"How Full Is Your Bucket?" by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton is a little book filled with big wisdom. Here's why you should read this immediately: 

• It reveals simple but powerful strategies that can dramatically improve your relationships with clients, employees, friends, family, and others. These strategies can increase your income, improve your productivity, and even improve your health and extend your lifespan.
  
• It is based on 50 years of research, not guesswork. The authors PROVE their premises.
  
• You can read the book in an hour and begin using the principles immediately. In my opinion, you'll see results in days, if not hours.
  

The book is based on the relatively new field of "Positive Psychology," which focuses on what is right with people rather than what is wrong.

The book and accompanying web site show you how to replace negativity and criticism with positive strategies to obtain desired results.

Good reading!

(Originally sent to my ezine list, The Prosperous Lawyer.)

You haven't heard from me in a few weeks–because I haven't written much lately. I've posted several articles on the blog , but I haven't kept pace with my original "posting" schedule.

There's a simple reason for that: I've been busy. Okay, that's not completely true. I haven't written much lately mainly because I didn't feel like it.

Of course professionals have to do things we don't feel like doing. We have responsibilities. People depend on us. And if we want to keep the income flowing, we have to work. But that's not my job description anymore.

Nope. I started my other business because I wanted passive income and "time freedom," the ability to do what I want, when I want, and work only if I want to. I've accomplished that, and don't rely on my blog for income (nor do I practice law any more), but I have been recommending to my readers that they set up a blog because of the many advantages they offer.

But my quasi-hiatus did get me thinking about the idea behind blogging, that is, even though there isn't a lot of work to keeping a blog going, you really can't stop. Not if you depend on it for your business or practice.

Then I got an email from someone for whom I have a lot of respect, Ken Evoy, a former physician turned online entrepreneur. He is extremely successful and well-regarded. Ken's company specializes in helping people with little or no experience get a website and, more importantly, get free traffic from search engines, and they do it extraordinarily well. I was one of his original customers when he launched his SBI program years ago, and I have nothing but good things to say about Ken and SBI.

But his email troubled me. Probably because it touched on what I was already thinking.

Ken said that for most people (people like you and me) blogging is not the way to go. He says it's a mistake, a "time-sapping strategic error." One reason (but not the only one) is that because of the way Google valuates the timeliness of posts, taking a break from blogging will cause your relevancy to drop, and the result is a drop in traffic. And search engine traffic is one of the key advantages of blogging.

Another reason is that because of the way blogs archive information, most visitors never see most of it. They read the most current post or two and never dig deeper.

I didn't want to hear this. Although I don't depend on my blog, I've posted a lot of content and I'd like to think people are reading it and benefiting from it. Wouldn't you?

Ken's going to ruffle a lot of feathers, especially considering the respect he has in the online community. But I read his email and the web page he's posted explaining it, and I have to admit he does make a compelling case. He shows why a static web site, properly organized and optimized, will bring you more search engine traffic than a blog. What's more, if you take a break from writing for two months, you won't be penalized.

Ken says his service, SBI (SiteBuildIt) is a better choice than blogging because it is

• Easier to set up
• Easier to maintain
• Less work (a lot less)
• Less expensive
• More effective at getting (and keeping) free
  search engine traffic

I am not an expert on the subject; not even close. No doubt many experts will weigh in. I'll see what they say, and
suggest you do, too.

There's no question Ken is biased. After all, he does sell SBI (and I am an enthusiastic affiliate), but based on what I know
about him, I think he believes every word he says. Read Ken's argument and see what you think.

I've used SBI and recommended it for years. There's no question that it has monumental benefits, especially for busy lawyers who can't spend a lot of time on their web site. And SBI has blogging capability built it, for those who want the best of both worlds. So take a look and tell me what you think. I'll post this on my blog and you can post your comments there.

