How can one escape from the grind? Is it easy to let go of the things you used to do every day for years? In this episode of Incorporating Superpowers, host Justin Recla and guest Howard Scott talk about the process of learning something new and escaping from the usual grind. Howard Scott is a 7th generation lawyer and has been working for 30 years in this profession. However, he was stuck in a moral dilemma with his legal work and decided to quit and start to write a fiction book. Howard’s book, Rascal on the Run, is based on the two murder cases he handled during his career. Tune in and listen to Howard’s life lessons as an attorney-turned-book writer. 

Justin Recla:

Welcome back to Incorporating Superpowers. This show goes out to all of you that are listening to the show who feel like you are stuck, and that you just really don’t know how to escape the grind that you find yourself in.

Perhaps you’ve been doing what you’ve been doing for a long time. And perhaps you are looking forward and really don’t know a way out. Perhaps you’ve turned to substances. Maybe you’ve been disenchanted with your family and your friends, and you’ve isolated yourself. Maybe even find yourself in a bit of depression.

I get it. I’ve been there, done that. As a counterintelligence agent, I found myself in that place, oh, a long time ago now, back in 2011 when I left. And so I can appreciate that not knowing what you’re going to do next or how you’re going to get there, or even what you’re doing if it’s really serving your life and your purpose and finding meaning in what you’re doing.

I know for me as a counterintelligence agent, that’s where I had gotten. I had climbed pretty much as far as I was going to go in my career and looking forward, I didn’t want to be doing that for the rest of my life because I didn’t feel like it was contributing to a greater good.

So my guest today has had similar experiences and he’s had his own journey. And what I love about our guest today, Howard Scott, he found his own escape from the grind as an attorney. He was an attorney for 30-some odd years, found himself in a position where he realized that he wanted to do something different. And he’s got quite the experience to share with you because what he’s doing now is so completely different from what he used to do, and that resonates with me.

Howard, welcome to the show and thank you for being here.

Howard Scott:

Well, approximately 28 years, I believe. I feel like I started practicing law before I actually got a license because I was acting sort of as a paralegal, adjunct advisor, but I was given a lot of responsibility very early on, mainly because I worked for my dad and he kind of let me do almost anything in the office.

Justin Recla:

I can appreciate that because our 11 years old helps produce all the shows on the network. So I could appreciate that.

So I’ve got to ask, though… 28 years in law. From the sounds of it, you had a very successful career. What was the cause of the shift? Why did you decide to stop doing what you’re doing?

Howard Scott:

Well, in the beginning, I was practicing law in many different areas. I was doing everything from criminal law. I did seven or eight murder trials and I was doing civil practice and divorces. I did contracts.

I was always taught that the purpose of being a lawyer was to help people solve problems. And that’s really what it was all about. And that’s what nobility should be.

But I, later on, found that it didn’t happen that way; just because one party in an adversarial relationship wants to solve a problem doesn’t mean both parties are. So quite often you were involved in expanded litigation and there was a lot of waste of time, money, emotion, and everything else.

You were also pushed to select a specialty. And when you’re pushed to select a specialty like in medicine, people are very, very specialized. But when you get into that specialty, you find yourself doing the same thing over and over and over again. And at some point, it wears on you.

Justin Recla:

That it does. That it does. I know that was one of the things that led me to leave the counterintelligence world. It was like that old Dunkin Donuts commercial, right? Time to make the donuts. That’s what my experience had become, too. So I’ve got to ask, Howard, what are you doing now?

Howard Scott:

Well, before I get to what I’m doing now, I have to also say that there was also a component in practicing law that troubled me, and that was that slowly but surely in that profession where winning is the total measure by which you are judged to be successful or unsuccessful, people tend to start edging out of ethical practice, into testing the boundaries of ethical consideration.

I saw that happening where not all lawyers, but many, many were skirting the ethical boundaries on a daily basis. And it sort of became a way of life, and I didn’t like that. I didn’t like that as it applied to me. I didn’t like it as it applied to others. I don’t want to be sanctimonious and say that I’m without sin, but it’s a kind of an insidious sort of thing that happens when winning is everything in your profession. I think politicians suffer from the same kind of thing.

So I pivoted out at age 49. I retired from the practice of law and I immediately went into what I knew and what I was enjoying doing and found other outlets to occupy my time and to seek profit and build a business.

Justin Recla:

Well, the fact that you were able to pivot after 28 years and came to a conclusion that being a lawyer, and for all the reasons that you highlighted here, you had the moral compass to guide you out of it was huge. I know there are a lot of people, especially in that industry, that just go along with it because that’s what everybody else is doing. Right? And to see somebody who is in your profession leave is very noble.

Howard Scott:

Well, I don’t want to be calling myself noble, but I can say that I saw my father die at a very young age of alcoholism. My father was an extremely successful attorney by all people’s accounts. He was one of the finest attorneys in the State of Georgia. And he had this immensely successful practice.

But here he is, he was running as hard as he could and he succumbed to alcohol. And when I saw that happen, it made me take a look at myself. I quit drinking as a result of it. And when I had a clear head, I could see what was going on around me. The sober mind, the clear, had allowed me a chance to do a self-examination about where I really wanted to go in life.

That’s what really gave me not only the clear decision-making process to make wise decisions in transitioning to another profession or business, but it also gave me the self-awareness to know that I didn’t want to continue on the path I was going, and I didn’t want to follow in the manner that my dad did.

Justin Recla:

That’s quite the eye-opener. Quite the eye-opener. That hits home to make you really reevaluate your life. It sounds like that’s what you’ve done. And on the back end of the break, we’re going to get into more of what you’re doing now and how you have pivoted to… You’re creating some amazing things from the conversation that we had prior to the show. But before we go on break, Howard, where could people go find more about you?

Howard Scott:

Well, one of the things that you’ll learn after the break is that I did pen my first novel called Rascal on the Run. And you can go to Amazon, Barnes & Noble and pick up a copy of it. Or you could go to the website, howardtscott.com and check that out and see if the book is of interest to you. That’s how you would find it.

Justin Recla:

Fantastic. Folks, we’ll take a look at the book. And when we get back, we’re going to dive into exactly what the book is about and what you can learn from it.

For those of you that are listening to this show, if you have a business and you want to find your voice, Incorporating Superpowers is now a channel. We are accepting applications for new podcasts on the Incorporating Superpowers channel. If you’re wanting to do a podcast, go take at superpowerexperts.com. Go to the more menu and select become a podcaster, and you’ll learn everything you need to know there.

Stay with us. We’ll be right back.

To listen to the entire show click on the player above or go to the SuperPower Up! podcast on iTunes.