This Thanksgiving, I'm taking a moment to reflect back on the whirlwind year Total PMA has had. At this time last year, Total PMA was just an idea, a concept, a lofty goal at best. 

The date was December 8th of 2008. We were about to begin building a new type of legal conference, produced by a new type of association, focused on improving the lives of those we work with, and the legal community as a whole. 

The morning began with us pondering an interesting question. What would Lincoln do? As a lawyer first and then a President, Lincoln often faced ethical dilemmas which he worked his way through in a smooth and commendable manner. If you despise what you are doing you won't do it well. In honor of the year of the 200^th birthday of Mr. Lincoln, it was an interesting seminar to examine how we would in the modern era use the same principles he applied over a century ago. As you head back to work, if you are faced with ethical dilemmas, ask yourself... What would Lincoln do?

Stretching is such a great activity where you can find immediate satisfaction. Not only will stretching increase flexibility, it can also help ease aches and pains throughout your body.  Stretching is also a great stress reliever because it feels so good. Take a few minutes to try these stretches below. You’ll find that it can improve blood circulation and help your concentration at work.

Try these out…

Larry Helms can best be described as an addicting speaker.  I was addicted in his short session yesterday.  When I saw him on the schedule again today, I willingly left the wonderful session I was in about trial to come upstairs to see Larry Helms again.  What is so great about his seminars is that he really gets an important message across in such a funny way! He talked about how worrying makes us sick and we need to learn to not worry so much, as well as running us through the importance of "emotional intelligence."  We are all so worried about be IQ intelligence, when people with a higher emotional intelligence are actually more successful and content with their lives. After all, that is what we all want isn't it? Also, remember that you need to change old habits and "not walk forward into your past". If you know something is harmful you have to accept responsibility and not repeat the same mistakes over and over. Desire and motivation comes from within and like Mohammad Ali said, "I can achieve whatever my heart desires and my head believes."  And so can you!

The second day of the State Bar of California Meeting was just as good as the first! In ‘Coaching for the New Practitioner: What they Didn't Teach You in Law School'; Ms. Cappelluti, the managing partner of the San Francisco Law Office of Lorber, Greenfield and Polito, opened up the session with her advice to being a new lawyer in a law firm. "Always bring a notepad into the office when you have a meeting and most importantly be organized and get your work done on time because that is 90 % of succeeding." In fact, the people that move up the ranks are those people that get things done on time so make sure you organize and plan in advance.  Judge Prager had great advice on gossip in the workplace, "don't forget that anything you say in the workplace is going to get around to everyone. So be sure if you want to gossip to do so outside the office."

There are moments in your career that stick with you, this is one that taught me a significant lesson, and shaped how I manage myself and those around me for the better.

Late one evening, after an unusually long and frustrating day I was leaving the office and boarded the elevator with our CEO, Ed Scanlan. "How are you?" he asked... a sigh of exhaustion and dark circles under my eyes answered for me. Before I could speak he said; "You should take some time off , we do not want to see you getting burned out."

"I know I should" I replied, and explained like an excuse; that there was too much work to be done, and who would take care of things in my absence?

He looked at me and said; "Everyday when you come into work, you should try to do no work at all."

We may be in a recession but attorneys and legal professionals are still changing firms, positions, and careers altogether. Which brings me to a topic that not many current job seekers take into consideration; their own work life balance goals.

The last thing you may think about when evaluating potential job options during transition is your work life balance goals. However if you don't stop and take stock of what job characteristics would really satisfy you personally and professionally how will you or your potential employer know if the position is a good fit for you?

Life is returning to normal at the Total PMA office this week. After a phenomenal 2-day event, courtesy our tremendous staff and great volunteers, we are all walking away with a great sense of pride and accomplishment. I want to personally thank all of our attendees, exhibitors, sponsors, and online viewers who joined us for our first event!

It was so refreshing to see our attendees enjoying their time with us, but not just at the Wii station, but while developing action plans to transform their practices! We've all been to conferences where we tried to stay awake and keep interested long enough to walk away with something of value. At the Get a Life conference I personally spoke with many of our attendees about their action plans. Everyone seemed genuinely motivated and empowered to move forward with changes, whether those changes related to staffing processes, marketing plans, office expansion plans, or client service and follow up commitments . Even for those with larger firms who have been in the game for a while told me they found many areas that could be improved, and smarter ways to tackle long-time problems.

When you were just starting your career, how many times did you think to yourself, “If I could only leave an hour earlier, or come in an hour later than normal it would make today so much better.” Whether it was to leave early to pick your child up from school, catch a game , or come in an hour later to take the morning shift for your wife, who needs a break, an hour would make all the difference to you that day. The disheartening fact is so many employees are afraid to ask for this small reward, and eventually develop a resentment of their job for creating limitations within their personal life.

Take advantage of this opportunity.

Some employers see this as a cost to their business, but you can actually use this to increase productivity, and boost morale without increasing your overhead.