An
interview
with
Samorn
Selim,
author
of
“Career
Unicorns
90-Day
5-Minute
Gratitude
Journal:
An
Easy
&
Proven
Way
To
Cultivate
Mindfulness,
Beat
Burnout
&
Find
Career
Joy.”
Burnout
is
at
an
all-time
high,
especially
in
the
legal
profession.
Deloitte
reports
77%
of
employees
are
experiencing
burnout,
and
Gallup
finds
67%
are
feeling
disengaged.
Samorn
Selim,
daughter
of
Lao
refugees
and
a
first-generation
professional,
knows
this
struggle
intimately.
After
experiencing
career
burnout
multiple
times,
she’s
now
dedicated
her
life
to
helping
others
build
joyful,
sustainable,
and
thriving
careers.
As
the
founder
of
Career
Unicorns
and
former
Director
of
Employer
Outreach
at
Berkeley
Law,
she
has
coached
over
1,000
women,
BIPOC,
and
first-generation
professionals.
Her
latest
book
offers
a
practical
solution:
a
90-day
career
gratitude
journal
designed
to
beat
burnout
in
just
five
minutes
a
day.
Olga
Mack:
You
describe
yourself
as
a
“recovering
workaholic”
who
experienced
burnout
multiple
times
in
your
career,
including
when
you
were
a
Biglaw
lawyer.
Can
you
paint
a
picture
of
what
that
looked
like
at
its
worst?
Samorn
Selim:
As
a
Type
A,
workaholic,
perfectionist
lawyer
in
Biglaw,
I
was
working
7
a.m.
to
4
a.m.
during
trial.
I
was
struggling
with
chronic
migraines,
back
pain,
and
what
doctors
called
“undiagnosable
fatigue.”
I
hit
rock
bottom
and
was
so
burnt
out,
anxious,
and
depressed
that
I
could
barely
get
out
of
bed.
It
was
a
wake-up
call
that
my
approach
to
work
was
literally
destroying
my
health
and
well-being.
OM:
When
you
sought
help,
you
were
told
to
make
“lifestyle
changes,”
but
felt
overwhelmed
by
all
the
options.
How
did
you
figure
out
what
actually
worked?
SS:
Yes.
It
was
very
overwhelming.
Everyone
tells
you
to
meditate,
journal,
or
do
yoga.
But
when
you’re
already
overwhelmed,
having
a
laundry
list
of
wellness
practices
feels
impossible.
Do
you
start
with
meditation?
Which
type?
For
how
long?
Through
trial
and
error
over
10
years
of
practice,
I
discovered
that
small,
consistent
practices
made
the
biggest
difference.
Research
actually
backs
this
up,
showing
that
frequent,
shorter
breaks
and
consistent
daily
practices
are
more
effective
than
a
two-week
vacation.
OM:
Your
journal
combines
several
practices:
deep
breathing,
gratitude,
journaling,
inspirational
quotes,
positive
affirmations,
and
self-care
tips.
Why
this
specific
combination?
SS:
After
trying
literally
hundreds
of
strategies
over
a
decade,
I
found
that
this
particular
combination
of
practices
helped
me
feel
better
little
by
little.
Each
element
serves
a
purpose:
deep
breathing
calms
your
nervous
system
in
the
moment,
gratitude
shifts
your
mindset
from
scarcity
to
abundance,
journaling
helps
process
thoughts
and
emotions,
while
inspirational
quotes
and
affirmations
reinforce
positive
thinking
patterns.
The
daily
self-care
tips
ensure
you’re
taking
small,
concrete,
bite-sized
actions
for
your
well-being.
OM:
You’ve
been
featured
by
Forbes,
Harvard
Business
Review,
BBC,
and
Google
for
your
career
coaching
expertise.
What
patterns
do
you
see
among
the
1,000-plus
professionals
you’ve
helped?
SS:
The
struggles
are
remarkably
similar
across
industries
and
backgrounds.
People
are
feeling
disengaged,
drained,
and
burnt
out,
and
those
statistics
from
Deloitte
and
Gallup
prove
this
isn’t
just
anecdotal.
What’s
fascinating
is
that
when
my
clients
start
focusing
on
gratitude
and
shift
their
mindset
from
scarcity
to
abundance,
everything
changes.
They
start
landing
dream
jobs,
successfully
negotiating
raises,
getting
promoted
into
leadership
roles,
and
building
truly
sustainable
careers.
Research
shows
that
focusing
on
gratitude
at
work
reduces
stress
and
improves
mental
health,
so
this
makes
perfect
sense.
OM:
Why
90
days
specifically,
and
why
just
five
minutes
a
day?
SS:
Several
studies
show
that
90
days
is
the
ideal
timeframe
for
building
lasting
habits,
though
it
varies
by
person.
As
a
recovering
perfectionist,
I
know
firsthand
how
overwhelming
self-care
can
feel
when
you’re
already
stretched
thin,
so
the
journal
is
designed
with
people
who
are
already
busy
and
overwhelmed
in
mind.
