You have a dream of having a legal career. You want to impact lives, help people, and make an important difference. You want to begin as a paralegal but just can't seem to make it happen. Life keeps getting in the way.
As a life coach, co-founder and administrator at Center for Advanced Legal Studies, my question to you is this: What are your life goals? What problem will you solve by gaining your paralegal education? What major concerns do you have that may be keeping your from living your dream? What do you see as your next step?
A lot of questions, I know. But, if you are serious about living the dream rather than dreaming the dream then they are all questions that need to be answered.
I've taken a moment to share below some of the responses our students have provided to these same questions. Maybe you will see yourself in their answers.
What Are Your Life Goals?
Life goals are usually viewed as something big and imortant to be accomplished.
They are generally long-term goals. Life goals are bigger than what you can accomplish in one day yet, what you decide to do today and each day, moves you closer to or farther away from your life goals. Here are a few of our students' life goals.
financial stability
have a career I love
finish my paralegal degree
provide for my family
be self-sufficient
have a successful 2nd career
be a lawyer
make a difference
If you have an interest in a legal career, I'm sure you see yourself in some, most, or all of these answers. As you can see, some of our paralegal students' responses are more specific than others. The less vague your goals are, the easier it is to define how you can accomplish them.
What Problem Will You Solve By Gaining Your Paralegal Education?
Most of us face a variety of problems, or as I prefer to call them, hurdles, in our lives. At any one time you may have one or more hurdles to overcome. In response, we can do one of two things:
A big fat ...N O T H I N G... or,
Create a plan to overcome.
Here are some of the problems our students are solving by attending our paralegal program.
lack of good income
not having a real career
not able to provide for family
need a clean start
overcome unemployment
overcome underemployment
not having a degree
not having marektable skills
You may have other issues in your life that gaining a paralegal education will help you resolve. But like our students, you can't begin jumping these hurdles until you are bold enough to make a decision to move forward. Which leads me to this....
What major concerns do you have that may be keeping you from living your dream?
Making any decision, big or small, can cause varying levels of concern and/or fear. Make no mistake about it, beginning anything new - especially something like a college education - can cause a bit of anxiety and, at the very least, gives us the opportunity to make excuses and procrastinate. But you have to ask yourself this, what are you waiting for?
Generally, there is no perfect time to begin new projects. What it takes to resolve anxiety is good research, a little moxy, some preparation, and dedication to your life goals. Once you begin moving forward and asking questions, you will begin to see that most of your concerns can be easily resolved.
Some of the concerns our students had before entering our paralegal programs include the following:
finding employment upon graduation
paying for school
personal performance in class
transitioning back into school
work/life/school balance
making the right choice
no concerns - beginning a new adventure.
While reading this list you probably began thinking , "These are exactly the same thoughts I've been having."
So how did they get from 'stuck' to 'student'? They resolved their concerns by talking with our admissions advisors, financial aid director, and other dedicated staff members (we have an amazing staff ready to help you! http://www.paralegal.edu/staff/). They did their research about paralegal education, various programs, and the success of graduates. As they say, information is power. Gain information and you can overcome your hurdles in the same way.
On other point. It could be that you aren't yet as carefree as the people who look at beginning a paralegal program like beginning a new adventure. However, I encourage you to look at big decisions, such as your education, in this light.
How? First, let's define the word 'adventure'. I think an adventure is doing something out of the ordinary that has a bit of mystery to it. If you are on an adventure, you prepare and plan as best you can with all the information you've been given. In an adventure, you look forward to what you will learn and what you will gain. You go 'all in' and let your desire to complete the mission motivate you. You begin by taking steps foward.
What Do You See As Your Next Step?
In all forms of good coaching; life, business, diet, exercise - to name a few, guiding a person by asking good questions is foundational. So, let me end with what I would call a good question. (Long, but good.)
If your life goals include a legal career, if a quality paralegal education will help you solve current problems in your life and live your life goal, if your fears of making a decision can be resolved by asking questions and gaining information what is your next step to living your dream?
Please contact us today to find out more about our students, graduates, paralegal salary, and our on-campus and online paralegal programs. We can help you live your dream. 800-446-6931
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Gail Armatys, Co-Founder & CAO Center for Advanced Legal Studies |