Follow for insights on personal growth • Thomson Reuters ranked Super Lawyer 2012-2024 (top 5% in Southern California) • Click the link below and join my newsletter

I'm Jim, and I'm a lawyer.

But I don't write about legal topics.

I write about leadership and personal growth.

Why learn from me?

I bring an expertise you won’t find anywhere else online.

Besides leading teams in multiple law firms for years...

And starting two law practices from scratch...

In 2017 I branched out … I co-founded a telehealth website where we helped people overcome excess drinking through medication-assisted treatment and personal development coaching.

What’s the link to lawyering?

As a lawyer, I defend against injury cases that require a deep understanding of medicine and psychology. 

I’ve deposed over 300 doctors and mental health providers, diving into medical and psychological concepts at their level.

I transferred that skill set, along with years of solving problems for clients, into the wellness and personal growth space.

I applied my analytical skills, the same I use to dissect real-world, complex legal cases, to pick apart the science behind personal development.

I crafted not just medical solutions (through the doctors we contracted with) but also systemized, actionable, personal growth training for our patients.

And we didn’t just aim to restore patients to an average level of health...

We transformed their lives through growth-focused skills ⚡

Here are a few testimonials we received from patients that went through our program:

✅ “This program didn’t just change my habits - it gave me the confidence and clarity to control my life in ways I never thought possible."

✅ “Your support and coaching is invaluable. I’m so lucky to have you and Alcure. It has helped immensely.”

✅ “I especially wanted you to know that your videos alone were worth the first month. You do great work!”

✅ "Loved your videos on Life Hacks, Minimalism, and Gratitude.”

✅ “My future looks so much brighter! Thank you. I was skeptical, but now I’m proof that this approach works. I can’t wait to see where I go from here.”

After helping 400+ people (many during the pandemic) and generating over $500,000 in revenue, we wrapped up the project in 2023.

Now I’m onto new ventures.

Some more about me:

✅ Made over $500,000 in revenue with a telehealth website while maintaining a full-time law practice

✅ Thomson Reuters ranked Super Lawyer (2012-2025), top 5% in Southern California

✅ Invited speaker

⭐ Follow me and tap the 🔔 for my daily posts on clarity, growth and leadership 🔥

👁️ For deeper insights, sign up for my weekly newsletter, essential frameworks, below ⤵

Learn to lead yourself.
Learn to lead others.

James Kamanski

Everyone has a timeline in their head.
Most of that pressure comes from comparing your path to someone else’s.

But life does not unfold on a schedule.
Growth shows up at its own pace.

You can be:
+ lost at 22
+ broke at 28
+ unsure at 31
+ starting over at 35
+ finally rising at 38
+ finding your purpose at 42
and unstoppable at 47.

None of that means you failed.
It means you’re still becoming the person you’re supposed to be.

Progress is not linear.
Purpose takes time.
And greatness grows quietly before anyone else notices it.

✅ Trust your pace.
✅ Trust your path.
✅ You are not behind.

You’re building something worth waiting for.

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Helping professionals master clarity, growth and leadership • Created a research-backed personal development course that helped 400+ people transform their health, wealth and relationships • Follow me for daily insights

Retention is cheaper than replacement.
Every time.

Hiring feels expensive.
But replacing great people costs far more.

Here’s what replacement actually includes ↓

→ Lost knowledge and context
→ Months of reduced productivity
→ Hiring fees and onboarding time
→ Team morale taking a hit
→ Leaders stretched thin filling gaps

Most exits do not happen because of money alone.
They happen because people feel unseen, unsupported, or exhausted.

Treating people well is not a perk.
It is a strategy.

✅ Fair pay.
✅ Respect.
✅ Room to grow.
✅ Clear expectations.

Do that consistently and your best people stop looking elsewhere.

The cheapest talent decision you can make is keeping the people who already believe in the work.

Credits: Rob Dance

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The most underrated career skill?
Taking tough love without taking it personally.

Knowledge is everywhere.
Feedback is rare.

Because once people realize you can’t handle the truth,
they stop telling you the truth.

That’s when growth stops.

The people who rise the fastest aren’t the ones who know it all:
They’re the ones who can hear hard things and use them well.

They ask instead of defend.
They listen instead of react.
They improve instead of argue.

