Lethargy to Lit! - Book extract

The term Big law relates as much to the financial size of a firm as it does to its physical size. It relates to a certain type of culture, an attitude, a traditional way of doing things. A typical lawyer in Big Law works long hours in exchange for a high salary and the hope that one day they'll join the illustrious ranks of the partnership and reap the financial rewards and personal prestige such an honour can bring. That's the glossy picture postcard version. But if you scratch away the glossy veneer, you'll find a version of Big Law that doesn't appear in any marketing brochure. You're listening to the Circle CE Project. Welcome to the Triple CE Project, the podcast that helps you gain clarity, boost confidence, build courage so you can live lifeless. I'm your host, Ryan Spence, the Big Law dropout, life coach, author, speaker, lover of hoodies, hip hop and big, hairy, audacious goals. If you're tired of living the life you think you should want and ready to start living the life you do want, this podcast will help you get from where you are to where you really want to be. Sit now with friends, I invite you to grab a drink, take a seat and allow me to guide you to towards living a life that lives. Hello, welcome to episode six of the Triple C Project. And today's episode is going to be a little bit different. I want to start off by showing my excitement about today. If you're listening to this, on the day of release, which is Friday 1st of April 2022, it's the day that my book, the book I've been talking about since the inception of this podcast, the book that inspired this podcast, and the book that I wish I had read years ago when I was still stuck in Big Law, not knowing how to get out. The book is called the Triple C Method. Gain clarity, boost confidence and build courage so you can live life. Lit and it's available for pre order. It's available pre order now on Amazon and the official Release date is 26th April. But if you pre order now, you'll also get access to a mini course that I created specifically for this book. Never been released before. And I created the mini course to give you some foundational steps before the book is released, and then the book will take you deeper into the concepts that are discussed in the course. The course is called Triple C101, unsurprisingly, and it covers the three modules of the Triple C method, Clarity, Confidence and Courage. The core modules each tell you a little bit about why I feel that These three pillars are important. How they help me get from where I was to where I am now, how they have helped my clients transform their own lives. And I share at the end of each of the three core modules, one takeaway, one actionable step that you can get started on right then, right there to help you level up in each of those three areas. The course is a mini course. It's very quick. You can get through it in less than an hour in terms of watching the videos, but the actual deep work will take you longer, as long as you need to, really. But I really hope that this course is going to help set the foundation for you to start moving towards a life that's lit. And so that when you get the book, you can start to go deeper and understand a little bit more about where I'm coming from and why those concepts and why those exercises are things which I feel are important. As I say, I try to write the book that I thought I would have wanted to read way back when I was in Big Law and didn't know how to get out, when I felt stuck, when I felt sort of closed in and confined by limiting beliefs. And so I really hope that this book is going to be that book for you and that the book and the course and the podcast and all the content that I share is really helping you to start to see how you can live the life that you want, how you can live life lit, how you can shape things up in a way that serves you rather than drains you. That's what I'm trying to do here. So how do you pre order and how do you get hold of Triple C101 easy. Head to iamrinespence.com Triple C and you'll see the landing page there and you can pre order from Amazon and then it gives you all the details as to how to get access to the mini course. I'm in the process of putting the final touches to it, so it should be available to you definitely before the release date, 26 April, but maybe in the next next week or so. And as I've been going through and compiling it, putting it together, I was even surprised. I was like, yeah, this is a pretty fucking good course. This is a course where I could see myself getting real value from this just by doing each of those exercises, if, if nothing else. So really excited to get this out to you, really excited that the book is available for pre order. And yeah, I wanted to do something to, to sort of mark that with this episode. And so I Thought what I would do is I would share an extract from the book. But then the issue was, well, what do I share in. In sending out the sort of manuscript before it was finalized to my beta readers and people who kindly offered to sort of read it before it came out and give me feedback. Everyone had their own. Their own parts of the stories that resonated with them, their own experiences, the. Their own concepts which they read and were like, I really needed to hear that right now. So it's difficult for me to sort of choose what to share with you today. And so I thought, let's just. Let's just start from the start. So I'm going to share the introduction. The introduction technically isn't the start because towards the end of finalizing the manuscript, I actually wrote a preface. So that's actually now the first chapter of the book. But I felt that the introduction was. Was the one that really sets the foundation. And it's the one where I think that you'll be able to see parts of your own story. It's where I think you'll be able to sort of hear bits of what I'm saying and be like, I get that. That's me. I've been in that situation. So that's why I've chosen the introduction. So coming up, I'm going to be reading you the introduction from the Triple C method. Gain clarity, boost confidence and build courage so you can live life. Lit. And, yeah, I'd love to hear what parts resonated for you, what you took away, where