Work, Gratitude, and the Challenge of the Present Moment

I’m late to my very own get together, however April 1, 2020 marked twelve years since I give up my job as a lawyer to journey the world.

By now you guys know the drill: annually I wrote an annual replace submit for April 1st, about my frame of mind and the state of my enterprise. I’d often even have a get along with buddies to have fun, wherever I used to be. In Saigon, it was a celebration with bun cha and rice vodka. In Oaxaca, it was mezcal and quesadillas.

This yr, the date fell through the lengthy trek again to Montreal from Florida. I used to be attempting to maneuver rapidly sufficient to get house safely, however gradual sufficient to not exacerbate my spinal CSF leak.

While I used to be technically on the street on April 1st, the date concerned rather less celebration and a bit extra pandemic than ordinary.

Since immediately is my forty first birthday, I believed I might use the event to try this annual write-up.

Here’s a submit about what’s occurring, and a few of what comes subsequent.

12 Years of Legal Nomads

With elevated acceptance of my day-to-day actuality got here a way of elevated dissonance once I checked out Legal Nomads. That smiling individual on a bike on my entrance web page is not me. Telling tales by meals is not me. Those are a part of me, positive, and I’m pleased with no matter roads took me to them.

Still, I might open my dashboard now and again and suppose, “what am I even doing? Is there a point to any of this anymore?”  Questions that many people are asking nowadays, and ones that take sharper kind as a result of the bodily alternative prices of working are so nice for me.

I like writing, and my thoughts misses writing. Writing this submit in morning increments felt like coming house. My physique, although, it doesn’t a lot like me writing. My leak signs worsen once I do and whereas I’ve tried artistic options like voice to textual content or transcription, they don’t scratch the writing itch. I like the typing itself, the act of phrases falling out of my mind and rearranging themselves into prose.

So I made a decision I’ll do one thing a bit extra drastic.

Killing my Darlings

In order to create an excellent piece of writing, you usually have to first cull these paragraphs or characters you are feeling hooked up to though they not contribute critically to the entire. You have to “kill your darlings” to make a better-working piece.

For me, killing my darlings outcomes not from decorative prose however from the bodily limitations on my means to work. While my artistic time is limitless, the precise creating takes the sort of bodily overhead I not have at my disposal. I’m divesting a few of the tasks I’ve clung to within the hopes that I’ll be capable of construct one thing thrilling for my group.

I’ve a half-finished writing course workbook, and a full define for a product for attorneys who need to change careers.

Neither might be doable within the subsequent very lengthy whereas with my limitations. But the explanation I needed to construct these merchandise was as a result of readers requested for them, and clearly had a necessity for them. So I’ve partnered with folks I belief to repair these ache factors since I can not.

How to Tell Better Stories in a Digital World: My Storytelling Course

I deliberate to do a storytelling course, and I’ve a half-completed workbook and lots of signal ups from readers. I’ve tried to think about ways in which I can do that mission whereas leaking, as a result of I love to show storytelling. At the second, I don’t suppose it’s potential to take action with out consuming into all my uptime.

So I’ve partnered with two folks I belief to supply two completely different programs; which one is likely to be finest for you relies on your wants.

Storytelling Course with Lola Akinmade Åkerström

How can we craft and share these tales with others that may create empathy and reference to others? How can we cradle with care the duty of telling different folks’s tales? How do you hook, have interaction, intrigue, and maintain your readers all the way in which to your closing message? How can you discover threads and narrative arcs to construction your story?

These are all questions Lola addresses in her complete course about storytelling.

The course is self-paced, and consists of lectures, video modules, and many case research and examples as an instance the teachings Lola teaches. Lola simply launched this course, and I contacted her to see if I might refer my readers her means as a result of it’s an ideal different to what I deliberate to do.

Lola has supplied $50 off for Legal Nomads readers in case you let her know that’s the place you got here from for the course.

Blogging Course with Mike Sowden

I’ve additionally referred a few of you to my pal Mike*, who has a course referred to as Engage! A Storytelling Course for Bloggers. Quite a lot of readers aren’t bloggers and thus need a broader extra technical story instruction, which Lola can present. For those that are within the running a blog world, and/or don’t have the price range for a bigger course,Mike’s course is a good possibility.

His course is self-paced over 8 weeks, aimed toward educating bloggers easy methods to be a greater storyteller. It consists of electronic mail classes, audio classes, PDF guides (together with my fave, “How To Edit The S#!t Out Of Your Writing”), and 1:1 assist from Mike.

He has supplied a $15 low cost for Legal Nomads readers: enter the code donkeyballs2020 or use this hyperlink to buy.

*Mike additionally kindly edited this submit, and lots of others, for me. Mike is an effective set of eyes to your mind.

