A life coach for lawyers and others with demanding careers looking for more flow in work and life
You’ve got the degrees, the job, the awards.
And all the responsibilities that come with it.
Like a mortgage, payroll, tuition payments for the kids…
It looks like you’re successful on the outside, but you’re not truly feeling it inside.
You’re wanting more for yourself. More out of life.
Perhaps happiness is “mostly” there – like an 8 - but it’s never quite a 10.
Or maybe you’re actually totally miserable inside your carefully curated exterior shell, just going through the motions day-to-day, showing up to a job that leaves you feeling uninspired, but that you “can’t” leave because of the comfy lifestyle you’ve created for you or your family - or maybe just the life you always believed getting a law degree would lead to (but hasn’t).
Your inner voice is calling out for you to do something different. The 20 year-old version of you is still in there saying, “Hey, is this really what we’ve worked so hard to achieve? You can do better than this, we deserve better….”
Maybe it’s telling you to quit your job.
Or move to the mountains and buy a goat farm.
Or go sell coconuts on the beach.
Or just get a life again.
And start acting like a human being, not a human working machine.
Our Services
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Individual Coaching
We offer 3, 6 or 12 month packages, as well as maintenance plans for check-ins to help you stay on track after you complete your engagement. We start by identifying your goals, desires, and objectives, then creating a custom plan for how to get you there, and developing a method so you can hold yourself accountable.
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Group Programs
Small scale, higher touch, more individual attention or lower-cost, larger group experiences. The Lawyer Wellness Club is up and running. Also check out our Events page for upcoming workshops and events. Interested in a custom workshop for your group or firm? Contact us for more information.
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Immersive Retreats
Small group, in-person retreats. You’ll hang out with some other awesome people and leave with a roadmap to create the things you want in your life. A 2-day group or individual retreat experience is included for all 12 month coaching clients. Inquire for details.
If you’re wondering how this happened, don’t worry. You’re in good company.
Society, our parents, and the world at large programs us to equate happiness with financial success, degrees on the wall, and our name on the door of the corner office.
Workplace achievements and courtroom wins are celebrated far more than personal growth and self-satisfaction and those pieces often get left out of the equation.
Part of you may be asking “Why isn’t everything that I’ve done, all I’ve accomplished enough for me to feel satisfied?”
Maybe you feel guilty for even thinking that you want more for yourself.
“My life isn’t that bad, some might say it looks pretty good… who am I to complain? I’m a successful professional for Pete’s sake, life should be good.”
Perhaps you have had a big life wake up call.
A new health diagnosis.
Sudden loss of someone close to you to a heart attack, stroke, or something else.
Maybe a near death experience….
You feel you HAVE to make some changes stat before something bad happens.
Or your daily discomfort may not feel quite that urgent. Maybe it’s just a dull pain like a toothache or a mild headache. You know logically in your brain that you are not living your life to its full potential, but you are not sure where to start making changes. You may not even fully believe right now that it is even possible.
(Pssst - little known secret - it is possible. No matter where you are right now.)
Another little known secret is that feeling unfulfilled almost always carries a price.
The impact of discontent shows up as things like:
Overeating or overdrinking
Procrastinating
Blaming others for your dissatisfaction
Drug use or overuse
Avoiding obligations
Messy home and work spaces
People-pleasing all the time instead of taking care of your own needs
Unhappy relationships
Lack of exercise
Sloppy work in the office
Feelings of general malaise
Unhealthy living
It’s easy to accept any or all of these things as just “part of life.”
When they’re actually the by-products of needing to get back to who you truly are.
They are signs that you need to start living the life you really want to live.
It’s possible to get there. You just have to take your first step….
Book a free Meet and Greet if working with a coach feels like your next step and you would like to learn more.
(If it’s not, decide what is.
And take that step.)
The good news is you’re going to get there if you want to badly enough.
Working with a coach will help you get there faster.
Our philosophy
We believe that you - and every single person on this planet - have everything you need to change your life and create the relationship between work and life that you truly want. It may not even be apparent to you what that looks like quiet yet.
That’s ok.
Our process will help you see what is possible for you and what it is you are truly longing for more of in your life.
Once you see that, we work together on developing a strategy for how you get there.
A strategy that feels right to you, one that you will stick to, no matter what.
We will be here to hold you accountable to that plan and help you forgive yourself and get back on track if you wander off now and then.
For most clients, we start by working with the Wheel of Life to see where you’re doing ok, maybe even awesome, and where you could use some work.
We dig into the core of what is actually going on that is keeping you from living your life fully and contentedly and help you identify any core beliefs you have or thoughts that may be there, as if running in your operating system unnoticed, so you can get to work on changing those thoughts.
Why?
Because when you change your thoughts, you can change your life.
When you start to cross-examine your thoughts, you start to see where they’re leading you down the wrong path.
So you can choose your thoughts with intention and get back on the path that feels right to you.
There’s no magic bullet solution.
We work with you to create your own method to change your life that is best for you, starting where you are now and leading to where you want to go.
Want to talk more?
Book a free Meet and Greet and we’ll do a rapid assessment of your strengths and where you may want to focus some attention to improve.
It’s not your fault.
It’s so easy to end up here.