you felt that this was really speaking to the situation that you're in now or a situation that you have been in. Okay, I'm gonna shut up now and go ahead and read the introduction and I will see you on the other side of this. This is an extract from the book the Triple C. Gain clarity, boost confidence and build courage so you can live life. Lit. Written by Ryan Spence. Introduction Lethargy to Lit. Every day I sit here, I feel like my soul is being sucked out of me. I would often say this to a colleague during my last couple of years in Big Law, to anyone looking at my life from the outside. Back then, I was living the dream. Here I was, a man from a council estate in Nottingham, England, whose dreams of pop stardom hadn't worked out the way he'd hoped they would, who'd failed numerous exams, been fired a couple of times, and dropped out of university because he didn't see the point. A man who had once been so broke he walked the streets of London in the pouring rain, searching for an ATM that would dispense the five British pounds he needed to pay rent. That night, that man had flipped the script and ended up as a big law lawyer at an international law firm with his own office in a building that boasted enviable views across Singapore's Marina Bay. For the uninitiated, big law is a term used to describe the largest, most successful law firms in the world. The firms that take up residence in tall towers of glass and steel. The firms that have offices in multiple jurisdictions housing thousands of highly qualified, super talented lawyers. The term big law relates as much to the financial size of a firm as it does to its physical size. It relates to a certain type of culture, an attitude, a traditional way of doing things. A typical lawyer in Big Law works long hours in exchange for a high salary and the hope that one day they'll join the illustrious ranks of the partnership and reap the financial rewards and personal prestige such an honour can bring. That's the glossy picture postcard version. But if you scratch away the glossy veneer, you'll find a version of Big Law that doesn't appear in any marketing brochure. A world where, for that high salary you're expected to kiss goodbye to any control over your personal time. A world where holidays and weekends can be, and often are, cancelled or interrupted at a moment's notice. A world where sleeping with your phone under your pillow so you don't miss an email isn't an exception but the norm. A world where your needs are secondary to the needs and wants of the firm. A world where you're viewed as a resource whose worth is judged by how many hours you build that week. A world where if you're told to jump, the only acceptable response is to ask how high and what matter should I charge that to? I share this to paint a picture of the world I was living in when I was making that dramatic opening statement. I could share more about the darker side of the Big Law machine, but that would be a whole other book in itself. Anyway, back to my soul sucking existence. I'd arrive at the office each day, coffee in hand, rap music blasting through my headphones as I attempted to psych myself up for another day of lawyering. Once the coffee and the musical high had worn off, I'd struggle to summon the energy and enthusiasm to get even the simplest of tasks done. Then I'd fall into a pit of self loathing as I berated myself for continuously feeling like I was lazy. But what I know now that I didn't know then is that I wasn't suffering from laziness. I was suffering from something far worse. I was suffering from lethargy. What's the difference? Well, laziness is an unwillingness to do something. Lethargy is a lack of enthusiasm to do something. Laziness is a character trait. Lethargy is a symptom of feeling unfulfilled, unmotivated and uninspired. The two are not the same. I'm sure you've had days where you felt that way, right? It's natural. The odd bout of lethargy is to be expected. But when those days turn into weeks, months, or even years of feeling like you're wading through quicksand, trying to keep your head up while at the same time thinking, what's the point? You've got to ask yourself, is this really what I want? Is this all my life is destined to be? Do I want to continue living this life of lethargy? Or do I want to live a life of excitement, joy and purpose? A life that's lit? You're taking time to pick up and read this book, so I'm guessing the answer is the latter. And despite everything you may have been told and led to believe by societal expectations, you can have that life. Times have changed. You don't have to suck up a life of lethargy. You don't have to chip away doing something that drains your creativity and kills your energy, something that makes you consistently feel like a stressed out cog in a corporate wheel. See, despite what you've been told, you have a choice. Yes, you really do. You can change anything and everything about your situation if you want to. You can shake things up. You can flip the script. You can change course and do something you want to do instead of silently dying inside doing something you think you should do. That's why I wrote this book. Because for a long time I didn't believe I had a choice. And if I had believed, truly believed, that leaving a successful law career and pursuing an alternative life, a life I wanted, was possible for me, I would have skipped happily away from the fortress of glass and steel that was my office a hell of a lot sooner and saved myself a whole lot of frustration and soul sucking. I was living a life of lethargy and I didn't even know it. But that lethargy didn't set in overnight. It was built up over years. Years of feeling that being a big law lawyer wasn't working for me. I felt trapped, confined to a way of being that wasn't in line with who I truly was. A free spirited creative with an aversion to authority. Do you ever hear a nagging voice in your head questioning your choices, Asking you if you're sure you want to do what you're doing? Asking you if this is it from now until your last breath? I heard that voice inside my head for five years, but I ignored it. Why? Because when you've worked so hard and invested so much time, money and energy into achieving success, how do you