I was in a courtroom last week as a witness. After watching the proceedings for an hour, I turned to the lawyer sitting next to me and said, “learning how to argue cases must have been the fun part of law school.” His response, “In law school, we didn’t learn about “how” to be a lawyer.”
For three years, law students go to school to become a lawyer, and they never learn how to be a lawyer: all this learning and no doing. It reminds me of high school.
All those law students who graduated at the top of their class knew how to be good at school, but not actually how to be a great lawyer.
Out of the hundred million (or so) people who go to work every day, there are very few who invest in themselves to be better at their jobs and do exceptional work. They don’t read books, take courses, or attend educational workshops. (Many are free or low-cost). We have access to more information than at any other time in history. YouTube has become the go-to for learning and doing. I didn’t know how to change the tail light on my Jeep Wrangler, so I learned how on YouTube and saved myself $75.00.
It is time to shift to learning and doing. One without the other is a waste of time.