Five
minutes
(less
than
0.1
billable
hours)
is
achievable
for
even
the
busiest
professional.
It’s
about
consistency
over
intensity.
I’ve
seen
how
just
five
minutes
a
day
can
completely
change
someone’s
perspective
and
spark
genuine
career
joy.
OM:
Your
journal
includes
90
gratitude
questions,
plus
inspirational
quotes,
positive
affirmations,
and
self-care
tips.
How
should
busy
legal
professionals
approach
this
practice?
SS:
The
beauty
is
there’s
no
“right”
way
to
do
this.
Whether
you
prefer
full
sentences,
bullet
points,
or
even
drawings,
the
key
is
simply
showing
up
and
being
present
with
yourself.
I
encourage
people
to
create
a
writing
ritual:
set
intentions,
designate
a
specific
time
and
place.
Maybe
it’s
9
a.m.
with
your
coffee,
or
before
bed
on
your
nightstand.
Make
it
visible,
make
it
easy,
and
have
compassion
with
yourself
if
you
miss
a
day.
OM:
What’s
your
advice
for
legal
professionals
who
think
they
don’t
have
time
for
even
five
minutes
of
self-care?
SS:
I
totally
get
it.
I
was
the
person
who
worked
20-hour
days,
thinking
self-care
was
either
selfish
or
impossible.
But
those
five
minutes
aren’t
time
lost,
they’re
an
investment
that
will
help
you
get
grounded
and
actually
lead
to
more
productivity.
When
you’re
burnt
out,
you’re
not
operating
at
full
capacity
anyway.
These
practices
help
you
show
up
better,
think
clearly,
and
work
more
effectively.
Research
shows
that
gratitude
practices
reduce
stress
and
improve
mental
health,
which
ultimately
makes
you
more
productive,
not
less.
OM:
What
do
you
hope
readers
will
take
away
from
this
journal
after
90
days?
SS:
My
hope
is
that
they’ll
experience
a
fundamental
shift
from
scarcity
to
abundance.
That
they’ll
have
practical
tools
to
manage
stress
and
prevent
burnout
before
it
reaches
crisis
levels.
Most
importantly,
I
want
them
to
rediscover
joy
in
their
careers.
Not
just
survive
their
workday,
but
actually
thrive.
After
14
years
of
career
coaching,
I’ve
seen
this
transformation
happen
again
and
again.
It
starts
with
something
as
simple
as
five
minutes
of
gratitude,
but
it
can
genuinely
change
the
trajectory
of
your
entire
career
and
help
you
build
a
sustainable
and
thriving
career.
Olga
V.
Mack is
the
CEO
of TermScout,
an
AI-powered
contract
certification
platform
that
accelerates
revenue
and
eliminates
friction
by
certifying
contracts
as
fair,
balanced,
and
market-ready.
A
serial
CEO
and
legal
tech
executive,
she
previously
led
a
company
through
a
successful
acquisition
by
LexisNexis.
Olga
is
also
a Fellow
at
CodeX,
The
Stanford
Center
for
Legal
Informatics,
and
the
Generative
AI
Editor
at
law.MIT.
She
is
a
visionary
executive
reshaping
how
we
law—how
legal
systems
are
built,
experienced,
and
trusted.
Olga teaches
at
Berkeley
Law,
lectures
widely,
and
advises
companies
of
all
sizes,
as
well
as
boards
and
institutions.
An
award-winning
general
counsel
turned
builder,
she
also
leads
early-stage
ventures
including Virtual
Gabby
(Better
Parenting
Plan), Product
Law
Hub, ESI
Flow,
and Notes
to
My
(Legal)
Self,
each
rethinking
the
practice
and
business
of
law
through
technology,
data,
and
human-centered
design.
She
has
authored The
Rise
of
Product
Lawyers, Legal
Operations
in
the
Age
of
AI
and
Data, Blockchain
Value,
and Get
on
Board,
with Visual
IQ
for
Lawyers (ABA)
forthcoming.
Olga
is
a
6x
TEDx
speaker
and
has
been
recognized
as
a
Silicon
Valley
Woman
of
Influence
and
an
ABA
Woman
in
Legal
Tech.
Her
work
reimagines
people’s
relationship
with
law—making
it
more
accessible,
inclusive,
data-driven,
and
aligned
with
how
the
world
actually
works.
She
is
also
the
host
of
the
Notes
to
My
(Legal)
Self
podcast
(streaming
on Spotify, Apple
Podcasts,
and YouTube),
and
her
insights
regularly
appear
in
Forbes,
Bloomberg
Law,
Newsweek,
VentureBeat,
ACC
Docket,
and
Above
the
Law.
She
earned
her
B.A.
and
J.D.
from
UC
Berkeley.
Follow
her
on LinkedIn and
X
@olgavmack.