Most lawyers struggle with entrepreneurship because of the combination of factors that got us to law school in the first place and the way we are taught to think once we get to law school.

While this is not universally true, most attorneys I know are perfectionists with tendencies toward issues of control. We love to be right. And smart. Law school teaches us to find what doesn’t work. We are taught to eliminate uncertainty. We are trained to focus on risk and what could go wrong to prevent the worst case scenario from happening. None of these factors make you a good entrepreneur.

If this describes you, it is not your fault. But, you CAN do something about it. And, after years of training lawyers to embrace entrepreneurship, I have a less pessimistic view than Jonathan’s about whether attorneys can truly be successful in entrepreneurship.

Yes, you can be an entrepreneurial lawyer. And becoming one will improve your life substantially.

By becoming an entrepreneur lawyer, you can be in control of your life. This means doing work that feels satisfying, having full control over your schedule, having a great life that fully supports your family, and taking plenty of time off. Sounds great right? So how can you change your mindset so that you can experience all of these benefits?

Step One: Begin to become aware of “Lawyers Thought” so that you can use it when it is useful and eliminate it when it is not..

Lawyers make decisions with close to 100% certainty, focusing on what is not going to work. Entrepreneurs make decisions with 30% certainty, focusing on the possibilities and how they can make it work. Begin to notice where you are focusing on what you don’t want rather than what you do want so that you can change it every time it comes up.

Once you begin to become aware of your thoughts, you can change them. I like to use a process where I become aware of the thought and say to myself “there I am again, concentrating on what I don’t want or what won’t work. How can I reframe this thought into what you want or want? what will work? “

Step Two: Know your tolerance for risk and start pressing against the edges.

Entrepreneurship can be risky business. But the rewards are great. Start to identify where your risk tolerance is holding you back and press against those edges. What are you most afraid of? What is the worst that can happen? Write a vivid description so you can move towards that. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but my experience is that everything you want is on the other side of what you are avoiding the most. So take a step closer to that fear and see what happens.

(Note: don’t do this alone. You will need support while you overcome your fears. It’s easy to get lost here, turn around and hide. With support you can keep moving forward and when you reach the point of collapse, keep going, your advance is on the other side. I promise!)

Step three: become really good at changing hats, from lawyer to entrepreneur and vice versa.

When you are an entrepreneur, you are constantly in the realm of the unknown. Nothing is safe. And your job is to become a master operating in this uncertainty.

As a lawyer, your job is to manage and mitigate risk. To see the holes, look for the cracks and fill them in.

Your task is to learn to recognize when it is time for your lawyer hat and when it is time for your businessman hat and to be fluent in putting one on and taking off the other and then changing back.