Winning in Your Own Court

10 Laws for a Successful Career without Burning Out or Selling Out

Clarion Rating: 4 out of 5

Humane and introducing actionable options for career renovations, Winning in Your Own Court is a holistic career guide.

To help others avoid the mistakes of her past, attorney turned career coach Dena Lefkowitz’s career guide Winning in Your Own Court shares advice for those who are looking to make successful work life changes.

Lefkowitz speaks from experience: once an overworked attorney, she became disillusioned with her field and decided to make drastic personal changes. She reworked her career goals, demanding that her work life fit the standards that were most conducive to her happiness. In service of this, she also developed the career principles shared here. Her book suggests that the same principles have the potential to guide others as they design their own healthier views of work.

Ten career laws are shared. At their core is the concept of design versus default thinking, or making career plans based on personal assessments and goals rather than an acceptance of the status quo. These ten laws follow a logical progression, starting with assessing one’s goals, current circumstances, and potential for growth. They represent a novel way of looking at careers—as the culmination and curation of one’s education, work experience, networking, and awards and accomplishments. Lefkowitz writes that such collections need to be managed and expanded too.

Prioritizing one’s physical and mental health, the laws involve assessment and discernment, the consideration of one’s options, efforts to balance one’s past with future goals, and establishing the means of sustainable career growth. They encourage mindfulness and gratitude on repeat, bolstered by examples of people going through the motions at work without fostering either. Real-world examples are shared for each step, drawing on Lefkowitz’s experiences and on those of her clients. These narrative stories are a humanizing element within the text, complementing the ten laws, each of which is discussed in ample detail and in accessible language.

The book draws heavy inspiration from Lefkowitz’s previous legal field, and most of its anecdotes come from legal professionals as well. While this is somewhat limiting, all of the ten laws are widely applicable, standing to help anyone who is feeling overworked or trapped in their current profession. Their advice is evergreen; it can be used to either advance careers or help the audience start fresh.

Humane and introducing actionable options for career renovations, Winning in Your Own Court is a holistic career guide to remedying difficult work situations by ensuring that one’s career goals match one’s life goals.

Reviewed by John M. Murray

Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Load Next Review