you go left. They go up and you go down. It’s simple.

Here are some ideas:

1. Tell your storyBeing human is attractive to other humans. Why then are lawyers so unlike other humans? Why do we pretend to be professional, dispassionate, and objective?

I can’t begin to explain the typical lawyer personality.

But I can tell you that being open, real, vulnerable, flawed, passionate, afraid--human--gets you business, because it builds connection.

When you look at legal marketing you realize that being real works becaus...

Being different is hard. It’s challenging to come up with ideas. It’s difficult to do the extra work on top of the legal work. It’s emotionally stressful to stand out from the pack. Is it worth it to you?

When clients look for lawyers, what they often see is an ocean of homogeneity. In the eyes of the public, lawyers all look the same, one suit after another.

When everything looks the same it’s hard to differentiate based on any kind of objective criteria. That’s why the airlines and hotel chains have loyalty programs. The big airlines all look the same. So do the big hotels. Plop me down in a chain hotel room and I’d have no idea if I was in a Hilton, a Marriott, or a Hyatt.

Law firms all look the same too. The websites look the same. The law offices look the same. Even the lawyers themselves look the same.

Those who stand out get noticed.

Why?

Because they stand out from the others.

Being different is scary

Lawyers all market their practices in much the same way. Many of them get mediocre results. Why? Because they’re all doing it the same way.

How about doing it another way?

Difference can be difficult if you want to fit in with the group. Most of us value the acceptance of our peers.

Sure, if you do your marketing differently you’ll stand out in the marketplace. But you’ll also stand out to the other lawyers. You'll risk peer rejection.

If your self-concept is rooted in gaining the respect of your peers, then conforming to the social norms of the peer group is important to you. Standing out makes you an outsider.

See the conflict? Standing out in the marketplace gets you more attention from prospective clients. But standing out among the lawyers gets you left out. Being different amounts to questioning the wisdom of the group. Even if no one says it out loud, you know that doing something different from the group, standing out, carries the risk of being left out of the group.

How do I differentiate myself?

Only you can decide if business success is worth the price you’ll pay in social success. If you push yourself too far from the pack you’ll be pushed out of the pack. Your call.

If you decide to stand out in the marketplace you’ll find lots of space to be different. There’s plenty of oxygen when you step away from the pack. The legal marketplace is so filled with conformity that your options for being different are abundant.

If you do anything different from the typical lawyer marketing, your marketing will jump out. Marketing in a way that’s different, that sets you apart from the crowd, is likely to get you better results.

Let's talk through some options, starting with the low-hanging and easy fruit. Then we'll move up to some more challenging options.

Do them all or just do one. Most of these options will set you apart; they’ll make you different enough that people will start talking about you, and that’s most of the battle. More talk about you nearly always results in more business.

Specific action steps you can take

Here’s a primer on standing out. Of course, you don’t need my input. You can find ways to stand out by looking around. See what they’re doing, and do the opposite. They go right and you go left. They go up and you go down. It’s simple.

Here are some ideas:

1. Tell your story

Being human is attractive to other humans. Why then are lawyers so unlike other humans? Why do we pretend to be professional, dispassionate, and objective?

I can’t begin to explain the typical lawyer personality.

But I can tell you that being open, real, vulnerable, flawed, passionate, afraid--human--gets you business, because it builds connection.

When you look at legal marketing you realize that being real works because there are so few real people practicing law.

Real people trust real people. Fake people are like the generic picture …

It’s pretty easy to identify the work that ought to be outsourced. But some work is different. Some work defines you. It’s the thing people talk about; it’s the the reason they come to you instead of your competitor. Sure, you can hand it off, but you run the risk of sub-optimal results. You run the risk of losing the thing that keeps people referring to you, coming back to you, or saying nice things about you: your secret sauce.

Traumatic events stick in your mind. I guess that’s why my first year of law school feels like it happened just yesterday, even though I graduated thirty-one years ago.

I remember John Oliver having to stand up and answer questions on the first day of our real property class. I haven’t seen John in years, but his face on that day is seared into my mind.

I remember when Mad Dog Walker turned to me in civil procedure with questions about International Shoe. It was like I was being electrocuted for an entire hour.

I remember my torts professor, a young guy with extraordinary height and energy. His arms waved, his body stretched out above us. It was like he could reach to the back row and poke me in the face with his long arms and gangly fingers, without even leaving his podium. His presentations were a fire hose of information and energy, punctuated by impossible questions about probable cause.

Each professor came to class with a different strategy for helping us learn. I’m not sure that any single pedagogical method is superior. They’re all good in their own way. I remember a shocking amount of what they taught me, for a guy who can’t remember what I had for lunch. I suppose, unfortunately, that the messages that are permanently stuck in my brain are the ones that were planted there with terror.

Professor James Bond, my writing instructor, implanted the reminder “ALWAYS CHECK THE POCKET PART” by screaming the words as he simultaneously slapped a yardstick down hard, loudly popping on the table. He startled the entire class every single time he repeated his act. It was like he was part teacher, part insane person. But I always check the pocket part. Always. He was crazy like a fox. Every lawyer who took his class remembers him and his message.

The recycler

I encountered different types of professors in law school. They each had their own approach, systems, and methods of delivering their work.

One professor--I’ll call him “the recycler”--really had his act down. He taught the Uniform Commercial Code class.

Most of the class had procured an old outline of his course handed down to us from the previous year’s students. The outline was comprehensive. It had all of his stories along with the punch lines to his jokes. He repeated the same stuff year after year.

If we'd been willing to draw attention to ourselves, we could have completed his jokes as a chorus along with him. We instead sat quietly and used our yellow highlighters on the outline.

I’m not suggesting that “the recycler” was lazy. He was, in fact, an excellent teacher. His stories were good. His jokes were funny. We all did well on that section of the bar exam, and I still have a warm place in my heart for security interests.

The recycler nicely met the standards. He got the job done well. And, as a benefit for him, each year got easier. He had worked hard expending abundant energy early in his teaching career. It paid off in the later years because he could rely on his outlines and notes, and his teaching time got easier with each passing year.

Not only that, but we had the benefit of hearing things in a way that he knew was most likely to stick.

I’ve got admiration for the recycler. His life got easier and the quality of his work product improved with each teaching experience. His approach works for him. His life is good.

The first-timer

Not every teacher could coast like the recycler. Some professors we had were new. We were their guinea pigs. There were no outlines for us to share. In fact, they didn’t yet have an outline for themselves. I regularly spotted one of them in his office scrambling to prepare moments before class. He was cutting it close.

Being a first-time teacher is tough. He had to do the reading just ahead of us, prepare notes, develop questions for discus…