Lawline has been a public access television show spreading legal knowledge to the community of New York for 27 years. Recently Alan Schnurman, host and creator of Lawline, sat down with his son David Schnurman, President of Lawline.com, to discuss his passion for spreading information.
Alan Schnurman started Lawline 27 years ago as a means of spreading legal information to the community. He wanted to include the public in a community of education that once included only an elite group of attorneys. By bringing to the show prominent and experienced attorneys Alan hoped that he could provide valuable legal information to those who might not be able to afford premium legal advice. "It was a labor of love," Alan says. He gets a tremendous amount of satisfaction from helping people and wakes up happy every day because he has found what he loves to do, and he's doing it.
But what makes Alan so optimistic and happy when so many see these bleak times as a doomsday scenario come to life? It seems to be the pessimist's heyday, but Alan remains unflinching in his optimism. Every cycle comes back around, Alan says, and this recession may be longer than we've seen in a generation or two but this is the time where people position themselves for great success later on.
Alan sees attitude as the foundation of success in investment. He believes that when you have a good attitude you guarantee success. Alan has always invested in real estate because he has never been interested in a quick dollar. If you want quick money, look to the stock market, he says. But, if you have patience and want steady growth and security later on, invest in real estate. The three golden rules of real estate investing are location, not over leveraging yourself, and being patient. By adhering to these rules you guarantee success in any market, Alan says. Those who are buying now and staying in line with these rules set themselves up for success later on when the market starts to grow again.
In advertising and marketing, Alan again comes back to attitude. He says that too many attorneys don’t stick with advertising in one way for long enough to see benefits. All too often frustration sets in because of meager immediate returns. But if you keep switching to different media, from newspaper to internet, to television, back to newspaper, you will not have success. Instead, focus on one avenue and be patient, Alan says, your customers need to be educated and the returns may not be instant. Alan mentions that he once had thousands of refrigerator magnets made. He was discouraged because the immediate return wasn’t what he was hoping for. But, the return has been steady and now, 15 years later, he still gets calls from people who got his number from the magnet.
Thus, success in all things comes from having the right attitude, being patient and not getting discouraged. If you want to be successful be patient and stay optimistic. If you’re down on your luck, someone always has it worse so push through with enthusiasm and a problem solving mindset and you will succeed.

See the full interview, click here

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- "Secrets to Selecting a Personal Injury Case"

- "Negotiation: A Tool to Acheiving a Successful Outcome in Personal Injury"