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An Attitude of Gratitude

By Patty Dietz-Selke

 

QUOTE:  "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity....It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."  ~Melodie Beattie  

I am grateful.  I try to give thanks every day for my many blessings.  I use the word “try” here on purpose as my intentions and my actions are not in accord on many days.  In truth, I am an imperfect human being and I fall far short of my goal, but my intentions are nevertheless honorable and truthful.  All in all, it is important to my peace of mind and my sense of right with the world and my higher power that I give thanks on a daily basis.   I am thankful for my blessings.  I have many things and people to be most grateful for in my life.  I am blessed with material possessions that make my life comfortable and convenient.  However, my most prized treasures are those not measured in material wealth, but rather in love, friendship, support, loyalty, honesty, steadfastness, empathy, respect, admiration and consideration from and for my dear husband, my wonderful family, my valued friends, my esteemed co-workers and others most dear to me including my fellow Paralegals.   I am thankful for my “attitude of gratitude.”  I have always been the type of person to hold a “glass half-full” type of attitude rather than a “glass half-empty” one.  Moreover, I truly believe that a positive attitude is a necessary ingredient in how I live my life.  However, I have recently discovered an “attitude of gratitude” which is so much more.  It builds on the essence of positivism and elevates it to a whole new level of appreciation, harmony, significance and abundance.  An attitude of gratitude, gives thanks for ALL of life’s events whether they be beneficial or detrimental and sees the inherent value and message in each one.  It sees the silver lining in everyday problems, personal challenges, difficult people and even traumatic events.  

I am thankful for my challenges.  In looking back, I realize that the most difficult times in my life have also been the most meaningful and significant in regards to my personal and professional development. Through those difficult times, I have grown spiritually and mentally and have become a more mature and balanced individual.  Professionally, those difficult times have provided me the opportunities…..to take inventory, to chart a new course, to determine my priorities, to evaluate my goals, to seek clarity, to heed the call to action, etc.  I now see that my difficult co-worker gives me the opportunity to exercise my diplomacy skills, to learn to be more empathetic and understanding and to see situations from another’s viewpoint.  I also see that my husband’s job loss gave us the opportunity to reevaluate and cut back on our expenses, to learn to live below our means and to become financially independent.  So, I give thanks for all of the problems and difficulties in my life and seek to see the true blessings and lessons that those challenges and difficulties bestow upon me.

I am thankful to be a part of this profession.  This past year has been one of the most trying times for the legal industry that I have ever seen or experienced in my entire 16+ years as a Paralegal. Layoffs have affected all levels of staffing/employees in law firms including Attorneys at the Partner level.  Many fellow Paralegals with 5-10-20+ years of experience have lost their jobs and have been unsuccessful in finding any other type of employment. What is more, many of my prior Paralegal students have now joined the entry-level ranks and are fighting alongside these veteran Paralegals for those few available positions.  The loss of a job affects one’s life on multiple levels and the havoc it creates is entirely elevated if there is little chance of new employment on the horizon.  I thus highly admire my Paralegal friends who despite this situation keep the faith, stay positive, strive for improvement, hone their skills, stay committed, build their network, identify/set priorities and pursue their life’s interests.  Their courage and strength astounds me. 

These are truly challenging circumstances in which to feel happy or upbeat and around the holidays it seems to be even more devastating. We do not have any control over the situation, but we do have a choice as to how we react to these matters.  So, when we make a choice to focus on the positive….when we choose an “attitude of gratitude,” we preserve our independence and make a constructive impact on our mental and physical health.  In that effort, I wish for all of us a prosperous 2010 and an “attitude of gratitude” to deal with life’s many blessings AND challenges.

Patty Dietz-Selke is an immigration Paralegal at Troutman Sanders in Atlanta, GA as well as a Lecturer/Speaker and Instructor for Paralegal Certificate Programs.  She may be reached via email at Patty@ParalegalGateway.org.

 

ParalegalGateway Announces 2010 Paralegal Superstars

ParalegalGateway is proud to announce the selection of our 2010 Paralegal Superstars.  After receiving well over one-hundred nominations these final twelve individuals were chosen for their outstanding commitment to the Paralegal profession and/or their communities. 

This year was by far the most competitive year ever with regard to coming up with a top twelve and we sincerely thank everyone who submitted a nomination - all are very worthy of being a Superstar - however we could only pick 12. 