P.S. Quick links:

• Information on SBI, a all-in-one web site solution for service-sellers
• Ken's article on blog vs. build

There is a true story about a troup of young Hungarian soliders lost in the Alps during training. In abysmal weather, with no food or supplies, they were cut off from their colleagues. After two days of snow and sleet, they were frozen and weak from hunger. They had no idea how to get back to base. They lost the will to live.

Then a miracle happened. Searching for a cigarette in the lining of his tunic, one of the soldiers suddenly found an old map. The soldiers confidently used the map to march through the mountains back to safety.

It was only when they were warm and fed at base camp that they discovered it was a map of the Pyrenees, some 2,000 kilometers away.

This story has two valuable lessons:

• It is better to act constructively than to have the right answer and not act.
• Each of us has to find our own answer, or adapt someone else's answer to our own circumstances. The soliders got home safely because they made sense of the map for themselves and related it to their immediate surroundings.
  

(From, "Living the 80/20 Way," by Richard Koch.)

Marketing professional services cannot be done by committee. It's something professionals should do. That means you should market "you". Assistants can help with administrative tasks, scheduling, and so forth, but building a law practice means building relationships and that's something you cannot delegate.

Besides, it's not the firm that should be marketed. It's you. Clients don't typically say, "call my law firm" when they refer you; it's "call my lawyer" every time. Okay, larger firms can engage in activities that brand the firm's name and establish good will in their target markets, and a committee would be appropriate for that purpose, but it's still the individual attorneys that bring in the clients.

On the other hand. . . there are ways a marketing committee can play a role, even in a small or mid-sized firm. A committee can help coordinate the marketing efforts of the individual attorneys, for example. Newsletters, seminars, speaking engagements, mailings, public relations and advertising could well be done more effectively, and at lower cost, when attorneys aren't duplicating each other's efforts.

Here are a few other ways a committee could serve and assist the individual attorneys:

• Bringing in trainers and consultants to help the attorneys improve marketing skills
  
• Providing technical assistance with graphics, printing, web sites, event booking
  
• Clearance of ethical questions
  
• Coordination of cross-selling efforts
  
• Decisions about the firm's design issues (letterhead, decorating)
  
• Recognition of attorneys for meeting goals
  

A committee can't do the marketing for you. But, like a good secretary, it can certainly make you look good.

What are the three most important things you do in your career? Sure, you do a lot of things, but chances are, three of them are more important than the rest. We've talked about the 80/20 Principle before. These three things are the twenty-percent activities that deliver eighty percent of your results. They are worth identifying. If you can identity them, you can do more of them (and less of those things that aren't of the three).

What's more, if there are only three things, you can remember them. You don't need a list. "These are the three areas I focus on," you'll say. "This is where I focus eighty percent of my time." So what are they? If you could only do three things all day long, what would they be? Don't think too much about this; you already know the answer.

When I was practicing (personal injury), I would have said that these are my three things:

1. Marketing
   
2. Settling Cases
   
3. Managing staff
   

For me, litigation was not one of the three things that matter(ed) most. We did it, but the practice was a high-volume of smaller cases and litigation was not our primary focus. So, it was these three things that mattered most to my practice. If I was doing one of these three things, I was doing "twenty-percent activity". Anything else was "eighty-percent activity" (which brings in only twenty percent of the results).

Let's take things a step further, shall we? Once you have identified your "three things that matter most," what about identifying the three things that matter most about each of those three things? This allows you to get more specific about how you are spending your time and how you are focusing your energy. You will perform "on purpose" instead of reacting to whatever presents itself. And, if you can recall the three things that matter most, you should also be able to recall the three things about each of those things, too. If they are truly important and you are doing them, they will be second nature to you.

