Thread by @DavidLat

1/ THREAD. I’m not in the self-help or self-improvement space — I write about #SCOTUS, law firms, and other legal stuff — but if you’ll indulge me, I have some life advice to share.

2/ This is a bit cliched, but your life is YOUR LIFE — and if you’re not happy with it, it’s on you to change it.

You care the most about it, and you’re in the best position to improve it.

3/ Last year, I had a near-death experience with #COVID19, which put me in @NYULangone for three weeks, including a week on a ventilator.

It sucked, obviously, but it was a wake-up call.

4/ At the time that I got sick with Covid, I was a bit adrift.

I was humming with a low-level dissatisfaction — something wasn’t right in my life, but I wasn’t quite sure what.

5/ I was working at the time as a legal recruiter at @LateralLink. It’s a great recruiting company, and my then-colleagues were (and are) awesome — but recruiting as a job wasn’t fulfilling me completely.

6/ One thing I did learn doing my Covid-19 experience, which I live-tweeted and wrote about for the @WashingtonPost, @LATimes, and @Slate, was how much I missed writing.

So I thought during the pandemic, “Maybe I should do more writing again.”

7/ Kind of on a whim, I started a “side hustle” in December 2020 — writing Original Jurisdiction ("OJ"), a @SubstackInc newsletter/blog about law and the legal profession, my main topics pre-Covid.

bit.ly/3mSdSMG

8/ Original Jurisdiction started getting traction. I started spending more time on it. And I was enjoying it -- more than my day job.

(I had the same experience when I first started blogging in 2004 at Underneath Their Robes, while still practicing law.)

9/ This spring, I started toying with the idea of leaving legal recruiting to work on OJ full-time.

But it was daunting. Recruiting has been relatively lucrative, and my husband and I have a mortgage, a 3-year-old who’s in private school (and diapers), etc.

10/ But I decided to, as Nike says, just do it. I gave notice at Lateral Link, with my last official day as April 30 (I'm still finishing up a few final projects), and as of last Monday, May 3, I became a full-time writer once again.

nyti.ms/3e3m2y6

11/ I’ve been back to writing full-time for just a week, and so far, so good. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many people have signed up as paid subscribers to Original Jurisdiction (which is now how I make a living).

bit.ly/3nQyDJj

12/ I’m cautiously optimistic that writing will work out financially. But more importantly than the money, I’m happier, on a day to day level, and I'm more engaged with my work.

13/ These days I wake up in the morning and I’m energized and excited (well, except when our three-year-old wakes us up too early).

And sometimes at night I’m so into what I’m doing, I wind up staying way past my bedtime.

14/ I’m also a much more likable and enjoyable person to be around (or so my husband Zach tells me).

Now our dinner talk consists of brainstorming about projects I’m excited to tackle -- Zach is also my editor -- and not my venting.

15/ I’ve had this experience before. I was scared when I left practicing law to write full-time at @Wonkette, and I was scared when I left Wonkette, at the time a very established blog, to start Above the Law (@ATLblog).

16/ But years later, I can say that both things worked out. I don't regret taking either risk -- and I would have regretted NOT making those jumps.

In my experience (and I admit I'm a very fortunate person), things often have a way of working out.

17/ Now, I’m very, very lucky. I have no student loans. My husband makes a good living as a lawyer. We have savings that could get us by for a while. Not everyone is in such a fortunate position.

18/ If you, like me, are fortunate enough to have a safety net, don’t let it go to waste.

Yet another cliche, but true (as I know as an alum of the ventilator): Life is too short. Follow your dreams.

19/ And if you’re not yet able to follow your dreams, perhaps for financial reasons, do what you can to make that possible eventually. Downsize your lifestyle. Save like a maniac. Marry rich (or richer). ;-)

20/ Remember: it’s up to YOU to fix your life.

And for those of you with safety nets -- e.g., frustrated white-collar workers with tons in savings -- you’re like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. You’ve had the power to save yourself all along.

21/ This advice isn’t just about your career.

If you’re unhappy in a relationship, END IT.

If you’re not satisfied with your home, MOVE (which we are in the midst of doing, from Manhattan to the New Jersey suburbs -- yay for a home office).

22/ If you’re scared, ask for help. Ask family and friends for advice or support.

I haven't been shy about asking folks to subscribe to OJ, for example (even if it feels a bit awkward, like hitting up friends to buy your daughter's Girl Scout cookies).

23/ So if you’re not happy with your career or your life, don’t just whine and whine -- as I did, for months.

Take action. You have the power to change your own life. Good luck!

P.S. And please check out Original Jurisdiction!

davidlat.substack.com