walk away from that? When you have a family to take care of and a desire for the finer things in life, you have to just suck it up, right? After all, isn't that what everyone else does? Complaining about how they hate their job and wish they were doing something else, then coming back to the office day in, day out, year in year out, surviving, but in no way thriving? Maybe this is you. And you know what? It's not your fault. I mean it's true that and this might be difficult for you to hear, only you have the power to change things. So the fact that nothing's changed is ultimately down to you. But what isn't your fault is that you bought into the lie that we've all been sold the good grades. A successful corporate job and a big house with a couple of shiny new cars in the driveway is what success is all about. And in this context, success means high salary and high status. That for you, the average person down the street, toiling away in a gleaming glass and steel cage in exchange for that regular paycheck and hoping for a decent retirement fund at the end of it all is the only way to live. Well, guess what? That's all bs. Like so much of what you've been told is true. You've been sold a lie, a myth, and this book is here to help you dispel that myth and think for and about yourself. The safety and security of corporate life is, and I don't know another way to say this bollocks. Throughout history, recession after recession has seen people in so called safe recession proof jobs discarded by companies at the first sign of distress to protect their bottom line. And the Global pandemic of 2020 has continued this trend in showing us that nothing is certain. The narrative that a corporate role is more secure than entrepreneurship has been ripped apart by numerous people leaving the corporate rat race and setting up their own successful businesses. And the people who started them are now in control of their own fate and in a way they never were in the corporate roles that kicked them to the curb. When the going got tough. But I'm running ahead of myself here. When I was where you are now, feeling like I was sinking in quicksand and not knowing how to get out. Starting a business seemed crazy. Sure, I had dreams of being a successful entrepreneur, but I never believed I could actually become one. The voice of my inner critic would ring in my ears, saying things like, people like you don't start businesses. You can't give up a secure career to chase a dream. Stay in your lane. Once a lawyer, always a lawyer. Until one day I realised I had a choice. That realization began a shift in how I viewed myself and the belief that I could escape the life of lethargy I felt trapped in. And that belief led me to where I am today, doing things the way I want to do them. That aligns with my values, that allows me to express myself fully. I no longer feel the need to squeeze into a box that wasn't designed for me or to do what I think I should do rather than what I want to do. This feeling, this way of living, is what I call living a life that's lit. A life where you feel you are living the way you want to live. A life where moments of unbridled excitement, freedom, joy are the norm rather than the exception. A life where you wake up each morning excited by the possibilities of the day ahead and the opportunity to further your mission. A life of meaning and purpose. And if you're reading this book, I'm guessing you want this too. And I want to congratulate you on taking the first step to shaking things up and planning your escape from a life of lethargy. I said it at the start of this chapter, but it needs emphasizing. You are not lazy. The reason you're going through the motions, feeling unmotivated, unhappy and unfulfilled is because you believe there has to be more. But you don't know what more looks like for you and you can't see a way out of your current situation. Well, I want you to know I've got you. I know change can be overwhelming. I used to get so overwhelmed sometimes that I'd end up taking the easiest option, which was staying where I was and doing nothing, even though I knew the situation wasn't serving me. But what I discovered is that you can reduce the overwhelm and start moving forward by focusing on the three Cs that make up the triple C method. These three Cs underpin the work I did on myself to get from where I was to where I am now. And they are the foundation of the work I do with my coaching clients. What are the three Cs? I'm glad you asked. Otherwise this would be a pretty pointless book. The three Cs are clarity, confidence and Courage. In this book, through sharing my experiences, I'll explain what each C is, why you need it, and how you can get it so that you can move from a life of lethargy to a life that's lit. So there you have it. A sneak peek at the introduction to the Triple C Method. Gain clarity, boost confidence and build courage so you can live life lit. I hope you like that extract right there. I'd love to know what you thought about it, what you saw in it that resonated with your own life, with your own situation. Maybe you see your own job, your past job in there. Maybe you feel some of the things which I share that I felt at the time. Either way, I hope that it's given you something to think about. I really hope you go out and pre order the book and get a hold of that mini course so you can start leveling up your Clarity, Confidence, Courage right now. As I say, head to iamrinespence.com Triple C. Go ahead, pre order, get the mini course, get started and let's get you on the path towards living a life that's lit. That's it for me. See you next week on the next episode of the Triple CE Project. Thanks for tuning in to the Triple CE Project. If you like the show, don't keep it to yourself. Go ahead, tell a friend and tell me too by leaving a review. To get more tips, tools, strategies to help you get from where you are to where you want to be. Head to iamroycepence. Com and download my free Confidence Journal. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram. I'm Amry Spence and you'll be the first to know about the release of my upcoming book, Triple C Method. But for now, the only thing that I have left to say is stop living a life of lethargy and start living life lit.