Leaving Law Behind with Casey Berman and Adam Ouellette

My Thrillable Hours sequence exists to encourage attorneys feeling deadened by their job choices to seek out the braveness to suppose extra broadly. I created it to assist with concern, profession change, and life after legislation. Though I additionally had plans to make a course to assist attorneys take a leap, I didn’t get to complete it.

Casey and Adam have, and so I’m partnering with them to repair the ache level a few of my readers have. They’ll assist attorneys by the method of leaving the legislation, if that’s what they need, and assist them overcome the blocking beliefs and self-sabotage that may get in the way in which. They additionally present their college students with interview and résumé assist, in addition to assist to permit attorneys to hone in on what different profession is finest for them.

Basically, if I can’t assist you I really feel that Adam and Casey can at Leave Law Behind.

The plan is to hopefully report a video interview with them, too, for Legal Nomads readers.

The “Ask a Jodi” Podcast

Just a few years in the past, I purchased the area Ask a Jodi and thought I might do movies answering questions readers had about life and every thing after. It was truly my sitting on the bottom to dig out a tripod from my drawer that led to my re-opening the leak in 2018.

I shelved the video concept because it was infeasible, and with the bodily pressure this yr’s posts about COVID-19 took on me, I made a decision that writing would wish to come back second to one thing else.

I’ve lengthy mentioned I’d write if nobody had been studying. But sadly as I mentioned, my physique and writing don’t get on as properly. So a brief (10-15 min) podcast is the place I netted out, particularly to reply the various questions I obtain from readers about resilience, grief, hope, and a lot extra.

This will take time for me to get off the bottom, as a result of I’ve realized every thing takes extra time whenever you’re sick. I look ahead to sharing it, when it’s prepared.

If you’ve received a query for me that you just’d like me to handle in a podcast episode, I’ve made a Google Form right here so that you can ship it my means.

Redesigning Legal Nomads

This website began on Blogger and moved to WordPress in 2010. It’s gone by fairly a couple of resdesigns since 2008.

It’s been a couple of years, and this time the redesign will streamline present classes into a couple of important ones, and hyperlink out to the programs and sources I’ve listed above. I additionally need to brighten up the colors and replace the photographs and ‘about’ web page to mirror the transitions I’ve gone by over the past years.

I’ll even be altering my slogan from “Telling Stories Through Food” to “Curious About Everything.” The new slogan higher displays my current, although it is also all the time who I’ve been.

Audio recordings for Accessibility

Some of my readers who’ve CSF leaks (spinal or cranial) or who’re chronically sick have requested if it will be potential to report posts in audio kind, particularly those about meditation and my leak journey. My objective is to report these earlier than I begin the podcast, warming as much as audio for starters but in addition making it simpler to entry content material for the individuals who discover studying troublesome.

Newsletter Back Up and Running

Links I Loved was a publication I began to share the attention-grabbing hyperlinks that I learn, together with these I shared on Twitter. I’ve had the publication disabled for the final yr and a half as a result of my ache ranges fluctuate sufficiently that I felt I couldn’t decide to placing it out each month as promised.

With the redesign and the podcast, I’m beginning it up once more. It will home a couple of nice reads in addition to normal updates from my work, and podcast planning, and extra. You can enroll right here.

Supporting Legal Nomads

This is the query I get essentially the most from you all: “how can I support you?”

I really feel extremely fortunate to have an unimaginable, caring group. I say this usually, and can proceed to say so. Even throughout these bewildering instances when nearly everybody’s actuality has turn out to be warped, you continue to attain out to make sure that I’m holding up okay.

As with final yr, the simplest assist is through an Amazon present card to jodi-at-legalnomads.com, which is the place I get a few of the harder-to-find gadgets that aren’t out there on the grocery retailer. With COVID-19, my neighbours/household/buddies have helped with groceries, and ordering from Amazon means folks don’t must go trying to find tiger nut flour.

There’s additionally my Patreon, which I launched based mostly in your request! I like the intimate group there.

Honestly, there isn’t a lot else in the intervening time! Support the podcast when it launches, and share my work if it resonates. The care I would like day-to-day is essentially the most urgent, and fortunately I’ve household (and now neighbours and buddies!) to assist with grocery runs through the pandemic, and who drop by for socially distanced visits whereas it’s nonetheless heat.

***

My pal Cheryl, who I’ve featured right here, says her life mantra is LSAT. That she’s a former lawyer makes this humorous, because it’s not the LSAT of our nightmares. Her LSAT means love, give up, acceptance, and belief.

Loads more durable to embody than concern and anger and loathing.

Loads simpler to say than do.

And but, a worthy use of psychological time and power.

Every second you’re not in a state of give up, you’re in a state of lack.

That’s what will get me by every day.

Well, that and soup.

-Jodi