As I enter my twentieth year of practicing law, it has become increasingly clear that I must create a fork in the road and follow the signs of my heart and mind.  Those signs point away from another twenty years of legal practice and to a more creative life, whether it be the creation of businesses or literature or art.  It is time to stop just thinking about moving on and put some motion in that notion.

I laugh silently at those who believe I desire to leave the alleged financial certainty of a legal practice to simply paint, to be the bohemian near the local mall.  Although, I would love to just grow a scraggly beard,  wear the clothes that make my wife shake her head, and walk around the downtown area like a homeless man or perhaps an artist in perpetual observance of the art of life, that is not the plan.   The plan is to be apply my creative resources to create a self-sustaining legacy that will last beyond my physical presence on this earth.

At this point in my life, creativity simply describes the human desire to create, to build and for me to build something that will sustain on its own without me.  As a lawyer, creativity is at the very essence of the service I provide.  However, more often than not creativity is used to solve problems, not directly or primarily to build something.    But when one evaluates whether he or she has maximized his or her time on earth, he or she may be able to say they did a lot, as in "I have a long resume of things done and places expeienced." However, the tougher issue is " In what you have done, what have you created that will last and continue to impact others beyond your lifetime?"

Now, is as good a time to create, to build a legacy, as any.  And creating art and sharing a unique vision of the world, of life, is a good place to start.

MEMBERS COMMENTS