Amy Shillingburg - San Diego, CA
Jeannie Cartabiano - Redlands, CA
Catherine McKenzie - Vero Beach, FL
Viola Ange - Cedar Hill, TX
Laura Ahtes - Wilmington, DE
Patty Dietz-Selke - Atlanta, GA
Madelaine Vines - Colorado Springs, CO
Kathleen Miller - Irvine, CA
Ruth Conley - Houston, TX
Brian Haberly - Seattle, WA
De Dishman - Portland, OR
Carolyn Yellis - Orange County, CA

In addition to being featured on ParalegalGateway.com, the 2010 Paralegal Superstars will also appear in the annual Superstar calendar.  Please join us in congratulating these outstanding individuals who are true Superstars of our profession.

ParalegalGateway's Paralegal Superstar November 2009: Debra Hindin-King

Debra “Debbie” Hindin-King is a graduate of Colorado Women’s College with a bachelor’s degree in music education in 1974.  She obtained her paralegal certificate from the University of Colorado of Denver in 1988.  She has been a paralegal for the past 20 years and currently is employed as a litigation paralegal at the law firm of Holland & Hart LLP in Denver.  Her areas of specialty include oil and gas royalty litigation, natural resources, general complex litigation and securities law.  Prior to earning her paralegal certificate she was employed as a courtroom deputy for the U.S. Bankruptcy for the District of Colorado.

Debbie is a member of the Rocky Mountain Paralegal Association and National Federation of Paralegal Associations. She has served as RMPA’s president in 1999 and primary representative to the NFPA during 1999 – 2003.  She served as the NFPA Technology Coordinator from 1999 – 2001 and as Region II Director and member of the NFPA Board from 2004 – 2007.  She has been an associate member of the Colorado Bar Association including serving on the Paralegal Committee since 2002.  She has participated for the past 3 years in planning of the CBA’s Paralegal Day, Pro Bono Paralegal of the Year Award and Student Reception.  She currently is a member of the Colorado Association of Legal Support Managers. 

Debbie is also a frequent speaker at national seminars and events.  She has submitted numerous articles related to technology and the law to national legal trade magazines for publication. 

Debbie is also involved in her community with several non-profit organizations.  She has served in various leadership roles on the Board and as a volunteer supervisor for the Central Visitation Program 1987 - 2008.  She also has served on the fundraising committee for SafeHouse Denver for 1996-2000 and received the Volunteer of the Year award. 

She received the Rocky Mountain Paralegal of the Year Pro Bono Award in 2004 for her volunteer service with CVP and she received from the City and County of Denver’s Minoru Yausi Award for community service in 2006.  She currently volunteers weekly for the Broadway Assistance Center and serves on the fundraising committee for Warren Village.

Besides her career as a paralegal and volunteer service, she enjoys spending time with her husband Raymond and their Australian cattle dog, Hannah.  She enjoys traveling the world, photography, gardening and her membership in the Butterfly Pavilion and Denver Botanic Gardens in Denver.

ParalegalGateway's Paralegal Superstar August 2009: Chiquetta E. Simmons

Chiquetta E. Simmons received her Paralegal Certificate from Watterson Business College (Deans List) in Charleston, SC in 1992.  After graduation Chiquetta worked for two months as an intern for Judge William L. Howard, 9th Judicial Circuit Court and part-time for retired Judge Richard E. Fields.  Post internship, Chiquetta began working for the Charleston County Public Defender’s Office where she worked for three years.  She subsequently moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she continued to work for eight years

in various practice areas including Family Law, Torts - Personal Injury, Entertainment Law, Real Estate Law, Bankruptcy Law, Criminal Law, Juvenile Law, Probate Law, Corporate Law and Civil Litigation.   In 2005, Chiquetta moved back home to Charleston, South Carolina and began working for Motley Rice LLC,  in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, one of the nations largest Plaintiff’s Litigation Firm where she currently works on the Medical Team specializing in Pharmaceutical Litigation – Product Liability (State and Federal Court).  Chiquetta is an instructor in the School of Law (Motley Rice established in-house training program also known as Motley Rice University or “MRU”, an in-house training for its employees) where she leads a class entitled “What is Litigation?” for entry-level paralegals and/or legal secretaries.  Additionally, she also joined CALA, Charleston Association of Legal Assistants in 2006 as a corresponding secretary.  In 2007 Chiquetta was elected Vice-President of CALA and in 2008, she was elected President. 

