Why an Ironman?
One of my goals before turning 50 was to compete in an Ironman (70.3) Triathlon. I wanted to do something that would inspire my kids, clients, colleagues, students, family and friends. Ironman, as the name suggests, is a serious endurance race. It consists of a 1.2 mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56 mile (90 km) bike ride and a 13.1 mile (21.1 km) run. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but neither is starting a law practice. In this note, I reflect on the lessons learned from that experience and hopefully provide some encouragement for your own law practice.
Training and Practice
I’m not going to lie, the Ironman was hard for me (and my family), but any worthy goal will cause you to grow in courage and humility. Context is important here: I’m not an athlete by any stretch, I started my practice five years ago and have four school-aged children. Fitting training in with work and family commitments was close to impossible. There were many times that I wanted to quit. But there’s a difference between failing at what you set out to do and quitting. This is perhaps the most important lesson.
Every lawyer who starts a solo practice has invariably experienced the strain it places on themselves and their close personal relationships. The administrative demands alone in running a practice can at times be overwhelming. But as with anything you will get better with practice. We all start out with high hopes and the best of intentions, but it's easy to lose sight of what is important along the way. I have known highly proficient lawyers who are functional alcoholics with dysfunctional families. Most solo practitioners are pretty driven people and it is easy to make a virtue of being busy, pursuing our goals and losing what matters in the process. I made my law firm logo a hexagon (I have no design skills and a family of six!) for this reason. The logo for me is a reminder of something valuable, as all brands should be. Lawyers embarking on solo practice will begin with different degrees of competence and experience. Regardless of skill level, starting a law practice will cause you to confront your limitations. Perhaps that’s the attraction, you get to learn what you are made of. No lawyer, except the arrogant or delusional ones, is good at everything. And even those rare ones that are, will be operating inefficiently and will be unproductive in the long run.
In the course of training for the Ironman, I had to overcome many challenges such as swimming in open water, swimming in a wetsuit or with a group of swimmers. I didn’t have time to do long bike rides or training runs. You can spend a lot of money on gear for a triathlon. Similarly, you can spend a lot of
money on software and other tools for your practice. However, none of that matters if you’re not putting in the work or, put another way, sweating is part of the process.
Having never participated in a triathlon my goal was simply to finish. It’s important, too, that you are clear on your goals for your practice. These goals will not make sense to most people, but they have to make sense to you. Of course we all want to make money, but your practice will not always be making money, especially in the beginning. Remind yourself that as long as what you’re doing has meaning, you can keep moving forward, even though this may at times just be a slow crawl.
Motivation and momentum
There were times during my training that I truly struggled to maintain motivation and momentum. The race itself was at times lonely and hard. I came out of the water after the swim portion looking like a bedraggled cat. It was very easy to locate my bike as everyone was ahead of me. I walked most of the run. It’s hard to resist the temptation to compare yourself with other competitors generally and other lawyers in particular. It’s important to remind yourself to run your race and practice with patience. I wanted to somehow link my Ironman race to my law practice. My plan was to use my participation in the race as part of my law firm's marketing and promotion budget. This is a stretch, but my accountant assured me he could justify it as an expense. Hopefully, the CRA agrees, but in the event they do not my plan is to submit this article to them with your comments as evidence of my marketing efforts!
Not finishing but becoming
I have received a lot of support in my race preparations and my law practice. These come from unlikely places. It turned out that my web designer is a competitive triathlete and he gave me a lot of useful tips. You find yourself connecting with people more and being genuinely interested in what they do. Since
starting my practice I’ve learned to better appreciate the skills of others much more. Accepting your own weaknesses and limitations takes humility, but this can also be liberating as it can help you value the work of other professionals. I used to think that accountants were boring and marketers were shallow, now I think their insights are invaluable.
Another motivator for me was the opportunity to acknowledge a person who inspired me. Craig McTaggart was a Ph.D. Candidate when I worked at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law Centre for Innovation Law and Policy. That was 20 years ago! Craig was into triathlons and. like me, was an academic and a lawyer. Sadly, he passed away from cancer at a young age. The thing that I admired about Craig was his kindness, professionalism, and his dedication to his family. It’s remarkable how lasting an impact great people can have on your life. Choose your mentors wisely; you become what you imitate.
In the final analysis, starting a law practice, like an Ironman, is not so much about finishing the race but becoming a person who is prepared to do something hard, persevere against the odds, be helped by and help others in the process. The Ironman was something of a ‘pay it forward’ moment for me. Hopefully, I can be that person that can encourage and inspire someone else. Maybe that someone is you!
About the author
Rajen Akalu is the founder of Akalu Law Professional Corporation and associate professor at Ontario Tech University. www.akalulaw.com
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