Many lawyers don't like marketing. Some even hate networking. In part, this is because they associate these terms with hard sales, rabid self-interest, and a whole lot of anxiety.
I'm one of the lawyers who loves marketing and networking, though I had to learn to love them both. As an introvert, I was afraid of networking for a long time because I had the wrong idea that successful networking meant following the playbook of my extroverted friends. And I never considered myself a salesperson, so marketing anything seemed like a stretch.
Despite these misgivings, I ended up wandering into the woods of networking and marketing unintentionally. How did this happen? To put it simply, I followed my passions. I enjoyed writing. I loved presenting and teaching about things I knew well. And I loved leadership and meeting new people.
And you know what? Over the years and with some practice, I became a pretty good marketer and networker. This has been true of my law practice and it's also been true with my mindfulness teaching too.
To be truthful, I never considered it marketing when I started teaching mindfulness. When I first got started, I was more passionate about sharing what I knew and using the skills I had to offer something good. At the time I didn't see strong connections between teaching mindfulness and my law practice and I didn't have big goals.
Because of this, I almost had to laugh when I was asked to be a presenter for the Marketing Mindfulness Services Summit. Had I been marketing all this time? I thought I was having fun, doing the things I love, and sharing helpful things with my community.
Then I reflected and realized that, yes, it was marketing but it was marketing in my way. I decided that perhaps I had some good advice to share because I enjoyed marketing and could bring a joyful perspective to it.
To prepare for the summit, I spoke with the co-host, Simona Ondrejkova, on the Mindfulness Marketing for Conscious Business Podcast. We discuss my journey to mindfulness practice and how I got started with teaching and writing on the topic.
I also shared how marketing from many teachers, including the wonderful Tara Brach, helped me learn meditation and positively impacted my life. We also discuss how marketing, in particular writing, has made me a better teacher of mindfulness because it has forced me to wrestle with concepts and understand them better. And I discussed how letting myself have fun by integrating examples from pop culture, like Kesha, Kendrick Lamar, Better Call Saul, and Thor, into my teaching has kept things light.
I know there are many examples of poor marketing out there. I know that there are some people out there who misrepresent and mislead. Anyone who has networked at all knows that some people think networking only means accruing as many benefits for yourself as possible.
Those examples unfortunately exist but they aren't the only way to market or network for law practice or other forms of work. If you want to hear about a different path for marketing in an ethical, joyful, and compassionate way, check out this podcast episode and consider attending the Marketing Mindful Services Summit on Friday.
Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, How to Be a Badass Lawyer, for a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children's book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
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