In my case, I would have identified the three things about my three things, like this:

MARKETING

1. Ads in yellow pages
   
2. Network with referral sources
   
3. Client referral strategies
   

SETTLE CASES

1. Client interviews/evidence collection
   
2. Demand package
   
3. Negotiation
   

MANAGE STAFF

1. Interview/hire
   
2. Monitor work flow
   
3. Recognize and incentivize
   

What are your three things? And what are the three things about each of those three? Take the time to identity these crucial items and then focus eighty percent of your time and attention on them. You'll get more done in less time and you'll get more results. You'll earn more and work less.

I just finished reading, "Double Your Income Doing What You Love," by Raymond Aaron, which describes a unique method of setting and achieving goals. One of the perennial issues in goal setting is whether we should set big goals, which inspire us to reach high but usually leave us disappointed, or small goals, which we almost always achieve, but don't take us very far. Aaron presents a system that provides the perfect answer, one I have never seen before.

"Instead of recording a goal, you subdivide your goal into three levels of achievement," he says. The first level is what we are almost certain to do, not based on our hopes but on our actual track record. "It is not much more than a to-do item," he says. But just because you are almost certain to do it doesn't mean you will and so it is still a goal. This first level can be called the "minimum."

The next level is your "target". This is a stretch beyond what you are confident you can do.

The highest level he calls "outrageous" and it is the most challenging of the three, practically impossible to achieve.

By setting three levels of the same goal, you will always achieve that goal. You are guaranteed to succeed at some level, and thus your self-esteem is enhanced (the rationale behind setting easy goals) while you are simultaneously inspired by your bigger target and outrageous goals. You'll hit your target goals often enough, and sometimes hit (or make significant progress towards) your outrageous goals. The bottom line of this system is that you hit more goals more often.

Aaron also suggests using monthly goals as your primary time line, long enough to accomplish something meaningful but short enough to be held accountable. Monthly goals are tactical, the mechanics of reaching our long term (annual) strategic goals.

He also tells us that while we are responsible for our lives and, therefore, the accomplishment of our goals, this doesn't mean we are the ones who have to do everything (or anything) towards their achievement. Aaron is a proponent of delegation, urging us to do only what we love. "When you set a goal, you likely wonder when you are ever going to find time to complete it. When I set a goal, I wonder who is going to do it. If it's not one of my special talents, I delegate it so that it gets done."

Over the last twenty-four years, Aaron has mentored thousands to success with his goal setting methods, and, not surprisingly, suggests everyone will benefit from "a mentored life." "You do what makes sense to you. Therefore, on your own, you keep doing the same thing all the time, because it makes sense to you. To have a giant leap forward in your life, you need to do what does not make sense to you. Only a very wise mentor can alert you to such new and strange actions you could take to make a huge change in your life."

I recommend Aaron's book. In fact, I guarantee you'll get something out of it.

An attorney who is struggling to build his practice asked for my help. Here's a snapshot of what he told me:

• He is also a CPA and former IRS agent.
• He works three days a week as the controller for a major corporation, two days a week in his own practice.
• He prepares 75 tax returns per year, and plans to advertise around tax time to get more (but has had limited success advertising in the past).
• He has several PI and contract litigation cases.
• He does unlawful detainer appearances for a paralegal firm.
• He has tried direct mail (unsuccessfully) to build a bankruptcy practice.

Okay, now what would you tell him if he asked you for help? Would you tell him he's spreading himself too thin and that he should choose one or two things and concentrate on those?

Of course. That's exactly what I told him.

How can you possibly expect to have great success in anything when you do so many different things? Especially when you work at it only two days per week and compete with attorneys who do the same things full time?

I told him to first decide where he would like to be in five years, and then to look at what kind of work he enjoys. You can be successful doing just about anything so why not make it something you like? The chances are that what he enjoys and what he's good at are the same thing, and that's probably what he should do.

After speaking with him, my guess is that if he's honest with himself, he would choose preparing tax returns. Now, I can think of three very good reasons why this is not the best choice:

1. Massive competition
2. Seasonality
3. He's overqualified

But if that's what he enjoys, that's probably what he should do. His passion will help him overcome the challenges. He'll develop a reputation for being the best at what he does and neutralize his competition. He'll do corporate returns throughout the rest of the year, or build his practice so big that he doesn't need to work the rest of the year.

