Isn’t it Ironic?

The Universe has the perfect way of testing us to see how serious we are about our decisions and commitments.

If you are not aware of and ready for this little pop quiz, you are very likely to fail, which means you will veer off the track of your life purpose.

Here’s the great part though, if you can see this test for what it is, it will be a fantastic confirmation for you that you are on course, heading in the right direction.

So, take heed.  I’m letting you in on a little secret that it has taken me a few failures to learn.

If you learn it from me instead of having to learn through your own experience with it, you will stay on course and get where you want to go much more quickly.

Not to mention, it will make your journey MUCH more enjoyable.

And, by the way, this is not a one-time, occasional event.  As I have started to play a bigger and bigger game, every single time I have made a commitment to a certain path, I have been tested.

Here is a current example from my own life:

On the eve of the New Year, I made the decision to close my law firm.  This was a difficult decision to make.  I’ve spent the past 12-18 months trying to find any other way.

I looked for other lawyers to take over.  I even found a partner I thought would be able to do it.

But, ultimately, trying to hold on to my law firm, my baby, my first business, was keeping me from pursuing my life path with the 100% commitment that life purpose requires.

So, here come the tests. Are you sure, Alexis, they ask. How sure?

Test #1:

This past week, we had 6 people call the office wanting to make appointments to get started with their planning and after doing a presentation at my children’s school,  23 (!) parents requested planning  appointments, many begging me to be their lawyer.

It was tempting.  Trust me. If I just said yes to a few of them, I could make quite a pretty penny.

If I kept the firm open and in full force, we’d be on our way to grossing a couple million.

That’s a test.

If I was weak in my conviction, I might have said “well, let’s just take a few new clients each month and not close it down completely.”

I would have failed the test.

Instead, I saw it for what it was, thanked the Universe for the test and sent the new prospects on to the Personal Family Lawyers throughout Southern California who will be thrilled to serve them.

That took discipline, commitment and responding from abundance, not lack.  Definitely not easy, but worth it.

Test #2:

Many of my clients don’t want another lawyer.  They chose me as their lawyer because I was young and would be around for a long time.  They chose my firm because we provided a host of services not provided by other law firms, like ongoing reviews of their plan, a membership program to keep things updated, Kids Protection Planning, and more.

They are frustrated because now it turns out that I’m not going to be here forever.

And even though I have trained Personal Family Lawyers throughout the United States and many right here in Southern California, all of whom provide the same services I promised, some of my clients are upset.

I understand.  Change is difficult.

It’s tempting to tell them, oh, okay, I’ll make an exception for you and continue to work with you.

So tempting.  I care about them.  Deeply.

And that’s why I recognize it as another test.

The truth is, I’m no longer the best choice for them.  If I agreed to make an exception, it would be from a place of ego.

I won’t have ongoing staff available to handle quick questions.  I won’t have anyone to handle amendments to their documents on an ongoing basis. I won’t have an automated process for handling reviews every three years.

I won’t have any of the things I promised I would have and that they should want. Things they deserve.

I could only keep all of that going when I continued to take on new clients.  I can’t do that and follow my life purpose. Ultimately, if I did, I’d be choosing security and money over following my heart and soul to inspire, educate and motivate you to think bigger about your life.

What I could do though is train other lawyers who would provide those services the exact same way I would and negotiate with them to agree to take on my clients without requiring my clients to start over from the beginning.

As you step into something bigger in your life, there will be tests.  Tests that will tempt you back into the old, smaller version of your life.

You will either remain committed to your path or you will allow yourself to be pulled back.

Your decision will determine your future.  Should you decide to go bigger, I’ll be here to support you.