We’re not merely defined by our career. Who we are is an aggregate of the people we’ve met, the experiences we’ve shared, where we’ve been, and where we look to go.The practice of law can be extremely frustrating. Sometimes our clients have a loose relationship with the truth, which handicaps our ability to represent them effectively. Lawyers on the other side of the deal, or opposite us in Court, seem bent on turning even the simplest interaction into an ad hominem attack. Yet, here we are practicing.I try to shift my perspective; after all, the main lesson from Tulane was how to think like a lawyer, see all sides. Not so long ago as a child, I lived in a country with empty store shelves and tanks rolling on December streets. Martial Law in Poland wasn’t so long ago, now I’m arguing in front of a federal judge, while my cousin is texting a picture of his new Audi. Time changes perspective. Client lies? I’m here to help steer clients out of trouble to the best of my ability that includes asking the right and tough questions, which help identify their problem in the first place. Knowledge changes perspective. When the deal closes, that beer tastes pretty good with our colleagues. How great is it to hear "nicely done", from opposing counsel after a hard fought case settled on very favorable terms? Circumstances change perspective. Lawyers get burned out because we get tunnel vision and let it grind us down. My grandmother taught me to peel a tomato, but truth be told, I cheat by mostly using crushed canned tomatoes when I cook. The perfect ski run, that I’m still chasing, is spiritual. At my high school admissions interview, I said my favorite book was The Three Musketeers because I had just finished it. These days when I think of Alexander Dumas, I picture Edmond Dantès at the old port of Marseille that my wife and I visited several years ago. I draw on all those bits of knowledge I've accumulated to have broader vision beyond the grind.