If you want to grow fast, don’t chase praise.
Seek honesty - even when it stings.

That’s where real development begins.

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Credits: Adam Grant

Helping execs in new roles accelerate impact, build credibility fast and avoid costly transition mistakes | xIBM Consulting | xPwC | Certified Executive Coach

You’ve just landed your next big executive role - congratulations!

Now comes the part no one prepares you for: making it successful.

The hard truth is, 40% of executive transitions fail within 18 months.

And the cost is staggering:

2.5x to 30x the executive’s salary in lost productivity, turnover, and disruption.

Career damage for the executive that can take years to recover from.

Maybe it's your first time at the senior leadership table. 
Maybe you've done this before, but this time, the stakes feel higher. 
Different company, industry, department or role.

Either way, you know this first year will define your reputation and your results.

Tell me if this sounds familiar:

You've inherited a team that doesn't fully trust you yet. 
You're navigating company politics, shifting priorities, and sky-high expectations. 
Everyone's watching, but no one's guiding. 
You're smart, experienced, and capable. 
But the pressure to prove yourself is relentless.

This is exactly where I come in.

I help new executives thrive where 40% fail by guiding them through the high-stakes first year.

My coaching is confidential, personalized, and focused on helping you:

✔ Earn trust quickly and secure early credibility
✔ Navigate politics and hidden organizational dynamics
✔ Build and align your leadership team for quick wins
✔ Make high-impact decisions without costly missteps
✔ Lay the foundation for long-term success and legacy

 Why Trust Me?
• 25+ years in Fortune 500 consulting, partnering with senior executives 
• Led $30M+ transformation portfolios and 250+ person practices at IBM 
• Led risk strategy for $100M+ proposals and complex transformations 
• Built and delivered IBM's top global executive coaching programs 
• Certified executive coach with 300+ leaders coached

If you’re ready to accelerate your impact and avoid costly missteps,

let’s make your first year your strongest. 

📩 DM me “Executive Transition” and let’s talk.

Dora Vanourek

Life is too short to spend time with people
who secretly hope you fail.
You know exactly who they are.

The ones who:

- Ask about your promotion with fake concern
- Share your mistakes but never your wins
- Go silent when good things happen to you
- Always have a 'but' after congratulations
- Remember every time you stumbled

Stop making excuses for people who wouldn't make time for you.

Choose people who:

- Text you job opportunities
- Celebrate your wins like their own
- Defend you in rooms you're not in
- Push you toward your potential
- Actually want you to succeed

Your circle should expand your possibilities, not shrink them.

It's not mean to cut people off.
It's mean to yourself not to.

Choose people who choose you back.

♻️ Repost to remind someone they deserve real supporters
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

A year ago, I left my 25+ years tech consulting career.

To build something of my own.

My friends couldn't understand why I'd leave stability.

Others questioned if it was "too late" to start over.

A few called it a midlife crisis.

But then I found my new people.

Entrepreneurs who'd walked away from golden handcuffs.

Creators building empires from their expertise.

Leaders who measured success differently.

Their ambition didn't make me feel behind.

It showed me what was possible.

When you change your path, you need people who've already taken the leap.

5 ways to upgrade your circle:

1. Audit your conversations - are you talking about problems or possibilities?

2. Join spaces where your future self would hang out, not where you currently are.

3. Share your bold goals openly - ambitious people are drawn to other dreamers.

4. Ask "What are you building?" instead of "How's work?"

5. Give yourself permission to outgrow relationships that hold you to your old life.

Your old circle will keep you comfortable.

Your new circle will keep you growing.

Evolve your circle.
Choose growth.

♻️ Repost to remind someone to find their circle
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

The most painful part of growth:

The people closest to you will try to stop it.

And the faster you grow, the more uncomfortable others become.

You may notice this during the holidays:

-  The edge in "wow, you've changed"
-  The unsolicited advice to "be careful"
-  The subtle comments that diminish what you've built

It's not personal - it's human nature:

- People prefer the version of you they're used to
- Some feel threatened by your progress
- Others try to keep you "safe" in your comfort zone

Here are 5 ways to protect your growth:

1. Audit Your Circle 👥
↳ Who celebrates your wins vs. who diminishes them?
↳ Distance isn't betrayal, it's boundaries

2. Stop Explaining Yourself 🤐
↳ You don't owe anyone a justification for growth
↳ Let your results do the talking

3. Track Your Progress 📈
↳ Screenshot encouraging feedback and messages
↳ Celebrate small victories, they compound into big changes

4. Find Your Growth Squad 🔗
↳ Seek people 2-3 steps ahead of you
↳ Invest in mentors who've walked your path

5. Trust Yourself 💪
↳ Your intuition knows before your mind does
↳ Bet on yourself when no one else will

The people who truly support you will celebrate your growth.

