I was having a conversation recently with a friend who’s a stand-up comic and writer.
She didn’t follow the traditional path. No college degree. Just a lot of wandering, failure, and messy but necessary growth during her 20s while doing stand-up in Boston and New York.
Eventually, she found her way. She’s now written for shows like Conan and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. But it didn’t come without years of “flailing,” as she put it.
We were talking the other night about something we both found fascinating: lawyers who get into stand-up comedy.
She said, “I don’t know how they do it when they’re not young and are failing a lot.”
And I responded with something that feels deeply true, not just for comics but for anyone standing at the edge of something new:
“What I see happening is that it becomes more painful not to do something new than to try and fail.”
That pain, the ache of staying stuck, can eventually outweigh the fear of change.
This is true for many of the women lawyers I work with who are considering leaving law or their firms.
Might this be true for you too?
The Anaïs Nin Moment
There’s a quote I love that captures this tipping point:
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” — Anaïs Nin
That’s the moment of transformation. The moment when the fear of starting becomes less terrifying than the idea of staying where you are.
Women Lawyers Are Feeling It Too
During my recent “What Else, If Not Law?” workshop, this exact theme came up.
The women shared how not making a change had become more painful than the discomfort of the unknown. They weren’t just imagining something new, they were at the brink of needing it.
That takes a lot of courage. The courage to admit that the life you’ve built no longer fits. That you want something else. That you deserve something else.
If you’re feeling that, you are absolutely not alone.
And if you don’t yet know how to support that drive, how to channel it, you’re not alone in that either.
You Don’t Have to Do This Alone
That’s what WILL – Women Interested in Leaving Law and especially our Community, is here for.
To show you that you’re not alone.
To give you a place to put your energy.
To help you not just wish for a change, but begin living it.
Because when your desire to open is greater than your fear of staying closed, everything starts to shift.
“I’ll Meet You There…”
Here’s another favorite quote. This one from Rumi. I return to it often:
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
That’s the place I hold for you. A place beyond judgment or perfection, just you, beginning.
With structure, support, and the reminder that you are not alone, real change becomes possible.
If you’re feeling the nudge, or the full-on push, to blossom, start with a private, confidential 1:1 conversation. Let’s explore what’s possible together.
Begin here. Begin now.
You’re more ready than you think.
Ready to talk? Book a confidential 1:1 session with me today.
