Stop Playing The Role of "Lawyer"

After my parents divorced and I went to college, my mom moved to LA. She lived in Santa Monica for twelve years, drawn by a man to whom she was briefly engaged. The relationship didn’t last, but she fell hard for the city.

For a girl from Queens who grew up post-World War II, and was done raising kids, it offered sweet freedom… all that whimsy, lightness and sunshine.

I visited often. The first morning after my arrival, we’d always go to The Rose in Venice. Starting our days high on coffee, almond croissants… adventures unfurled before us… gallery hops, a walk on the beach, or drive up the PCH to Malibu.

My mom has been gone for just over six years now. She died young, at 74. It’s hard to believe she would have turned 80 next week. (Her birthday is shared by a dear WILL member. Coincidence?)

During that prolific time in LA she began a daily practice, something called morning pages from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.

Recently I was drawn to my copy of it. I saw it as a useful guide for the WILL Mastermind groups I’m running with lawyers who long to create a more intentional life and/or business. (What fun to be working with a group of WILLpreneurs!)

Many women lawyers are secretly creators. You long to create written words that will last, companies that empower others and work that has a positive impact on the world.

If so, doing morning pages from The Artist’s Way may be a useful practice.

Immediately after waking, write three pages longhand
Do not edit, attach any meaning to or show your writing to ANYONE
It’s not even “writing”, it’s just stream of consciousness writing on paper
Do not reread, or even try to write something “good”
When done, put the pages away in a manila envelope or flip the page and go on with your day

What does this do? It’s a practice to build our creative muscle and quell the critical voice.

When the muscle of not stopping gets stronger than our critic, our ability to create expands.

My hunch is you want to make something unique, meaningful and beautiful while here on earth.

We put this favorite quote on a bench near where I live in memory of my mom…

“A bird doesn’t sing because she is happy, she is happy because she sings.”

If you long to do more than make money for companies and banks, please sing your song.