Walt Hampton, J.D.

Creating the Work & Life You LOVE

Labor On

by Walt | Sep 15, 2022 | Success | 2 Comments

We just celebrated Labor Day in the United States: A celebration of work and workers; an opportunity to honor labor; the chance to celebrate the fulfillment of our effort.

Or perhaps, more realistically, an escape from tedium; a long weekend away from the insanity of the office; with a beer… or two; and burgers and dogs on the grill.

Because, you see, nearly 80% of folks are unfulfilled in their work. (More than 90% among my lawyer colleagues.) Employee engagement worldwide, that is a worker’s investment in his or her employer’s vision and mission, stands at 13%, meaning 87% of folks couldn’t really give a damn about what their company is trying to achieve. (And, by the way, employers beware: engagement is correlated directly with your bottom line.)

Which is terrible: Because our work is the highest expression of who we are in the world. Our work is the opportunity to serve in the world; to share with the world those gifts and talents that are uniquely ours to share.

Our work takes up the majority of our waking hours. It takes us away from our homes and our families. It requires our attentions and focus; our blood, sweat and tears. And at the end of the day, if it is devoid of meaning, we are left empty and depleted and despairing.

Our work is not the entirety of our being; and yet it is a huge part of who we are.

“Isn’t work supposed to be a grind?” my young career-coaching client asked.

“No!” I yelled into the phone. “It’s not.”

It’s supposed to be rich and full and joyous. Not without stress or worry; not without effort. But filled with meaning and purpose and deep satisfaction.

Your work should be fun; your work should make you happy.

Steve Jobs said, “For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something… .”

If you find yourself filled with dread on Sunday night, then what you’re doing isn’t working. If you’re not waking up most days excited and on fire about your work, then you need to do something different.

Because when you’re in the flow, when you lose track of time, when your Monday feels as awesome as your Friday… that’s when you know you have the work and life you love. You deserve that; the world deserves that.

Because your work should be a Labor of Love.

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If your work isn’t lighting you up, we should definitely talk. Email me: [email protected]

And stop by for a visit at: https://summit-success.com/

Life Is Too Short For Meh

by Walt | Sep 8, 2022 | Success | 0 Comments

I liked the rocking chair. A lot.

But I didn’t love it.

So it was a “no.”

There’s lots of great deck furniture out there in the world.

I have that perfect rocker in my mind’s eye.

It’s got to be exactly right.

As in, it has to be a “hell yes!”

We apply that standard liberally.

To business opportunities. Potential hires. Travel destinations. Adventure possibilities.

You see, life is way too short for indifference, for mediocracy.

And with the panoply of choices, why settle?

Leadership expert John Maxwell says, “Learn to say ‘no’ to the good so you can say ‘yes’ to the best.”

And remember: “No” is a complete sentence.

So when confronting a choice, make it either “Hell yes; or no.”

“Meh,” not so much.

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All too often, business professionals settle when it comes to their careers. If you’re feeling “meh” about your work, we should talk. Email me: [email protected]

And stop by for a visit at: https://summit-success.com/

Work Is Life

by Walt | Sep 1, 2022 | Success | 0 Comments

She’s wrong.

Current TikTok influencer Zaiad Khan is dead wrong when she says that it’s “unnecessary to subscribe to the hustle culture mentality that work has to be [your] life.”

Work is your life.

In the same way that your art is your life; your relationships; your family; your avocations; your wellness and wellbeing.

It’s all your life.

When I first began this work sixteen years ago, I used to preach and teach work-life balance.

That was bullshit too.

There is no work-life balance.

There’s just life.

And sometimes there’s no balance whatsoever.

Like when I was a single dad and managing partner of a law firm. There was only making lunches, packing backpacks, driving to practice fields, helping with homework, reading bedtime stories, and trying cases.

You may be in the season of caring for an ailing parent, or navigating through a tricky relationship, or closing the deal that will catapult your career.

That’s what’s happening in your life.

And balance, well that’s like some distant fairy tale bedtime story.

