Recently I took a podcasting class at the Made in NY Media Center in Brooklyn, an incubator that focuses on storytelling across every medium.
I often ask my clients (and myself) to pay attention to our internal stories.
What story AM I telling myself?
What other story COULD I tell myself?
Chatting with someone from the class on the way, home I had a huge ah-ha…
For women trying to leave big law, their story does not happen in isolation.
They exist within a story too.
Law firms have their narratives of prestige and power. If you are in a big firm, you live within this story.
The story often goes, (and I’m being crude here in my generalizations) … “We are so smart, big and important. This is the most prestigious place to work. If you leave here, you’ve failed.”
If you are surrounded by a “big and important” story, that’s another narrative to notice. Ask yourself “Is this true?”
AND… what other story is also true?
- Working here is NOT the only definition of success.
- There are lots of smart people in the world.
- Outside the firm, people aren’t impressed by what’s valued inside.
- What else…?
It can be hard to feel like you have any power, when you are a character in someone else’s story. Draw a truth from Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Know in your heart you have the power to leave, to return home.
Ask: Do I want to remain a character in the firm’s story, or be the hero of my own?
Write yourself out of their story. Project yourself three years into the future.
Begin with this: Three years ago, I was working at Great & Powerful LLP and then I…
Let your imagination fly and your pen (or fingers) rip!
Write your way home.