You Will Screw Up

Dear Diary:

I had a meeting with an business guy who had three of his own businesses–all which are very successful in their own right. I found him because I googled my dream job and his company popped up. Needless to say, I was stoked when I got a meeting with him.

He gave me some great advice, some good anecdotes, etc. but what was most important was that he told me that I will screw up.

He screwed up.

Everyone screws up.

But you have to get your ass back up. You better get your ass back up.

He told me that everyone sees the glory but nobody sees the story. In other words, they just see how successful he is but they don’t see or don’t acknowledge the trials, tribulations, and the falls on his ass he took. He kept cautioning that he didn’t want to romanticize his success (though, he’s appeared in several high profile magazines so it’s hard not to) and to advise me that while I should take the ball and run and not look back, I better be prepared to fall on my ass, on my face, on my side, and everywhere else.

In one of my past posts, I talked about falling forward and the fact that we BigLaw kids have led a sheltered life.

We got good grades in undergrad, we got good grades in law school, we got the summer associate gig, we got the offer, got our bar exam paid for, a stipend, a sign-on bonus, took a bar trip, then started work making six figures with a secretary that will print out our documents, sort them, staple them, and deliver them right into our hands and who will also find us four different sizes of binder clips, didn’t do shit for a year, had our CLEs fees covered, etc. etc.

We were spoiled ass b*tches.

Who don’t know how to cope with screw ups. But guess what, it’s life and it’s time we do and realize that screw ups aren’t always !FAILURE! It’s just a screw up. Some are bigger than others, true, but like in kindergarten (which might likely be the last time some of you BigLaw types screwed up), learn from your mistakes, walk it off, and get on with life.

So my fallen BigLaw comrades, get your ass back up. Don’t sit there and pout. Don’t wait for BigLaw to come and take you back (’cause that’s not going to happen anytime soon). Don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do with your life.

Get up.

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