To marginalize any part of life is to dishonor all of what life is.

This is especially true when it comes to our work.

From the dawn of time, we have worked.

To take care of ourselves, our families; and to contribute to our communities.

Hunting. Gathering. Farming.

With the rise of the industrial revolution, manufacturing and producing

Now, professional services and tech.

Even TikTok influencing!

In ways big and small, you are called to work.

It’s part of the fabric of your life.

It’s a fundamental expression of who you are and how you are in the world.

To see it as “unnecessary” diminishes the whole.

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I help entrepreneurs and business professionals create work that light them up and sets them free. If that sounds like something that you’d like, let’s connect for a call. Email me: [email protected]

And stop by for a visit at: https://summit-success.com/

A Friday Hater

by Walt | Aug 25, 2022 | Success | 0 Comments

Do you know that more heart attacks happen on Monday than on any other day? That’s because Monday is the most stressful day of the week.

Many people dread Mondays.

I know I did. For years. I was a gladiator. I did battle as a trial lawyer. I’d come to the end of the weekend and, as Sunday evening encroached, I’d feel a dark, black cloud settle over me. And on Monday morning, I’d drag myself out of bed and trudge to work.

“How are you?” I remember asking the State Marshal, a familiar face just beyond the metal detector at the courthouse where I often worked.

“Well, one day closer to the weekend,” he said.

It was Monday.

Too many live lives, if not of Thoreau’s quiet desperation, then of silent despondency. (Indeed more than 70% of Americans report that they are unhappy in their work; the number is 90% among attorneys; higher still among physicians.)

You don’t have the luxury of living just for the weekends. The sands of your life run way too quickly through the glass.

You have the opportunity to choose a different way.

You have the opportunity to wake up every single day excited and on fire about what you get to do. In fact, I dare say, you have the obligation to do that.

You get to create the work and the lives you love. A life filled with purpose, passion and joy-filled possibility.

Steve Jobs once said, “For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something…almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”

I have the great privilege of working every day with those brave entrepreneurs and professionals who hear the ticking of the clock, who have the audacity to confront the status quo, and who have the courage to envision a better way. I have the great privilege of standing with them to bear witness to their creations: Work and lives that allow them the freedom to express their unique gifts in the world, and the joy of abundant prosperity.

I get to Fridays now and feel a vague melancholy. How did another amazing week fly by so fast, I wonder? And all weekend long, I look forward to Monday morning and the opportunity to begin again.

You. You get to wake up every single day excited and on fire about your work and your life. If you want to. It’s your birthright. To do otherwise, I believe, is to abdicate the gift of your unique humanity.

If you are in that prized minority, and love every minute of the work you do, please share this post with someone who needs a nudge to reclaim their sense of hope and possibility.

If you are living from weekend to weekend, do you hear the ticking of the clock?

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Sixteen years ago, the life I live now, with the freedom and flexibility to work around the world with the most amazing entrepreneurs and professionals on the planet, was beyond imagination. And yet I knew in my bones that there was something more; something better; I knew that I couldn’t compromise, that I couldn’t settle, that I couldn’t continue to muddle through. My own journey, and the journeys of the now countless entrepreneurs and professionals I have witnessed, are testaments to what is possible when you listen to the call of your heart. When the noise of the clock in your head gets to too loud for you, let’s talk. Email me at: [email protected]

Quiet Quitting

by Walt | Aug 18, 2022 | Success | 1 Comment

Are you a quitter?

A quiet quitter?

If you are, I suspect that something is way out of kilter.

Your work life makes up a huge proportion of your entire life. It’s not only about making a decent living for yourself and for those you love. It’s an expression of who you are and how you are in the world. It’s about how you show up, how you contribute, how you serve, how you make a difference in the lives of others.

If you find yourself quiet quitting, it’s time to do something new.

Life is way too short to be a quiet quitter.

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You can take the background and experience you already have and create work you love, work that will set you free. I can show you how. Email me: [email protected]

And stop by for a visit at: https://summit-success.com/