♫  If you got talent baby let it shine
Give it to the world
And let them see what’s inside
You’re like a treasure and you have the key
Every minute of the day is what it takes to be
The best of the best
So give it all you got
…
It’s the passion inside
And your dreams come alive…♫

Words, music and recorded by: MC Magic (Marco Cardenas)

My friend and colleague Steve Matthews just blogged about Jeff Richardson – The iPhone lawyer and turned it into a wonderful marketing blog post. His post resonated – deeply – with me (*thanks Steve!*).

I have met with hundreds of lawyers who wanted to leave their present firm and go out on their own and who have come to me for advice on setting up their new office. Inevitably I sit them down and one of the first questions I ask them is: “What are you passionate about?”  They usually give me a strange look – they were expecting advice on technology and business systems (which I do get to!) but first I want to get them taking about what really drives them on the inside.

Following the sage advice of the late Dr. Hans Selye, a notable Hungarian-Canadian researcher on stress, I try to encourage them to build a law practice around what they have a passion for  in their lives.  I have met and known lawyers who were passionate about horses (they launched a law practice with a focus on the needs of horse breeders and trainers), about the arts (they launched into entertainment law and the governance of non-profit arts organizations) and sports (they launched a practice on the needs of operators of ski hills, wilderness high-adventure sports and the like). Now they just didn’t have an instant practice in these areas..but they had a goal and a vision and they did what they had to do – every day – to take themselves closer to their goal.

Dr. Selye’s advice was simple:  Make your avocation your vocation.  If you do what you love, then you will love what you do. Work will not be a chore or a rut (and how many lawyers are caught doing what they do only for the money and can’t seem to find a way out…).

Steve said it best when talking about Jeff Richardson and his iPhone blog:

 “Think about that for a minute. His firm which has 10 offices and looks to have hundreds of lawyers, will be surpassed by the indirect efforts of just one single lawyer. All because Jeff took the time to blog about a topic he’s passionate about.

A hobby? Sure. But his clients and potential clients also get to see his personality, his level-headed nature, and a love for the topic. That kind of insight does come into play when hiring a lawyer, and yes, personality counts.”

It’s the passion inside that is coming forth – and Jeff is seeing his dreams come alive…