Persistence More Thoughts And Quotes

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Persistence: More Thoughts and Quotes On Tuesday, I posted The 3 P’s. One of those P’s is persistence. Let’s explore that one further today. Have you ever thought of giving up on client development because you were not getting the results you wanted? I know many young lawyers who enthusiastically start a client development program and then get frustrated because they do not see instant results. I experienced that frustration. I had put my heart and soul into my business development by writing articles and speaking at industry meetings and had not gotten the first client. Many times I wondered whether it was worth all the time I was putting in. A couple of senior lawyers in my firm also kept putting me down for taking time they wanted me to spend helping them. I kept on because I wanted to control my own destiny and not be totally dependent on senior lawyers. So, whenever I got discouraged I would picture myself five years later with $500,000 in business. I also made client development a habit and tried to do something no matter how small each and every day. There came a time about two years after I started, when it started raining with new clients and business. Recently I read that two very important virtues are persistence and flexibility. The writer said: Persistence beckons you with eternal hope, while flexibility enables you to get through the obstacles that stand between you and your dreams. I love a quote from Calvin Coolidge: Woody Allen once said: 80% of success is just showing up. That means taking actions. Many lawyers have no plan for client development. Others have a plan, but do not take the actions necessary to be successful. Flexibility means thinking about a variety of options to achieve a goal. It means being resourceful and changing tactics when appropriate while maintaining the values that are important to you. Have you ever heard of the book: “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson? Cheese is the metaphor for what we want in life. The maze in the story represents how we spend our time looking for what we want. You will learn a great deal about persistence and flexibility in the book. Check the short summary of the book. I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.