Strategies | Make This Your Last Time

May 8, 2021May 8, 2021 - No Comments

How to Know What to Do for the 2021 July Bar Exam as a First Timer

Now that everyone’s here, maybe we stand a chance against the final boss.

It’s official. We’re back to “normal” since bar exams are being held in July again (not the mess it was last year with delays to September and October with every state fending for itself).

Life goes on relentlessly no matter the state of the planet. Let’s emerge out of pandemic life with a fresh start.

Getting 20/20 foresight on how to start your bar prep as a first timer

No fortune teller would accept me as an intern because I am a terrible predictor of the future.

In fact, people in general are terrible at predicting the “best” outcome or solution. “Hindsight is 20/20.”

But imagine that you could know what you should do before it’s too late. Having 20/20 FORESIGHT would be like benefiting from a second chance on your first time.

You can still use 20/20 foresight to “look ahead” with a crystal ball so that you can avoid mistakes in your bar preparation.

Come again?

Yes, even if you’re a first timer studying for the bar exam, you actually have a crystal ball!

March 27, 2021April 23, 2021 - No Comments

The 3 Things You Need When Starting Bar Prep (Live Stream Replay)

“What should I know when I’m starting my bar prep?”

I did a live stream with Jennifer Duclair to talk about how to take the guesswork out of bar preparation and get a better sense of direction as you start studying for your next bar exam.

It was fun! Japes and nuggets of insights were dropped, and I’m pleased with how this turned out. (Maybe I’ll do another one next year…)

Here’s me throwing Kaplan under the bus:

What to do with your schedule when starting bar prep

Here’s the recording, along with timestamps so you can jump to the parts you’re most interested in:

February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 - 5 Comments

The Value of Redoing Problems (You’ll See Them Again on the Bar Exam)

Am I the only one who keeps a list of cringeworthy things they’ve done in the past? Anyone?

*crickets and random cough*

We learn our lessons by doing something and getting embarrassed and trying again.

In fact, embarrassment is the best way I found to learn a lesson: actually doing things, realizing you did something wrong, feeling the pain, and using the pain to change course in the future.

I’m not saying we should “make bad decisions” on purpose (#yolo). Life is already a constant stream of embarrassment anyway.

We simply need a willingness to endure embarrassment as fodder for our growth. Opening ourselves up to the possibility that we’re wrong.

We don’t know what we don’t know. That’s why we can’t really be too quick to judge our own proficiency. That’s why we get on the bike and try to apply the theory as we go so that we find out.

If we don’t—if we simply try things once and stop—we end up thinking we “get it” with a generalized and incomplete understanding. There’s a difference between awareness and experience.