Personal happiness was never one of the subjects you had to study to pass all those exams you took to get where you are today.
Odds are, the last time playtime, feeling good, and having fun were part of your curriculum was back in grade school.
Finding more happiness, getting a life outside the office, or even discovering more meaning in the work you do doesn’t require getting a total life overhaul, leaving all the hard work behind that you’ve done to get where you are, or taking a massive pay cut.
It is achievable where you are right now. And when you find more happiness in your life, something magical happens. Work gets easier, opportunities arise seemingly out of nowhere, you start seeing ways to make your life better bit by bit.
Reconnecting to yourself, remembering the person you always thought you would be, is the first step in finding more happiness – and getting a life again.
It means:
Making time for yourself
Transitioning to or creating a job you love - where you are now or somewhere else
Integrating more fun into day-to-day life
Simplifying your world so you have the time for what matters most
Cultivating simple practices that make your life easier, better, and more fulfilling
It means not just having a life again, it’s having a better life.
Hi, I’m Angela Hayden, a life coach and a lawyer.
I used to work long hours in a Boston Financial District law firm, preparing for court, giving up weekends doing fun things to stay in the office, representing parties in FINRA arbitrations (and even longa go before FINRA existed when we had to choose between NYSE and NASD).
It looked like I had everything – a job in a 100+ year old firm, another lawyer as a spouse, and even a corner office (with 3 windows!).
But I wasn’t happy.
It was easy to blame my unhappiness on lots of other things – a tough client driving me crazy, that aforementioned lawyer spouse, or even the weather (winters are long in New England!). I had as many excuses as I had pairs of black heels and grey suits (that was a lot).
Eventually, I started up my own law firm, recognizing a dream I had held for years, thinking that would lead to more free time, more control over the work I did, and more money in my pocket, but I still wasn’t happy. My law practice didn’t get me there - I found myself spending longer hours with a lower return for years until I figured out what was going on (that cost me a lot of time and a LOT of money working with consultants and coaches over the years).
I had two adorable kids, a house in a lovely suburb, but happiness was elusive.
It wasn’t until I started taking a hard look at what was going on in my life and accepting responsibility for the impact my own choices had on my state of being. From the way I practiced law, to changing my mindset, to the relationships I cultivated around me, I began to make changes that made life better and better.
Nobody could do that for me - that’s something I had to learn to do for myself.
Once I stopped to contemplate what I really did want my life to look like, instead of being unhappy with what I had, I was finally able to start creating it.
Today, I still have my law practice. It’s a practice that reflects who I am, the people I want to serve, and embraces the importance of lifestyle choices for myself and the people I work with. I finally work on the things that bring me joy, say no to the things that do not, and feel way more confident about my ability to make money, and it finally feels like I found that balance between work and living that was so elusive for so long.
The key to it all was discovering how to integrate life and law.
Here are a few ways you can improve your lawyer life, no matter where you are now:
Create realistic time management systems that allow for planning, not just reacting
Develop systems that create efficiency so you can stop re-creating the wheel
Identify ways to minimize the time impact of non-billable administrative tasks
Cultivate practices to find more enjoyment in life so you can have fun even when you’re not on vacation
Implement a client-development strategy that aligns with who you are and how you work (so you can find clients easily while having fun - even if you are a total introvert)
Integrate a practice management system that WILL make your lawyer life easier (I use Clio, but if you use something else, there may be ways you can put it to better use in your practice)
Remind yourself to have fun and truly enjoy what the world has to offer
I’ve implemented all of these things into my own life. What that means is today I am happier, I rarely feel burned out, and I know that whenever a problem presents itself, I can solve it.
No matter what.
(Need clients? Check. Feeling stressed and overwhelmed? I can take care of that myself. Really need to take a break to recharge, but don’t want to miss out on prospects who call while I am off in the woods? Have a process for that that works.)
Creating systems and processes for managing my practice AND my life have given me the space to pursue my passions - whether it is getting out in the woods for a hike or coaching other lawyers like you to find your own path to the life you want to live, it never would have happened if I hadn’t taken the first steps on the journey.
Ready for your first (or next) step?
If you are looking to create your own version of a life in law that is aligned with who you are and how you want to be in the world, I invite you to book a free consultation where we will talk about what brought you here, perform a bird’s eye view assessment of where you are now and where you could focus some time, energy, and effort to make the best “bang for the buck” improvements in your life, and identify a strategy for your next steps.
And if a group program calls to you, I invite you to check out The Lawyer Wellness Club, a monthly program designed just for lawyers to provide you with the guidance you need to improve any area in life.
Everything in the world was invented twice - first in someone’s mind, then in “the real world.”
The Lawyer Wellness Club will provide you with the mindset tools, support, and practical solutions you need so you can invent the vision you have for your own life - both in your mind and “the real world.”
Care to join us?
Hear Angela on “Fresh Blood: Killing it in the Age of Ageism” a Podcast by Jolie Downs of Paradigm Staffing
Recent blog posts
While we serve mostly lawyers, we help other professionals with demanding, regulated careers, too, including:
Financial Services (registered reps, BOMs, RIAs)
Technology Sales
Executives
Academics
Angela’s background is particularly suited to serving lawyers and financial services professionals due to her experience with these licensed and/or regulated professions.