Don't shrink yourself to make others comfortable.

Wishing you all Happy Holidays! 🌲

♻️ Repost to remind someone they don’t need permission to grow
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A harsh truth we often learn too late:
At work, you're replaceable.
At home, you're everything.

We chase success and tell ourselves it's all for the family.

Until one day, we look up and realize:

- Your work got the best of you
- You missed important moments
- The people you love got the leftovers

Here's how to change that story:

1. Make family time sacred
↳ Schedule it first, protect it fiercely

2. Set boundaries that actually work
↳ That email can wait. Dinner with family can't

3. Challenge every "urgent" task
↳ Most things can wait until tomorrow

4. Say No to what drains or distracts you
↳ Your energy is limited - protect it

5. Break the "always on" myth
↳ Constant availability isn't loyalty - it's a trap

6. Define what success means to you
↳ No bonus replaces missed moments

7. Trust your team
↳ Empower others to step in when you step away

8. Stop postponing joy
↳ "Someday" is a dangerous word

Success feels empty if you lose yourself getting there.

Protect what can't be replaced.

♻️ Repost to remind someone
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Your job title isn't your identity. 

But it took me years to learn that.

I spent years attaching my identity to:

- The prestigious company name on my business card
- The title that made me feel important
- The projects that validated my worth

And then I watched wave after wave of layoffs hit our industry.

Seeing talented people devastated
because their identity was tied to their job title.

This made me realize:

When you anchor yourself to external things, you lose your power.

But when you anchor yourself to purpose, you become unstoppable.

Here's how to make that shift:

1️⃣ Know What Matters to You
↳ Write down what you find most meaningful at work
↳ Ask: "What impact would I create if I knew I couldn't fail?"
↳ Let this clarity become your compass

2️⃣ Build Skills You Own
↳ Focus on abilities that serve you, not just your employer
↳ Master skills that go with you across industries
↳ Invest in learning that strengthens your purpose, not just your resume

3️⃣ Create Something of Your Own
↳ Start a side project aligned with your purpose
↳ Build a community around what you believe in
↳ Develop value that exists independent of any job title

4️⃣ Draw Your Lines
↳ Define your non-negotiables before you need them
↳ Say no to opportunities that don't align
↳ Measure success by your own values, not external validation

5️⃣ Care Without Clinging
↳ Give your best effort while staying emotionally unattached to outcomes
↳ Treat every role as a vehicle for your purpose
↳ Stay ready to pivot when something no longer serves your purpose

Stop building your identity around your employer. 

Start building it around the impact you want to create.

♻️ Repost to help someone find their power
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Quote credit: Erica Williams Simon

Hard work doesn’t burn people out.

Poor leadership does.

The solution isn't meditation apps or productivity hacks.

It's fixing the leadership habits destroying your people:

1. Micromanaging:
↳ Constant oversight drains energy and destroys trust

2. Constant urgency:
↳ Making everything urgent creates chronic stress

3. Lack of appreciation:
↳ Hard work without rewards is a top reason for burnout

4. Not respecting work-life balance:
↳ Always-on culture leads to always-burned-out teams

5. Ineffective communication:
↳ Unclear direction creates confusion and decision paralysis

6. Not providing support:
↳ Setting people up to fail, then wondering why

7. Ignoring feedback:
↳ Not being heard destroys trust and makes people feel powerless

8. Information hoarding:
↳ Operating in the dark causes constant stress and preventable mistakes

9. Impulsive decision making:
↳ Constant pivots exhaust everyone

10. Tolerating toxic team members:
↳ One bad apple really does spoil the bunch

Your team doesn't need more yoga sessions or mental health apps.

They need leaders who make them feel valued, supported, and heard.

Lead with empathy, not just with metrics.

♻️ Repost to promote healthier cultures
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Most leaders get this backwards.

