Make This Your Last Time | Page 3 of 31

June 13, 2023June 13, 2023 - 3 Comments

Two Biggest Fears of a Bar Exam Taker

“I need to know all the law first!”

What were those three years of law school for? Never mind.

There’s this strange concern in the atmosphere floating around.

A concern that if you don’t know it all, then you won’t be prepared to solve the problems… The thought that all you need to do well on the bar exam is to know it all…

So you sit there, fold your arms, and wait for osmosis. You receive. A passive approach. Maybe your soulmate will fall out of the sky, too.

And then when you finally flip open that essay after weeks of becoming a know-it-all…

You stare at the blank page.

In front of you, a blank canvas ready to be filled but only reflecting a harsh stillness.

The cursor blinks at you, urging you for your next order.

Cold sweat squeezes out of pores you didn’t even realize you had on your body. 😓

“…”

You decide to hit the books and videos again. Maybe you just need to know more… Maybe you’ll get ’em next time…

You’re mostly grasping the material, but then when you take a practice exam it’s like everything you know is out the window.

WTF? Why didn’t it work?

June 9, 2023June 12, 2023 - No Comments

UK lawyer passes CA Bar Exam on his second try (finding out result in Maui)

Today’s story is from Sam, who is YET another passer of the 2023 February CA Bar Exam.

I KNOW I KNOW… I want to share some UBE stories too. Blame too many of my CA readers for being part of the 32.5%.

But Sam had to go through a first round of suffering.

It’s not an uncommon story to do what you’re “supposed to” the first time, and then switch to a more conscious and effective approach and pass as a second-timer.

I stayed up late and spent a whole week studying this story because it’s an excellent example of taking control of your bar studies. It’s a lesson for first-timers who want to avoid mistakes and an inspiration for repeaters who have been there before.

💬 “Statistically I shouldn’t have passed this exam (a repeater, taking the February exam, who didn’t attend a US law school), but I did. I did because I took control and did what worked for me.”

This UK attorney passed the California Bar Exam on his second try (and checked results while on vacation in Maui, like a BALLER).

June 3, 2023June 3, 2023 - 18 Comments

How to Maintain Motivation and Momentum While Studying for the Bar Exam

You’ve seen all the euphoria from people who passed the bar exam.

You’re probably “inspired” and “motivated” when you look at success stories and accounts of people who excitedly announce they passed the bar exam.

When that happens, we say things like “if they can do it, so can I” (true). Or “I needed this today.”

Today?

That’s some “new year, new me” type energy. I’m not letting you off the hook like that.

Anyone can desire to pass the bar. Anyone can fixate on the goal and SAY they want it.

These are people who come to me desperate and lost… get “inspired” or gain “perspective”… and then return to the same old cycle looking for hits of relief.

May 27, 2023May 30, 2023 - 2 Comments

Bar Prep Wisdom from Succulents

I went to a succulents gardening workshop the other day 🌱

(This is relevant to you, promise.)

I figured succulents wouldn’t wither under my care like the flowers I tried arranging before. There’s a limit to how much talent one person can have, I guess.

There’s no limit to how much I think about bar prep because that’s what I started thinking about when I was listening to the instructor 🤦🏻‍♂️

4 relevant lessons and also photos of my bald-looking succulent bowl:

(First lesson: “You have to kill a lot of plants to be an expert.” 🤯)

May 26, 2023May 26, 2023 - 2 Comments

Repeater Passes CA Bar Exam After She Ditched Barbri and Stopped “Trusting the Process”

“S” (who wanted her name private) passed the 2023 February California Bar Exam.

What else is new? No, I’m not tired of seeing my readers pass tough exams yet.

This featured passer:

Passed an exam with a 32.5% pass rate
(Makes for a good headline but do pass rates really matter? See point 5 below)
Not a fan of her big bar prep company
Studied while working
Was an MTYLT reader (of course)

(Like this other 2023 Feb passer)

I love her story because it has several parallels to my own experience as a second-time passer. Both of us made the same classic mistakes that first-timers make.