Here, John Kormanik has challenged some of the most deeply entrenched beliefs within the legal sector, urging lawyers to rethink how they define success, productivity and happiness.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, John Kormanik, a former trial lawyer turned certified professional coach for lawyers, challenged some of the most persistent and deeply ingrained myths about what it means to be a lawyer, arguing that they are not only unhelpful but harmful to the long-term health of the profession.
In the same episode, he shared insights into which lawyers stand to benefit the most from working with a legal coach and reflected on his decision to step away from legal practice to help fellow lawyers find greater fulfilment and balance in both their personal and professional lives.
The first damaging myth Kormanik identified is the belief that, to be successful, lawyers must be constantly working and entirely devoted to their jobs at all times.
He explained how many within the profession fall into the trap of thinking that hard work only “counts” if it feels burdensome and has a heavy impact on them.
“The grind to me is something that has to feel heavy. It has to feel like hard work. And when you stop and you think about it, it is illogical because the better you get at your craft, the easier the work becomes,” he said.
While he acknowledged that seeking out challenges within work is essential, Kormanik explained that many lawyers are taking it a step further by subconsciously making their lives more difficult than necessary.
“We seek out not just challenges, because I’m a big believer in seeking out challenges, but we seek out ways to make our life more difficult. It’s gotta feel heavy, otherwise it doesn’t count, and that is simply not true,” he said.
“Some of the most important work that you can do doesn’t feel like work. If you lead your law practice at a firm, it’s thinking, ‘how do we strategically do that?’ and thinking doesn’t feel like work. The desire for the grind gets in the way of us being able to step back, do things that are critical, but don’t feel heavy.”
Kormanik shared that the relentless “grind” mindset is so widespread within the legal profession because it’s deeply embedded in the culture of law and has been passed down through generations.
“We’ve stuck it in our backpack. We don’t know how to take it out and put it down and be different. So I think it’s cultural, I think it’s messaging, and I also think the final reason that the grind culture is really prominent in the law is because the law is a hyper-competitive business,” he said.
Another myth that plagues the legal industry, which Kormanik has challenged, is the belief that lawyers must always be busy or risk being perceived as lazy.
“I’ve experienced it, and I’ve observed it. I used to get very uncomfortable with blank spaces on my calendar. Very, very, very uncomfortable. What do you mean? There’s nothing there. There have to be things there. I have to keep going,” he said.
Although he was once entrenched in this mindset himself, Kormanik said he now sees constant busyness in a very different light, viewing it less as a badge of honour and more as a symptom of poor boundary-setting and a lack of intentional prioritisation.
“I think it’s exactly the opposite. I think if you’re busy, you’re lazy, and here’s why. I think that because if you’re busy, then you’re likely not making the decisions that need to be made about what comes into your time,” he said.
To help lawyers shift their mindset, Kormanik encourages them to take greater ownership of their time by making intentional decisions upfront and delegating when appropriate.
“We all have a bit of control, some of us more than others, but we all have a bit of control about what we allow in from a work perspective, from a personal obligation perspective,” he said.
“So take the busyness down a notch by making the decisions on the front end to say, no, or I can’t do this right now, but I’m happy to send you to somebody who can, or I’m happy to do it next week. Take the time to make those decisions, and the busyness level decreases, and you just have more time to be at your best.”
Beyond the professional impact, Kormanik noted that the inability to disconnect also affects family life, stating: “If you’re constantly busy, even if you’re home and you’re busy in your head, you’re not fully present with your family.”
A third misconception that Kormanik sees in the legal profession is the belief that the more money one earns, the happier one will become.
Kormanik explained that many lawyers fall into the trap of thinking that once they reach a certain income level, happiness will naturally follow. However, he warned that this mindset is flawed because the goalposts are constantly shifting.
“There’s no light switch. Oh, I got this amount and all of a sudden, I’m filled with joy and happiness. That’s not how it works, and that’s why it’s a fallacy. Right. When I arrive, I will be happy. It doesn’t work that way because we move the goalposts,” he said.
For lawyers who hold this mindset, Kormanik stressed that they need to stop delaying their happiness and instead focus on cultivating it in the present moment.
“I know the value of money. I get it. But it’s that arrival. I’ll be happy when. If you’re thinking that, check yourself. Just stop for a moment and think, what’s so special about that? Why can’t I be happy now? What’s going on in my career, in my life, that I’m waiting to be happy?” he said.
“Don’t wait to be happy, be happy now. And I will tell you that science says that the happier you are, the more successful you are. So be happy now, and success will follow you.”