They trap people with fear instead of leading them with care.

Leadership isn't about control.

It's about trust, respect, and empowerment.

And about how leaders treat people -
not just when things go well,
but when things go wrong.

7 ways to build a people-first workplace:

1. Make it safe to fail 🛡️
↳ Share your own mistakes and focus on learning

2. Notice the small wins ⭐
↳ Recognize daily efforts, not just quarterly results

3. Trust people with their time ⏱️
↳ Stop questioning when someone needs a personal day

4. Respect energy levels 🔋
↳ Stop scheduling heavy meetings at 4PM

5. Give time for side projects 💡
↳ The next big innovation starts as an experiment

6. Let people choose their projects 💪
↳ Passion drives better results than assignments

7. Value people first 🫶
↳ Kindness and respect create loyalty money can't buy

When you take care of your people,
they take care of everything else.

Tag a leader who leads this way 🌟

♻ Repost to inspire people first leadership
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A micromanager is someone you pay to
watch your best people walk away.

I once worked for a leader who thought he was being "supportive."

He called it alignment.

But it felt like suffocation.

The constant check-ins didn’t ensure quality.

They ensured I spent more time reporting on work than actually doing it.

If you don't trust the people you hired,
the problem isn't their performance.

It’s your leadership.

10 types of micromanagers:

1. The Endless Tweaker
↳ They spend hours perfecting work that's already good

2. The Status Stalker
↳ They "just check in" every hour because they can't manage their own anxiety

3. The Process Police
↳ They create rigid procedures for everything

4. The Task Reclaimer
↳ They take back delegated tasks because no one can do it as well as they can

5. The Calendar Hijacker
↳ They schedule unnecessary meetings to stay in the loop

6. The Fire Drill Fanatic
↳ They create fake urgency to make people work harder

7. The Solution Dictator
↳ They tell their teams exactly how to solve problems instead of letting them think

8. The Unsolicited Advisor
↳ They give constant 'helpful' advice no one asked for

9. The Detail Obsessor
↳ They waste hours on minor details that don't affect the outcome

10. The Gatekeeper
↳ Everything needs their approval

Trust and empower your team.

Then step back to let them do their best work.

Get weekly insights in my free newsletter for execs navigating new roles:
https://lnkd.in/gkbJnUVb

♻️ Repost to help your network
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89% of careers don't fail because of technical gaps.

They fail because of poor soft skills.

An incredible carousel from my friend Malay Matalia 🔥
(Give him a follow)

Your career grows as fast as your human skills do.

9 powerful skills most people never truly learn:

1️⃣ The SHR Method
→ Makes people feel truly valued
→ Creates instant connections
→ Builds lasting relationships

2️⃣ Body Language Mastery
→ Only 7% is what you say
→ 38% is your tone
→ 55% is how you move

3️⃣ The 4-Bullet Update
→ Clear communication
→ No confusion
→ Maximum impact

4️⃣ Speaking Excellence
→ Record yourself
→ Review your patterns
→ Refine your delivery

5️⃣ Strategic Questions
→ Build deeper connections
→ Create genuine interest
→ Foster real relationships

6️⃣ Friday Highlights
→ Build team trust
→ Increase visibility
→ Drive accountability

7️⃣ Emotional Intelligence
→ Stay above drama
→ Build respect
→ Maintain professionalism

8️⃣ Name Mastery
→ Show genuine care
→ Create lasting impressions
→ Deepen connections

9️⃣ Continuous Learning
→ 30 minutes daily
→ Compound your knowledge
→ Accelerate your growth

You deserve to thrive, not just survive.

Build the soft skills that get you there.

What's your most valuable soft skill?
Share below ⬇️

♻️ Repost to help your network
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9 Soft Skills to Accelerate Your Career

Being too professional is destroying your credibility.

Most don't realize they're doing it until it's too late.

We’ve been taught to be polite, careful, and polished.

But when those habits go into overdrive,
they quietly weaken your credibility.

7 Things that make you look weak at work:
(even if you are not)

1. Emotional transparency at the wrong moments
↳ Getting visibly frustrated when challenged
↳ Respond with curiosity, assume positive intent

2. Using hesitant language
↳ "I was just wondering...", "This might be stupid, but..."
↳ Say "I recommend..." or "Here's what I think..."

