Brian, Author at Make This Your Last Time

February 15, 2025February 18, 2025 - 2 Comments

Tired of Bar Prep? Guarantee Motivation to Beat the Bar Exam with These 5 Reminders

How often do you see motivationals like this?

You’re doing totally fine!!!
You’re going to pass!!! BELIEVE IT!
My all-time favorite: YOU GOT THIS!!!!! (“I needed to hear this today!”)

But what do you do to pick yourself back up in your most defeated moments?

I wanted to pass the bar exam.

So instead of actually preparing for it, I made an image of a bar license card with my name on it using Microsoft Paint. You know, for visualization and manifestation like random people suggested online.

I’m not even kidding. Look and cringe:

February 14, 2025February 14, 2025 - No Comments

Manfred’s Classic Approach to Bar Prep (and Moving Past Plateaus)

Manfred passed the 2024 July California Bar Exam on his first try.

💬 “I passed as a first-time taker thanks to you!”

The story he sent in about his study process was a complete story arc, a great reminder of how to pair memorization and practice, and how to navigate the plateau that you’re sure to experience.

He started with a typical approach, starting right after graduation and using Barbri.

💬 “I am a K-JD who graduated from UCLA Law this past May. Due to my circumstances (like having plenty of time to study), I did fairly well in law school. I knew what the Bar would be like structurally due to prior exposure, and I knew that I would expect to be studying around 8 hours a day, every day, for at least two months. I started studying for the California Bar basically the week right after commencement.”

Let’s see how he did it.

February 7, 2025February 5, 2025 - No Comments

Repeating (and Passing) the Bar Exam by Choosing Resilience

The bar exam can be an emotionally intense experience.

We all need a witness to our struggles. Don’t keep it locked up inside you. Sharing the ups and downs can be cathartic.

Jonathan took the time to send me a raw, heartfelt story of what it was like to fail…and then PASS the 2024 July CA Bar Exam.

💬 “When I found out I did not pass the bar, I was devastated; I let down myself and seemingly my family, my girlfriend, mentors, and everyone who had invested in me — how would I recover from this professionally and personally?”

Repeaters will know about the devastation and the identity crisis that comes with failing the bar exam.

Am I being dramatic?

Maybe. Regardless, if you don’t pass, there’s suddenly a ton of uncertainty and volatility about your future.

Choose resilience, or give up. It’s up to you.

💬 “Over my time re-studying for the exam, two thoughts persisted:

‘No…no, this is not how my story ends! I am not a failure or a quitter… I’ve never quit and why would I do it now? No…I have more in the tank’; and

the other was, ‘what if this repeats again…is it better to just take the foot off the gas? There are many people who understand how difficult this exam is…maybe I should use my degree for something adjacent.’ And then it hit me . . .”

How did he finally overcome the past that haunted him so?

February 1, 2025February 5, 2025 - 6 Comments

6 Ways to Reclaim Your Time & Energy While Studying for the Bar Exam (Even If You’re Working Full Time)

Your hair feels gross, the fridge is empty, and you’ve been scraping together whatever free time you can.

Words in front of you are jumbling together into a blurry mess, passing by like a dream and also slipping away like one.

I’ve been where you are. In a way, I’m still there.

Bar prep steeps you in this undercurrent of anxiety because there’s so much to study with so little time and you’re feeling the pressure from the exam getting closer and closer. The worst combination.

But it’s not just time. Time isn’t your scapegoat. “Life is short” is propaganda by people who wasted their time.

“Yeah maybe when I have more time. I’m going to feel motivated someday. Everything happens for a reason.”

Oh, okay.

We like to tell people we “don’t have time” or that “time is the most valuable resource” or that “life is short” (even though we love to procrastinate).

That’s because time is not actually your most valuable resource.

You ALSO need ENERGY and ATTENTION. You need CLARITY so you can be productive.

You ever see those everyone-has-24-hours “motivational quotes”? Even if you “had the time,” it doesn’t mean jack unless you have the mental energy to do something with it.

Here are 6 rules to take back your time and energy while studying for the bar exam (even if you’re working full time):

January 31, 2025January 29, 2025 - No Comments

Pass the Bar by Being Aware of Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Tristan passed the 2024 July California Bar Exam on his first attempt.

He credits his success to self-awareness of his strengths, weaknesses, and what would work for him.

He was a glass cannon (super good at the MBE) and not confident about passing, but he was composed and calculated about the whole process.

Let’s see what Tristan went through in his first and only successful attempt.