Leaving Law After 20 Years to Create Content
I made it to 20 years. That is an accomplishment. But now it’s time to do something else, or maybe it’s time to do the same thing, just differently.
In 2002, I graduated from law school, took the bar, and got my law license. In the 20 years since then, I’ve worked in various positions, and my legal education was always an asset. I’ve worked in the public sector. I’ve practiced as a solo lawyer. I’ve taught law school classes. And while there was a lot to love, I’m looking to do more things that I love a lot.
Here’s the thing. I don’t think it’ll be that hard to figure out what comes next. The reality is that I’m simply focusing more on the things that I was already doing and that I loved the most. I’m also checking out my third act. I’m doing more me. That’s what’s going on.
BUT HOW WILL YOU SURVIVE?
First, let’s be clear about one thing. I’m not looking to survive. I’m looking to thrive. But let’s dig into the details about what I’m doubling down on, and what I’ll be sharing as this season of life progresses.
Second, make sure you follow me if you’re making changes in your life and want to go through this journey together.
As I stated earlier, I can’t do the traditional law thing as much anymore. I’ll still work with the clients I currently have but I won’t take on as many new clients. So here’s a list of what I will be doing.
MAKING COURSES
During my career, I’ve taught three law school classes. One of the things I know is that I like teaching. Over the past two years, I’ve been creating courses and sharing them on multiple platforms. It’s something I really enjoy. Consequently, it’s something I’m going to continue doing. And the good thing is that it pays.
Once I’ve created the courses, there’s not much more to do to them. At that point, it’s passive income. At this point, I don’t quite have 20 courses, but I’m working on it.
Additionally, I know better than to rely on platforms belonging to others. So, I’ve created my own course platform, and I plan to launch it by the end of the year. Teaching and creating courses is something that I really enjoy, and I already know that I can make money doing that.
CREATING YOUTUBE CONTENT
I must admit. This one took me a while, and in many ways it’s still not quite where I want it to be. For one thing, I couldn’t decide what I wanted my channel topic to be. I didn’t want to do law. But then that changed. As a result, I have two channels…a lifestyle channel and a legal topics channel.
Only one channel is monetized. The legal channel is not monetized. However, the legal channel is growing at a rate that I feel comfortable with, given the limited time I have to create legal-related content. I expect that next year that channel will be monetized.
WRITING BECAUSE I LIKE IT
I think a lot of the changes taking place have to do with the fact that I’m an introvert. There are only so many clients you can work with on a daily basis before you feel drained out of existence. And I was in that place too many times.
It wasn’t that I practiced family law and criminal law. Those are both known to be high stress practice areas. I just needed a break.
So, instead I’ll be writing.
In the past, I tried writing on Patreon. That didn’t last. I’ve also written on my blogs, but not very regularly. This, writing on Medium, I think I can do. Plus Medium has instituted a paywall, and I can probably earn a few bucks with that also.
In 2023, I’m going to have to get serious with this and make it work.
SELLING DIGITAL DOWNLOADS
Did I mention that I have an Etsy shop? It has stalled.
The sales are about the same each month because I haven’t expanded the offerings, and I don’t promote it. It’s meeting the goal that I’ve set for it. However, I know that in order to take it to the next level, I need to add more products, and that’s really not high up on my list of goals or what I want to do.
It takes a lot of time for me to create the products, and my brain doesn’t like functioning at a high capacity for hours on end. So that explains that.
I have a feeling that I’m not going to be seeing a lot of growth with this one. But that’s ok. I’m good with that for now.
CREATING BOOKS
A few years ago, I created a fiction and non-fiction books and put them on Amazon. It was another set-it-and-forget-it project.
Well, I’m back on Amazon, Kindle Direct Publishing, to be exact, and I have some thoughts on how to make this work.
One of the things that I enjoy doing is creating designs. Consequently I’ve been designing journals using my Canva account. I absolutely love the idea of finding the right photo, the right graphics, and the right font that pulls everything together. I’m starting with low-content journals and then expanding to medium-content journals, and I’ve got numerical publishing goals to keep me on track.
I’m also going to go back to writing fiction. Yes, fiction books take longer to write. There’s more editing involved. You’ve got to work with character development, a great story line, and that whole story arc. But I’ve got a few ideas in my head that I’d like to get out.
IT’S 2023, AND IT’S TIME FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
There are a few more items on the goal list for 2023. But let’s just say, this is where I’m going to start.
If yo’re thinking of trying something different in 2023, don’t let fear stop you. Make a plan. Work your plan. Assess what’s working and what’s not. Then rinse and repeat.