3. Over-apologizing for normal situations
↳ Saying "Sorry for the late reply" after 2 hours
↳ Save "sorry" for real mistakes

4. Always seeking permission
↳ Checking obvious decisions, asking for many opinions
↳ Own your area like the expert you are

5. Minimizing your value
↳ "I just got lucky" or brushing off compliments
↳ Simply say "thank you" and claim your contribution

6. Failing to advocate for yourself
↳ Waiting to be "discovered" for good work
↳ Share your wins and ask for what you want

7. Avoiding conflict at all costs
↳ Agreeing just to keep peace
↳ Challenge ideas, not people, stand firm in your expertise

You don't need to prove your worth by playing it safe.

You deserve to be valued for showing up fully.

♻️ Repost to help your network
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7 Things That Make You Look Weak at Work

The end of the year hits different 
when it's been a hard one.
When it felt like flying into the storm.

Layoffs
Rejections
Stalled promotions
Goals that didn't happen

I know because I've been there.

Watching opportunities disappear. 
Doubting my decisions.

It’s tempting to look back and only see what went wrong.

To measure this year by what didn't land.

But Henry Ford said it best:

The airplane takes off against the wind. 
Not with it.

Every time you pushed forward this year:
through the toxic dynamics, 
the budget cuts, 
the 'not the right fit' rejections.

You weren’t failing.

You were building lift.

The headwind wasn't holding you back.

It was the only way to make progress.

Quietly. Consistently. 
In ways you won't see until you're already flying.

So if this year tested you,
prepare for your takeoff.

♻️ Repost for someone who needs to hear this today
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Some tasks will always be meaningless. 

But they don't have to be yours.

Burnout isn’t about the hours.

It's the time spent on repetitive tasks that drains our energy. 

Tasks that need doing but don't need our expertise.

❌ Copying data between systems
❌ Scheduling and rescheduling meetings
❌ Pulling the same reports every week

Every "quick 30-minute task" adds up. 
30 minutes daily = 183 hours a year.
Gone.

Many AI tools promise to help, but don't deliver:

→ Making up data that doesn't exist 
→ Forgetting context mid-task 
→ Breaking on real-world complexity 
→ No way to step in when they struggle

We spend more time fixing their mistakes than doing the work ourselves.

But Simular is different.

It's an AI teammate you train like an intern:

Walk through a task once.
Give feedback in natural language.
It saves the process as a reusable workflow.

When it spots something unusual, 
Bigfoot (Simular's guide) flags it: 

"Hey, this number looks off - want me to pause?"

Plus contextual triggers that know when to act:

Calendar shows "Weekly Review"
-> Report's already waiting.

It achieves 72.6% accuracy on OSWorld, surpassing human-level performance (72%).

Some tasks will always be repetitive.

But with Simular, they don't have to be yours.

What would you do with that extra time?

Try Simular today:
https://lnkd.in/gvQssGVY

#simularpartner

Being smart isn't always an advantage.

It'll keep you stuck if you fall into these traps.

You work twice as hard.

You know you're capable of more.

But others still seem to get ahead.

It's not a lack of talent.

It's these traps holding you back:

1. The Overthinking Trap 🌀
↳ You spend months researching instead of taking action
↳ Avoid analysis paralysis with the 24-hour decision rule

2. The Comfort Zone Trap 🏝️
↳ Being the top performer in a small pond limits your growth
↳ Commit to one project that scares you every quarter

3. The Knowledge Hoarding Trap 📚
↳ Your bookshelf grows while your results stay the same
↳ Match every hour of learning with action

4. The Solo Player Trap 🧑‍🚀
↳ You avoid asking for help, seeing it as a weakness
↳ Find mentors who've already achieved what you want

5. The Intelligent Excuses Trap 🦊
↳ You use smart logic to justify staying average
↳ The real danger isn't failing - it's staying the same

6. The Multi-Potential Trap 🎭
↳ You have many talents but never commit to any
↳ Choose 1 focus for 90 days and say no to everything else

7. The Perfectionism Trap 🎯
↳ Your high standards become an excuse to never start
↳ Lower the bar and avoid endless revisions

Don't let these patterns keep you stuck.

You already have what it takes.

♻ Repost to help your network
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James Kamanski

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}James Kamanski's LinkedIn Performance

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