The Mottley Law Firm - March 2022

The Mottley Law Firm - March 2022

03/22

THE MOTTLEY CREW REVIEW

www.MottleyLawFirm.com | (804) 823-2011

SO LONG, LADY LUCK —WE DON’T NEED YOU!

MY TAKE ON THE LUCK OF THE IRISH

This month’s newsletter is going out a little later than usual due to my busy workload these days. It just so happens I’m writing it on one of my favorite holidays of the year — St. Patrick’s Day! It’s got me thinking about luck. I have more than a drop of Irish blood in me, but I’ve never really believed in the traditional notion of blind luck. The idea that there’s a mystical force floating around out there that hits people at random just never sat right with me. Honestly, I don’t think we even need that sort of luck — but maybe that’s the annoying optimist in me talking. I think people need to make their own luck by not being so afraid, taking chances, and being an optimist. And to be clear, I am an optimist. Sometimes, I am told by others that my goals are “unrealistic.” I think those people are pessimists (although what they will say is something like, “I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist.”) My eternal optimism is a bit unusual for a lawyer. Years ago, a friend of mine drove that home when we were involved in a very difficult case together. We didn’t know it at the time, but the case was doomed for failure. Everything went wrong from day one all the way to the bitter end. At one point in the middle of the gloom, my colleague remarked, “You know what, you remind me of an old cartoon.”

“What cartoon?” I asked.

He explained, “Two children walk into a room filled with a giant pile of horse manure. Kid No. 1 says, ‘Oh my God, look at this mess!’ and kid No. 2 says, ‘Yeah, but there’s got to be a pony around here somewhere!’”

Does my positive outlook mean everything that happens to me is hunky dory and happy? Heck no! But I think that in a way, optimism lets me create my own luck — and you can do the same thing. Have you ever noticed that good things tend to happen to optimistic people? I have, and I think it’s because our attitude creates our reality. If you moan and complain all the time, you won’t attract opportunities. But if you seize the day with a positive attitude, the universe will reward you for that. All I need to do to see proof of that is look at my referral relationships. I went into all of these cases with a positive attitude, and I left with lifelong friends who continue to send me important work. Some people might call what I just described luck, but I don’t agree. Luck happens at random. If you choose to be optimistic, you’re the master of your own fate. You’re powerful — no matter your situation. If you’re in a tough spot right now, consider using the power of optimism to your advantage. You might be surprised by the lessons you learn and the opportunities that land in your lap!

“You’re definitely the second kid,” he added.

It’s true that I always focus on finding the positive. I even took that horrible, miserable, costly case in stride. Instead of falling into a depression about it and becoming gun shy, I asked myself, “Okay, what can I learn from this experience?” I realized that there were certain things about that case that made it too risky. Since then, I’ve seen similar cases walk in my door. Because of my horrible experience in the earlier case, I recognized the shortfalls in those matters right away and turned them down. As a bonus, even though the case was doomed, in the process of working it, I met other lawyers who I still work with today. “HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THAT GOOD THINGS TEND TO HAPPEN TO OPTIMISTIC PEOPLE? I HAVE, AND I THINK IT’S BECAUSE OUR ATTITUDE CREATES OUR REALITY.”

–Kevin Mottley

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