What You Really Can Control

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I remember feeling like I was walking through soup.

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It was July 2012 and I was on my way to the Philadelphia Convention Center to sit for the Bar exam for 5 days to become a lawyer.

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As my husband, Ryan, pulled up to the curb to drop me off, my eyes welled with tears.

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"This is it," I thought. 🥹

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The 4 years of undergrad, taking the LSAT, going through 3 years of law school, the open-to-close daily library studying sessions over the 3+ months studying for the Bar..... meeting my Dad at Starbucks so he could practice my flash cards with me and I could pause long enough to grab a snack.

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When the day came, I walked into the Convention Center with the 2,077 other Bar takers, only ~70% of whom would actually pass.

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As I looked around at the sea of panicked faces, I (very awkwardly) had a big fat smile on mine.

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Maybe it was the extra shot of espresso I stupidly added to my almond milk latte, but I was feeling gooooood. 😎

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Did I think I was going to do well on the Bar, let alone pass?! HECK NO! I was convinced I was going to fail, actually.

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So if I was sweating my tush off walking into the biggest test of my life AND thinking I was going to fail... what the heck was I so happy about?!

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"If this wasn't good enough, then nothing is," I thought.

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I knew I'd left it all on the field. There was nothing more I could have done.

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I couldn't have studied any harder. My aching back and flat tuchus were proof of that.

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We can get so attached to the outcome of things that we don't have control over. All you can control is how you show up.

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Did you give it your best? Did you do the best you could, given the circumstances? That's all we can ask for.

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So much of the rest is outside your control (like my friend, Nanci's computer that kicked the bucket halfway through Day 4).

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(🚨 Spoiler alert: I passed the Bar in 2 states at the same time, on the first try! I placed in the 99th percentile, which was hilarious given how convinced I was that I'd fail. I was stress-shopping at Nordstrom on October 12 when I found out... yes, they make you wait 3+ months to find out.)

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So as I turn in all 87,000+ words of my final manuscript to my publisher today (which I wanted to celebrate here with you!) -- I have that same smile on my face I did that day in July 2012.

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Not because the manuscript is perfect (it's not and will go through many more rounds of edits!) or because I knocked writing it out of the park...

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I know I gave this book all I had, especially given my life circumstances.

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I can't fully control how well it sells (you can help lol), or whether it lands on fancy must-read book lists...

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But I wrote the best manuscript I possibly could and you know your girl will market the heck out of it, too.

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So if I may, Reader...

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Whether you're working hard to start a business, launch a new project, or write an insane amount of words right now --

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Don't focus on controlling the outcome of what you're working on.

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Do what you have to do to have that grin on your face when you're all done -- regardless of what the outcome turns out to be.

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🎉 With that, let's turn in this manuscript to the publisher...

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Hit "reply" and give me some congrats and encouragement! I need it!

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Off to rest and recover for a few days while I wait for the next rounds of edits from my editor.

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Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.​

💬 SUBSCRIBER QUESTION OF THE WEEK

"Can clients take photos of their signed contracts and send them to me?"

Although that technically would be "OK" it still wouldn't be great. You want to have a fully executed copy of your signed contracts on hand. Here's how contract signing goes:

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1️⃣ you send your contract to your client unsigned. They sign, then send it back to you, and then you sign as the final step.

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2️⃣ You send your client a fully-executed copy of the contract for everyone's records.

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Ideally, you'd do this through an e-signing platform (like Hellosign [affiliate link]) because it's going to automate and speed up the process. You don't want to be sending things back and forth.

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Inside the Ultimate Bundle®️, I teach you how to onboard clients, send/sign contracts correctly, and additional tricks to CYA! :)

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Got a legal question? Submit yours here →​

🔗 Links You'll Love

🎙️ I was on Jannese Torres' Yo Quiero Dinero®️ podcast teaching you how to legally protect your online business. Listen to our chat here​→​

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🔐 There are 6 steps you need to take to make sure your scope of practice is legally airtight. Read the blog post here​→​

✔️ Finally, Your Task This Week

Pick 1 week in September to talk about your freebie(s) on social media every single day. Mark it on the cal and commit! Watch those email list sign-ups soar. Check below to let me know what you're going to do:

Did you pick a freebie promo week? Yes! Not yet, but I will No, I don't want to build my email list

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