Chiquetta was interviewed by Carolina Paralegal News (NC/SC Lawyers Weekly Publication) for their March/April 2008 issue regarding her position as President of CALA, her plans for the 2008 year and her thoughts on the paralegal profession.  During her first year as President, she has established a scholarship fund for paralegal students attending Trident Technical College and Miller-Motte Technical College.  She also established CALA Day, which was held on May 31st.  This is a tradition that will continue every year on the last Saturday in May is a day where the members and their families come together ato socialize and network in a fun-filled environment.  Chiquetta and her Board Members recently hosted an all day Seminar on that included speakers and featured such topics as Immigration Law, Collaborative Law, Employment Law, Criminal Law and an Ethics Review Session.  The seminar also allowed 6 CLE credit hours for the certified paralegals that attended.   CALA was established in 1982 and has 112 members. 

Chiquetta has been invited this to speak in 2009 at local paralegal colleges regarding the paralegal profession.  She is a single parent of 2 children, (son Timothy, 14 (all honors/president of student council for the 8th grade/athlete), daughter Sade, 8 years old (A+ student and dancer)) and Ko-Ko our Yorkie-Poo.  Additionally, she is also a full-time student at Southern Wesleyan University where she is studying to obtain her Bachelors of Science degree in Business Management and Chiquetta plans on taking the CLA exam with (NALA) National Association of Legal Assistants.  One of her goals for CALA in 2009 is to establish a Paralegal mentoring program to assist the paralegals who are just entering the field.  Her outside interests include relaxing whenever she can which entails a good book and kicking her feet up.

Source: ParalegalGateway.com

Paralegal Superstar May 2009: Mathew Laskowski

Mathew Laskowski is a Senior Paralegal at Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C.’s Morristown, New Jersey office.  He is a member of the firm’s Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring team.  The team represents Debtors, Creditors and Trustees on a National level.  Prior to joining the Bankruptcy team, he was a Case Manager on the firm’s Mass Tort team, defending Toxic Tort cases Nationally.  Mathew is also very involved with client development aspects of the Bankruptcy Group.

Mathew has an extensive litigation background with experience in the defense of medial malpractice cases, construction litigation, employment matters and civil rights cases.  He also has experience defending class action matters.

Mathew is one of the featured paralegals in Carole Bruno's book, "Lessons from the Top Paralegal

Experts – The 15 Most Successful Paralegals in America and What You Can Learn From Them," published by Delmar Cengage Learning in 2008.

Mathew is the Treasurer and Webmaster of the Paralegal Association of New Jersey.  He is an associate member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, an appointee to their Paralegal Committee and a member of their Bankruptcy Section.  He assists with the preparation, including website maintenance, of the Annual Garden State Alliance Paralegal Convention.  He is a member of the National Association of Legal Assistants.  Mathew sits on the Union County College Paralegal Program Advisory Board. 

Mathew has had articles published in New Jersey Lawyer; the New Jersey Law Journal; and Facts and Findings, the national publication of NALA.  He has lectured on Federal E-Filing; Document Productions & Reviews; Case Management; the Use of the Internet as a Research Tool; and the Use of the Websites in a Law Firm Setting.  Mathew also serves as a mentor by meeting with paralegal students and recent paralegal program graduates about his experiences in the profession.

Mathew received a BA in Political Science (Business Administration Minor) and an ABA Paralegal Certificate from Marist College.

Mathew is co-coach of Porzio’s “lawyer’s league” softball team.  Away from the office Mathew enjoys playing in a year-round ice hockey league and is a certified USA Hockey coach.  He also enjoys travel, designing websites and participating in a Texas Hold’Em points league.

Mathew lives in Manville, NJ with his wife Erin.

Source: ParalegalGateway.com

ParalegalGateway.com Announces 2009 Paralegal Superstars

ParalegalGateway.com is pleased to announce that the following 12 Paralegal professionals were selected to be ParalegalGateway.com's 2009 Paralegal Superstars:

Donna Dupree
Deisha Vazquez
Lynne J. DeVenny
Mary McCutcheon
Mathew Laskowski
Vandy Fitzpatrick
Dana Welcker
Chiquetta Simmons
Cynthia Mascio
Stacy McIlvain
Debra Hindin-King
Darlene McLellan

We are honored to be represented by such a prestigious and accomplished group of men and women.  Please join us in congratulating them.