Losing the Edge

In just a few weeks I will have been retired from the active practice of law for three years. To be sure, getting Career 3.0 (writing, speaking, coaching, consulting) up and running eats up an inordinate amount of time, so retirement so far has worked out to be a little busier than reading the paper and mowing the lawn. But one thing has surely atrophied– my legal currency.

Three years of not reading current case reports, three years of not paying attention to tax and procedural changes, three years of not interviewing clients, three years of not drafting complex estate plans– all these things add up to the fact that I would now be far too rusty and out of touch to advise and serve at the same high level I could three short years ago.

Could I get back up to speed if I had to? Yes, of course, and still fairly quickly. But with each day, the rust becomes more evident. It’s no mystery why the Law Society keeps me on a short leash and threatens to hunt me down and inflict grievous bodily harm if I were to advise on legal matters.

Conversely, now that I have the time to write as much as I like, my writing style and skill have improved dramatically (at least in my own mind), simply because I now have the time to re-write an article twelve times until I’m satisfied with it. Compared to others, I’m gaining an edge.

You will always do well at those things you were born to do, whether in music or sport or business or building or advocacy. You will always do better those things you give your time to. And, of course, your career “sweet spot” is where your innate giftings, your experience, and your training all come together. If you find that sweet spot, and pour your time and your energy into it, nothing can stop you.