When I entered law school, my dream was to be a sports agent and sit in Dodger Stadium watching my clients perform. However, in my first year of law school, I had a professor in Constitutional law, whose incredible class sparked a new interest. He made me think deeply about my values and what was truly important to me. This began my shift towards employment law and civil rights law as well as ultimately finding a meaningful career in those areas of the law. Then, when I was appointed to the bench, I also found great meaning in ensuring that the parties who come before me are always treated with dignity, respect, and fairness.
We all understand the importance of work. Yes, work is a necessary means to money, survival, and life in the modern world. But it can also be a great source of passion, purpose, and contribution. Work can make life sweet and fruitful. “Work is love made visible,” said Kahlil Gibran.
Since we are going to spend most of our waking hours working, we want to learn to thrive in our work. The first step in doing so is to find meaning in our work. Many studies have shown that people are happiest when their work is meaningful. Some work is easy to see as meaningful, but other types of work require us to look deeper to find meaning.
So, let me offer you this important thought: Every single job provides a service of some kind. Therefore, at a minimum, can you see how your service towards others provides meaning? I encourage you to take a few minutes to get clarity on how your work benefits society in some way.
The important point is you can choose to see your work as meaningful. Each job provides an opportunity to serve profoundly. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep the streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or a Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’”
In the legal profession, serving as an attorney can provide incredible meaning. Knowing that you are serving your clients by being the best attorney you can is very rewarding. While some of your cases as an attorney may be more interesting than others, your daily work can provide a great deal of meaning if you focus on profoundly serving others. We all have the benefit of providing a lasting impact on our clients’ cases and lives.