The kid's answer? He said he wanted to be a smart phone. Why? Every time he went home all he saw was his parents looking at their smartphones all they long. The kid reasoned that if he too was a smartphone then his parents would pay more attention to him.

By this point the teacher is bawling, tears just streaming down her face. Her husband gets home and asks her what's wrong. She explains what she just read and the husband is also taken aback. He asks his wife: "Who is the poor kid? Why are his parents so selfish." She responds: "Our son."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5278252&forum_id=2#45845240)

edit: the problem with measuring your success in terms of how much money you currently make, is that you and many other BIGLAW ppl started from a position of significant debt. as a result, your current earnings, unsupported by any real wealth, don't mean as much

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5278252&forum_id=2#45845366)

It is true that at times practicing law was a lot of fun, but the overwhelming stress involved in doing a good job in such a demanding environment leaves little time for a proper personal life. It leaves no time to take care of yourself and your body and mind either. But you need to make the time!

As a sidenote, and to emphasize how making work the number one priority causes damage in other areas of one’s life, I keep finding out about the wives of male attorneys having affairs. (Maybe it is because I know so many attorneys, but there seems to be something to it because I hear about it so often.) I was on an airplane recently coming back from a wedding and saw the wife of a partner I know at a major American law firm carrying on a full-blown affair before she spotted me (she was shocked). I had known her for years since she was young. Her goal had always been to marry a successful man, and she did. She was with him all through Harvard Law School and supported him as he worked long hours in his firm and eventually became a partner. He certainly is successful—but he is also never around. This is quite par for the course, though, and something that is very common with the wives of attorneys. Their husbands are never around, and when they are around they are often unpleasant. While it is not a nice thing to say, it is what practicing law with a major law firm does to many attorneys who make their career the priority.

If you make your career the priority, this will have repercussions that are quite serious for your health and personal life. It always does. You cannot have a healthy life if you are driven to work all of the time. If you are trying to work all of the time, then you will suffer and your life will suffer. None of this is to say that your career is not important—it is—but you cannot succeed if you are emphasizing your career all the time. At some point, this emphasis will have the opposite effect, and you will become less successful the more you emphasize it. Emphasizing your career too much destroys your health and your mind.

As another aside, it is noteworthy that no area of the country tears down young attorneys more than New York City. New York City is a brutal area that puts huge demands on attorneys physically, mentally and so forth and often offers very little hope of advancement. People do succeed there, of course, but it is not easy and it is a place that seems to magnify the worst of everything.

The Priorities of Successful and Happy Attorneys Are (1) Health; (2) Work/Career; and (3) Personal Life

The priorities of the most successful (and happy) partners and associates are health; work and career; and then family, friends, and personal life.

Health Comes First

It may seem crazy to a young, struggling large law firm associate who is trying to bill a ton of hours and can’t fathom how he or she would find the time to eat a healthy meal or get some exercise, but if you really want to succeed and be happy over the long run in the practice of law you must put your HEALTH before your CAREER. The simple fact is happy and successful attorneys make their health their priority—and this includes psychological health as well as physical health. They do this because they understand that without their health they have nothing! It is the fundamental building block upon which everything else they do in their lives and intend to do in their lives rests.

They exercise, try and watch their diets, sleep regularly, and emphasize these things as the priority of their lives. For psychological health, some attorneys practice yoga or meditation. They immerse themselves in saltwater isolation tanks, go on retreats, become active in their faith communities, and engage in various spiritual practices to help find peace, balance, perspective, and to help restore their positive energy. I did not understand this for the longest time, but the more successful attorneys I have spoken with, the more I have come to the conclusion that the most successful attorneys all make their physical and psychological health a priority.

If you do not take care of yourself and your health, it becomes impossible to have any other priorities. Without your health, you cannot work on your relationships, career, and other interests. While taking care of your health may sound like a selfish thing, it is the least selfish thing you can do. Without your health, you simply cannot take care of the other things around you.

One of the most successful attorneys I know makes about $7,000,000 or $8,000,000 each year practicing law. He became very successful at a young age and ended up getting divorced when he had two young children. He got addicted to cocaine and other substances until things got out of control. He went to rehab and a few months later relapsed and went back again. The next time he stayed with it and finally addressed his issues. He made his health a priority and since doing that ten years ago has become one of the most successful attorneys in the country. He is happily remarried and having a very good life.

It is never too late to make your health a priority. When you do this, everything else falls into place!

When you are healthy, things do not stress you out as much. Exercise, in particular, provides a good release. You look better and feel better when you are fit and healthy. You have more energy to give your job and more energy to share with your clients, your profession, your family, and the world around you. You become a positive force and not a negative force.

Career Comes Second

The second priority of the most successful attorneys is their careers—even above family and friends. If an attorney does not make his or her career a priority, then he or she will fail. It may sound cold-hearted to put career before family and friends, but if you do not take care of your career, you will not be able to support your family. Law firms are extremely competitive places, and because they are so competitive attorneys always need to make sure that they are succeeding.

Family, Friends, and Personal Interests Come Third

After your career, you can concentrate on your family, friends, romantic life, and other things. You need to make each of these things part of your calculus, but if you intend to be a successful attorney, they simply cannot be your number one priority. Your health must come first—as without your health you have nothing. Your career must come second—as you will be unable to support these personal things in any material and substantial way if you are not secure in your career.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5278252&forum_id=2#45846031)

Let me stop you right there, hoss.

Never once in my decade or so of practice has the job been fun or even enjoyable. Am I the outlier? Are people actually enjoying this?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5278252&forum_id=2#45846239)