Few days ago, I came across a post on social media; its either Instagram or Twitter, I can\u2019t remember the exact social media platform, but the post resonated with me because \u2018it spoke the truth\u2019 and exposed the lies we have created for ourselves over the years. The lie has been spoken so often that it has unconsciously become the truth of others who are not willing to be honest with their success stories or better said some people have adopted these lies to stay modest. I will tell you about this post shortly.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Generally, in this clime, when people are asked the secret of their success, they tend to attribute the secret solely to God, some are more generous and this generosity allows them to credit their success to God, diligence and hardwork\u2026stories are abound of how they only sleep for 4 hours a day, how they read 10 books a week etc., I\u2019m sure we\u2019ve all heard the clich\u00e9.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a woman of faith and I understand the place of God in the success formula; some have described it as the luck or favour factor, whatever you call it, its fine. Back to the post I spoke about, the post credit success to access to capital, influential relationships, rare opportunities, getting lucky, having a financial fall-back and a supportive network. This post totally dispelled the God + Hardwork = Success formula.<\/p>\n
While the post is more appropriate for Entrepreneurs and Business inclined people, it\u2019s not really apposite for professionals such as Lawyers who render majorly, services, this notwithstanding, there is a lesson to be learnt, shall we proceed? To drive home the lesson, I have picked 2 of the afore mentioned credits i.e. influential relationships and a supportive network.<\/p>\n
To be a successful lawyer, you need more than knowledge of law, you need influential relationships and a supportive network. The summary of it, is that you need people, you need relationships, so I ask a simple question; what\u2019s your people\u2019s worth? Take a moment please, don\u2019t answer in a hurry.<\/p>\n
Now, where are the \u2018walking Black\u2019s law Dictionary\u2019? The \u2018Encyclopedia of Judicial Authorities\u2019? How about the \u2018Recitals of Statutory Provisions\u2019? O! yours is to cram up all new legal positions, apart from knowing the cases off hand, you also know their citations, well done! Waoh! You don\u2019t cram but you fall in the category of \u2018keepers of case note\u2019.<\/p>\n
Let me burst your bubbles, you need more than the knowledge of law to be successful. You need more than knowledge of the recent cases, the extant position, above God, you need people.<\/p>\n
Yes, I said it people, bridges, relationships I hope you\u2019ve heard that; \u2018your people\u2019s worth determines your net worth.\u2019 Indeed, the saying is true.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t get me wrong it\u2019s good to know the law, the recent decisions, but far above all that, you need people, here is a word of advice, be good, be friendly, be courteous, nourish you circle, stay in touch, keep the bridges; don\u2019t burn them.<\/p>\n
With the advent of technology, it\u2019s easier to keep track of friendships, utilize all social media platforms to the tilt, stay in touch with friends. Get engaged on social platforms, stay active on all relevant groups and chats forum, don\u2019t leave that Primary and\/or Secondary school WhatsApp group. Let me shock you, it\u2019s easier to get client from your Primary and\/or Secondary group than your University group, the reason is simple and it accords with common sense, friends on University platform are equally lawyers except where the legal services you\u2019re rendering is essentially for lawyers.<\/p>\n
Here is another thought, have you noticed how the \u2018not so brilliant class mate\u2019 usually becomes successful, it\u2019s because what they lacked in books they compensated for in people\u2019s skills.<\/p>\n
While we cannot jettison the place of diligence, hard work and faith among a host of other factors it\u2019s important to maintain relationships and develop people skills while at it.<\/p>\n
So I ask again, what\u2019s your people\u2019s worth?<\/p>\n
Tosin is a Lawyer, Content Creator and Blogger she practices in Ibadan, Oyo State.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Few days ago, I came across a post on social media; its either Instagram or Twitter, I can\u2019t remember the exact social media platform, but the post resonated with me because \u2018it spoke the truth\u2019 and exposed the lies we have created for ourselves over the years. The lie has been spoken so often that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t