If he's happy and rich, does it really matter what his qualifications are?

There's another point: why couldn't he figure this out for himself? The answer is he could have, but when you are so caught up in making a living, sometimes you can't think straight. It's work, work, work, and there's no time for reflection or planning. The wheel keep spinning and you can't get off.

There's an expression that comes to mind that applies not only in this situation but for all of us sometimes:

"Slow down to speed up."

What that means is we all need to periodically stop what we're doing long enough to evaluate where we are and where we want to go. Will doing what we're doing get us there? Is there a better plan?

Notice that you slow down "to" speed up. That means something. It means that if we're not going in the right direction, if we have too much on our plate, our subconscious mind knows it and holds us back. Slowing down to re-evaluate allows us to get clear on what we're doing, and it is that clarity that allows us to move more quickly towards what we really want.

Change is good. In fact, if you're not changing, you're not growing and if you're not growing, guess what? You're dead. Or dying.

John Jantsch had a good article on the subject of change, The ultimate secret to business growth, in which he urges readers to embrace change because it really is the only way to grow. He offers several good suggestions for doing that, everything from acquiring new skills to demanding what you are worth. Good advice for those whose resist change, something I think many attorneys are guilty of.

I am no exception.

I've had my struggles with Mr. Change. When I get interested in a subject, I often obsess over it. I have to read everything about it and then, compile notes and ideas into piles and then files and then boxes, often never explored again. Or I try something, but even when things go well, I almost always get bored with what I'm doing after a few years, and I'm off in search of the next thing. (Most people call that being an entrepreneur. My wife uses a few different words.)

The last few months are a good example. I decided I want to expand my online empire by starting a blog (this one) and that has led to a quantum of ideas: additional blogs, static "lead capture" web pages, discussion forums, social networking, podcasts, and I'm just getting started. I filled countless legal pads with ideas and variations on those ideas and then re-writing the variations to see how they looked. I researched keywords, target markets, and domain names. More than one day was spent doing nothing but thinking and listening to hours of recorded information, providing even more food for thought. And days surfing the Internet!

And so I found myself laden with ideas (good ones, actually) and not knowing what to do. I didn't trust my judgement anymore, couldn't make a decision. I was overwhelmed. I wanted to change, but couldn't.

I'll admit, it's better to have too many choices than not enough. The online world is fascinating, still truly a frontier. But overwhelming, nevertheless.

I think part of the problem is that I have almost unlimited time available and, according to Parkinson's law, "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." I tried giving myself an artificial deadline but I overrode my authority (with only a mild reprimand) and sent myself back to my big green "daddy chair" for another time out.

Finally. . . eureka!

The solution was something I did years ago when I was similarly stymied in the writing of my marketing course: I gave myself permission to fail. You see, when you are a bit of a perfectionist like I am, you don't resist change so much as sabotage it. I remember back in school purposely not studying for exams because then, if I did poorly, I had a perfect excuse–hey, I didn't study! And if I did well, okay, I'm just naturally gifted.

And so giving yourself permission to fail, to make mistakes and risk criticism, was for me, the only way to change.  I simply chose one idea (and what I chose not only felt right, it was the logical choice as well) and began. And once I had begun, I had to finish it. And, so far, so good.

If you are overwhelmed and don't know what to do, do something. Choose your best idea and get started on it. If you're wrong, try something else.

If you are going to fail, do it quickly. That way, you can choose something else. One nice thing about the Internet is that it allows you to do exactly that. Put up a page and send traffic to it and you'll know, sometimes in a matter of minutes, whether you have something or you don't.

Last thought: you are better than you think you are. Giving yourself permission to fail will unleash the creative genius within you and soon, you'll say to yourself (and post it on your blog), "What was I so worried about?"